The Toronto Maple Leafs have Zach Whitecloud in their sights, and Chris Tanev's injury just put a clock on the Calgary Flames defenceman's future.
Tanev left Saturday's 6-3 win in Colorado with an upper-body injury. He's now on injured reserve and isn't expected back until at least Oct. 19.
Toronto's interest isn't new. Talks opened shortly after free agency began last summer, and David Pagnotta reported the previous regime had a lot of interest in the right-shot blueliner.
Jim Hiller's group is 3-2-1 and sits fourth in the division. Losing a veteran who'd been in the lineup every night leaves a real gap on the back end.
Calgary's problem is much bigger. The Flames are 0-5-0, dead last in the league, and have been outscored 27-8.
Whitecloud hasn't been spared. He's been held without a point through five games and went minus-6 over that stretch while eating heavy penalty kill minutes.
So is this the guy you call to steady a winning team's blue line? Toronto clearly thinks so, and the contract explains a lot.
Craig Conroy's teardown puts every Flames veteran on the table
Whitecloud carries a $2,750,000 cap hit this season and next, with no trade protection. Conroy can move him the moment the right offer lands.
And Calgary's GM has every reason to listen. The Flames have lost seven straight, including Saturday's 4-2 home loss to Anaheim.
The blue line around Whitecloud is a mess. Zayne Parekh has gone minus-10, and Simon Nemec sits at minus-7.
Goaltending hasn't bailed anyone out. Dustin Wolf owns an .816 save percentage, and his $7,500,000 cap hit makes that number sting a little more.
Buying from Calgary right now is like walking onto a car lot the week before it closes for good. Every day you wait, the sticker price drops.
That's why Toronto shouldn't overpay. Handing Calgary a first-round pick for a middle-pair defenceman would be a bad trade, plain and simple.
Toronto's remaining defence has held up so far. Jake McCabe and Troy Stecher are both plus-2, while Oliver Ekman-Larsson, 35, is still looking for his first point.
Up front, the cushion is real. William Nylander has 11 points and Auston Matthews has 10, which keeps the Leafs in games when the blue line wobbles.
The Leafs visit Utah on Tuesday. Same night, the Flames head to Anaheim for a rematch, still chasing their first win.
One more wrinkle: these two clubs meet for the first time on Oct. 26 in Calgary. Whitecloud could easily be wearing the other team's sweater by then.
Tanev's health is the real swing factor. He hasn't stayed healthy the past two seasons, and if this timeline slips, Conroy's phone won't stop ringing.
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Should the Maple Leafs give up a first-round pick to land Zach Whitecloud?
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