Each day through tonight's NHL Draft and up until free agency on July 1, TSN.ca breaks down the latest news and rumours around the NHL.


Rumour Put Out

Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving poured cold water on rumours the team was shopping defenceman Dougie Hamilton on Thursday.

“No,” Treliving told The Calgary Sun when asked if the team had put Hamilton on the block. “There’s lots of stuff that’s reported at this time. We don’t comment on that stuff. When I hear about that stuff, it usually comes out late at night when people have been into the red wine…we’re not going to talk about what we may or may not do, but we’re not shopping people. 

“You talk about players all the time - all of the players. Our plan here is to see if we can make ourselves better. We’ll continue to do that. You get calls and make calls. But that’s to the extent I’ll talk about it.”

The Flames are without a pick in the first two rounds of Friday's draft as a result of their trade to acquire Travis Hamonic last summer. Treliving said last week he wasn't likely to move into the first round with a deal and said little has changed on that front.

“We have an opportunity,” Treliving said. “But the cost-benefit analysis to where we are today, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Are we any closer? Probably not. Is it still something we’re looking at? Sure…again, you make a move like that to say, ‘Ok, we have a chance to get this particular player.’ But what’s the cost of doing that? We’re probably no farther away than we were but probably no closer.”

Treliving noted, however, that he will remain active in trade talks throughout the day and once teams hit the draft floor on Friday night.

“We’ve got a lot of lines in the water. We’re accepting offers,” Treliving said. “We’re making offers. Now whether anything formalizes, I don’t know. Right now, activity levels are high. Productivity levels are to be determined. We’re active in terms of the discussions, and there’s a lot going on, and we’re in the thick of it. But, in some cases, there are different assets out there … There are pending UFAs and some big names, some people are waiting to see what happens with them …

“We’re involved in a lot of conversations, but I don’t know at this particular time if anything is going to happen or not.”

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun noted earlier this week the Flames have expressed interest in Carolina Hurricanes centre Elais Lindholm. 

 


Staying Young

The Vancouver Canucks' seventh overall pick is available ahead of tonight's draft, but the team has a specific wish list for their return, should they trade the selection.

Canucks general manager Jim Benning said Thursday the team would have to receive a young player back in exchange for the pick.

“If we decided we were going to go down that road, it would have to be a young player that fits into our mould… a player in that 20- to 23-range,” Benning said, per The Vancouver Province.

Jason Botchford of The Province believes the Canucks are specifically targeting a young defenceman. The team has been linked to Noah Hanifin of the Carolina Hurricanes this off-season, but Benning made it clear he's not willing to part with young players on his roster to get a deal done.

“What’s happening with us, when I talk to other teams, they want … the Horvats, the Petterssons, the Boesers and Juolevis,” Benning said. “We’re not moving those players. They are the future of our team.”

Benning said he'll continue to listen on offers for the No. 7 overall pick, but noted he's content to make the pick if the right offer fails to materialize.

“We’ll talk to teams and do our due diligence on all the players,” Benning said. “It would have to be a player that matches up in the age group of our good, young players. I’m taking calls. I’m listening.

“But at seven, I’m going to get a real good player.”

TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button projected Swedish defenceman Adam Boqvist to the Canucks at seventh overall in his final mock draft.

 


Worth the Cost?

The Buffalo Sabres are willing to trade centre Ryan O'Reilly, but their ideal return appears to be a second top-five pick in tonight's draft.

TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie reports the Montreal Canadiens would like to add O'Reilly, but parting with the third overall pick is not in their draft day plans. McKenzie notes the Canadiens are trying to make a deal excluding their top pick, but the Sabres are happy to keep the 27-year-old if their ask isn't met.

"Yeah the Montreal Canadiens have had some interest in Ryan O’Reilly all along, there’s no doubt they need to improve their centre position," McKenzie said on Thursday's edition of Insider Trading. "O’Reilly would be a huge add for them but it’s not going to come at a cheap price and one of the things that the Buffalo Sabres are really interested in and really covet is Montreal’s third overall pick. Montreal I think has been adamant about not doing that and trying to find another way to make this deal work.

"Buffalo has not committed to trading Ryan O’Reilly, but they want to try and get younger players than O’Reilly to support Rasmus Dahlin and Jack Eichel and get a more age-appropriate core than to have a veteran centre. But, by the same token, when you’ve got Eichel coming back and you’ve got Casey Mittelstadt in the middle, they’d like to have some sort of buffer between the first-line centre and the third-line centre and not throw Mittelstadt to the wolves by making him play second-line minutes and therefore that’s the reason why they’re not just rushing O’Reilly out the door unless they get the right pieces coming back."

 


Keeping the Pick?

The Ottawa Senators have until they come on the clock Thursday night to decide whether or not give the fourth overall pick to the Colorado Avalanche. If Ottawa keeps the pick, Colorado will receive the Senators' 2019 first-round pick as part of November's Matt Duchene trade.

Pierre LeBrun said Thursday the Senators are expected to make the fourth overall selection on Friday night, though he notes the Senators will have a hard time improving from the 2017-18 record if they trade Erik Karlsson this summer.

"And in the meantime Pierre Dorion has to decide by tomorrow night about the fourth overall pick which right now belongs to the Ottawa Senators but of course if they keep that pick then they give up the first round pick in 2019 to Colorado as part of that Matt Duchene deal that still haunts the Senators," LeBrun said. "And, you know it’s interesting because if they do end up trading Erik Karlsson at some point this summer, it’s hard for me to believe that they will be a better team than not, which means that could be a lottery pick from the Colorado Avalanche. But I think at this point Pierre Dorion will say quote unquote most likely he is keeping the fourth overall pick because, well he thinks they’re going to be a better team anyway."

TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button had the Senators selecting Halifax Mooseheads winger Filip Zadina in his final mock draft.