Two Teams Emerge As Favourites To Land Calgary Flames Veteran

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Tom Banks
December 19, 2023 (9:37 PM)

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Despite being relatively competitive all season, the Calgary Flames have a few UFA's for the upcoming summer, and after selling Nikita Zadorov, it appears they're ready to sell the majority of them.

Vancouver and Toronto emerging as favourites for the veteran

The Vancouver Canucks recently acquired Zadorov from Calgary for a relatively cheap price, and now, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman has revealed that they, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs are in the running to land another key defenseman.

''Elliotte Friedman says the Leafs & Canucks are really interested in
Flames D Chris Tanev.''

That comes from his latest 32 Thoughts Podcast, and given the injury issues facing the Maple Leafs, as well as the Canucks desire to go all-in this season, this report comes as absolutely no surprise.

Could we see a bidding war for the 33-year old?

While Tanev may not be an offensive force like many defenseman in the NHL today are, he brings grit, leadership and toughness, something that every playoff team needs to have on their roster.

This season, Tanev sits top-10 in the NHL in blocked shots with 75 despite missing time for several nagging injuries, but when healthy, he brings the intangibles that few players in the league do, and would be a fantastic addition for either Canadian team.

As Read on Canucks Daily - LATEST | The two frontrunners in the Tanev sweepstakes have emerged