Mar 21, 2022
Morning Coffee: TradeCentre 2022 is live
Heading into the deadline, Florida, Tampa Bay, and Toronto all rank among the top six choices to win the Stanley Cup, according to oddsmakers. Will we see another Stanley Cup contender go all-in with a blockbuster trade that is big enough to shake up the futures market? Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Monday, March 21, 2022.
TradeCentre 2022 is live right now on TSN, TSN.ca, the TSN app and TSN Direct.
As the countdown to the big day continued over the weekend, there were some big names on the move in the National Hockey League.
On Saturday, Claude Giroux was traded to the Florida Panthers, while Hampus Lindholm was dealt to the Boston Bruins.
On Sunday, the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Mark Giordano and Colin Blackwell from the Seattle Kraken.
If you didn’t catch it, it’s worth pointing out that the teams that landed Giroux, Lindholm and Giordano all play in the Atlantic Division, where the arms race had already ramped up when the Panthers traded for Ben Chiarot and the Tampa Bay Lightning traded for Brandon Hagel last week.
Heading into the deadline, Florida, Tampa Bay, and Toronto all rank among the top six choices to win the Stanley Cup, according to oddsmakers.
Boston is ninth on the Stanley Cup futures board.
While any one of those four could contend for the Stanley Cup, the fact that they all play in the same division will make getting to the Eastern Conference Finals that much more difficult.
Will one of those Atlantic Division contenders make another splash on trade deadline day to gain an edge on the competition?
Will we see another Stanley Cup contender go all-in with a blockbuster trade that is big enough to shake up the futures market?
Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Monday, March 21, 2022.
Stanley Cup futures update
From a futures perspective, the biggest question heading into the trade deadline is whether there is a trade to be made to generate some significant odds movement.
The Panthers, which added Giroux and Chiarot ahead of deadline day, are among the biggest risers on the Stanley Cup futures board.
Florida opened the season at +2200 to win the Cup. As of this morning, the Panthers are +500 to win it all.
Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames are also among the biggest risers in the Stanley Cup futures market.
Like Florida, the Flames were also busy ahead of the deadline, adding Tyler Toffoli from the Montreal Canadiens and Calle Jarnkrok from Seattle.
Calgary was +4800 to win the Stanley Cup on opening night.
As of this morning, the Flames are +900 to win it all.
In terms of the biggest risers in Stanley Cup futures, there is one notable team that has yet to make a big splash ahead of the deadline.
The Carolina Hurricanes were +2300 to win it all on opening night and are currently +1000.
It will be interesting to see if the Hurricanes can find a deal that leaves them with single-digit odds to win the Stanley Cup by the end of trade deadline day.
Meanwhile, the team at the top of the Stanley Cup futures board still has the potential to make a serious move before 3 p.m. ET today.
In all likelihood, the Colorado Avalanche will go wire-to-wire as the favourite to win the Stanley Cup. As of this morning, the Avalanche are +450 to win it all.
With Colorado sitting alone as the consensus Stanley Cup favourite, does general manager Joe Sakic go all-in with the type of blockbuster deal that will solidify his team’s status as the unquestioned favourite to win it all?
While there might not be a player left on the TSN Trade Bait board that can dramatically move the needle for the Avalanche, perhaps Sakic has something else in mind with the potential to move some assets to solidify his roster with a piece that isn’t expected to be traded today.
Canada’s best Cup hope
The Flames have leapfrogged the Maple Leafs as Canada’s best hope to win the Stanley Cup this season, at least according to oddsmakers.
Calgary went from +4800 to +900 to win it all. Toronto went from +1100 to win it all on opening night to +1400 entering the deadline.
While a lot can be made about the potential of the two individual rosters heading into deadline day, the reality is that at least on paper the Maple Leafs would face the tougher path to the Stanley Cup.
If the playoffs started today, Toronto would play the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning in the first round.
The Flames would face the Nashville Predators, which currently sit at +3000 to win the Stanley Cup.
Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers are also +3000 to win it all, sitting in third place in the Pacific Division right now.
The addition of Evander Kane up front has certainly helped the offence. The big question now is whether the Oilers make another move to solidify their goaltending situation.
There is one goaltender available on the final TSN Hockey Trade Bait board – James Reimer of the San Jose Sharks.
Should Edmonton make a play for Reimer?
It will also be interesting to see how the Canadian teams on the bubble approach the deadline.
The Winnipeg Jets are currently four points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for a playoff spot with a game in hand. Winnipeg will host Vegas in its first game after the deadline on Tuesday night.
Do the Jets add to their roster and try to make a push for a playoff spot?
Winnipeg is currently +600 to make the playoffs and -900 to miss the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks are also four points back of the Golden Knights for that final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
The Canucks were right back in the thick of the race before dropping their final three straight games before the deadline.
How much will those three straight losses impact their approach at the deadline?
Vancouver is currently +550 to make the playoffs and -800 to miss the playoffs.
You can catch TradeCentre live on TSN, TSN.ca, the TSN App and on TSN Direct right now.