Reports out of Calgary Saturday night stated the there would be no less than three scouts attending the Flames-Oilers matchup famously dubbed “The Battle of Alberta.” Who wouldn’t want to see that matchup after those fireworks that have occurred in previous matchups? They were not disappointed, getting to witness the rare sight of goaltenders exchanging fisticuffs but the scouts were there for a reason. Both teams are in need of a top-six forward, and the Ranger’s Chris Kreider fits that description.
Who could the Flames offer to the New York Rangers
Calgary has a couple of players who have been mentioned as possible trade targets. Sam Bennett has been one of the players mentioned and while his scoring had dropped a bit this year, he does offer some other skills the Rangers could be interested in. The report on him is that he can be a difference-maker with his aggression, forechecking capabilities and on occasion, flashes of offensive creativity. The other name surfacing is Mark Jankowski, who has been described as a smart hockey player with good defensive accountability and has been used effectively in a shutdown role against other teams’ top lines at different times this season. The issue with Calgary is that they may not want to give up the first-round draft pick that Rangers have reported asking for, in addition to a top-caliber player.
Who could the Oiler offer to the New York Rangers
After their resounding 8-3 win against the Flames Saturday night, the Oilers are convinced more than ever that are just one piece away from helping their hockey club emerge from their decade of darkness having only made the playoffs once in the last 12 seasons. Enter Chris Kreider. The Oilers have many possibilities and the names include restricted free agent Jesse Puljujarvi, who is spending this season in Finland with Karpat. The former fourth overall pick and his agent have made it very clear to me that he didn’t want to play for the Oilers. So if not Kreider, could this be a trade possibility for disgruntled Ranger’s prospect Lias Andersson? Another possibility could be Jujhar Khaira, who has one more year of a 1.2 million dollar contract left. Khaira has size, skill, OK-ish speed moving forward in a straight line, plus he is plenty tough.