NHL Rumors: Calgary Flames, New York Islanders, Dallas Stars

Welcome to the Saturday edition of Full Press Hockey‘s NHL Rumors. The trade deadline is four weeks away, but that does not mean the rumors are going away. Therefore we will be upping our coverage from two days a week to four days a week. The February 22nd edition of NHL Rumors will cover the Calgary Flames, New York Islanders, and Dallas Stars

Calgary Flames – Defence

Rumor: Per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Calgary Flames are not done dealing after acquiring Tyler Toffoli. The Flames are looking to add to their defence by acquiring Mark Giordano or Calvin de Haan. 

It makes sense the Flames are not done adding players to their team. If you look at the teams who have won the Stanley Cup over the past couple of seasons, Tampa Bay twice and St. Louis they had lots of depth. Tyler Toffoli was just the first move for the Flames. He added secondary and depth scoring to the Flames offensively. But the Flames are looking to add depth on defence. Calgary tried to acquire Ben Chiarot as part of the Toffoli deal, but could not get a deal done for that player. However, there are two other names being looked at by the Flames. The first is current Seattle Kraken defenceman and former Flame Mark Giordano. Giordano had his homecoming of sorts when he returned to Calgary after being drafted by Seattle. Giordano knows the system since he played under Darryl Sutter for a brief time last season. Another name the Flames have been looking at is Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Calvin de Haan. de Haan and Giordano would be both rental-type players and fill the need of a sixth or seventh defenceman. Calvin de Haan is a great stay-at-home defenceman and those are hard to find these days. However, he would be the perfect fit. There is a reason why teams need depth defencemen come the playoffs.

Around FPC

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New York Islanders – Cal Clutterbuck

Rumor: Per Stefen Rosner of NYI Hockey Now, the New York Islanders will be sellers at the deadline and one of the players that could be on the move is Cal Clutterbuck. 

Expectations were high for the Islanders heading into this season. The team had dreams of competing for a Stanley Cup and finishing some unfinished business after losing in back-to-back Conference Semifinals. Unless the Islanders go on a miracle run, the time has almost run out for that dream, thus they will become sellers at the deadline. It will be hard for Lou Lamoriello to move certain contracts, but if anyone can it is Lou. However, one player that would be shocking is Cal Clutterbuck. Clutterbuck along with Casey Czizikas, and Matt Martin formed one of the best fourth lines in hockey. However, Lamoriello is not afraid of trading fan favourites away. Just look what he did in New Jersey when he thought the ‘A-line” became bigger than the team. Many playoff teams could use Clutterbuck’s services. Not only is Clutterbuck a grinder, but his blend of physicality and offence along with leadership abilities is a great fit for any player team. One of those playoff teams looking at him is the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche are looking to add some physicality to their lineup. They have been bounced by more physical teams in back-to-back playoffs now. And Colorado is not the only team. Others are as well.

Dallas Stars – Joe Pavelski

Rumor: Going back to The Fourth Period and David Pagnotta, the Dallas Stars will be looking to extend forward Joe Pavelski. 

What a great signing Joe Pavelski was three years ago by the Dallas Stars. Pavelski has been one of their best players offensively and is having another monster season for the Stars. He was a big reason why the Stars got to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final. Since joining the Stars, Pavelski has recorded 135 points in 172 games with the Stars. This season alone Pavelski has 53 points (21 goals and 32 assists) and is on pace for one of his best careers since he was a member of the San Jose Sharks.

Though contract negotiations have not officially started yet, Stars general manager Jim Nill would like to start those in the next week or two. Pavelski is at the end of a three-year, $21 million deal that pays him $7 million a season. With the production he’s putting up, Pavelski can expect a similar contract from the Stars. Maybe a year shorter than his current deal. But expect the money to be the same maybe a little higher at $7.5 million a season. The Stars are looking at all options to make this work as they want to keep this player going forward. With the Stars three points out of a playoff spot, they are not looking to trade Pavelski. However, things could change if the Stars fall out of playoff contention. That does it for this edition of NHL Rumors. Stay tuned for another edition of NHL Rumors on Wednesday.