NHL Trade Rumors: 3 teams who should trade for Tomas Plekanec
With the Canadiens potentially making center Tomas Plekanec available, here are three potential fits for him.
The Montreal Canadiens are going to be willing to do anything necessary to win the Stanley Cup. Even if it involves trading a player who has done so much for their franchise. In recent years, Tomas Plekanec has been a bright spot, even during their darkest times. Only a lockout shortened season has kept him from having at least 40 points in every season since 2008-09.
However, Plekanec has just three goals and 17 points in his first 40 games this season. Montreal currently needs him since they have numerous players injured, including two of their top centers. But once Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais get back, Plekanec might not have a spot in the lineup.
Even if he doesn’t have spot in Montreal’s lineup, he still has value. Plekanec is still a good defensive center, winning over 50 percent of his faceoffs and maintaining a respectable -0.6 percent CorsiFor relative percentage at even strength. His $6 million cap hit through the 2017-18 season isn’t ideal, but maybe the Canadiens will retain part of it. Here are three potential fits for Tomas Plekanec.
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3. Edmonton Oilers
The Canadiens aren’t the only team potentially looking to move an alternate captain. In western Canada, the Edmonton Oilers could decide to part ways with forward Jordan Eberle. They have been patient with him because he has a lot of talent. However, Eberle has just 26 points this season and his 0.63 points per game entering Jan. 8 are his lowest since his rookie season.
Montreal could use another dynamic offensive player. Eberle seems like a good fit for them. He’s undeniably talented and perhaps a change of scenery will be good for him. So why not swap Plekanec and Eberle?
Granted, the Canadiens would have to give up more than just Plekanec. They’re clearly getting the better player, after all. But Plekanec fills a need for the Oilers as well. While Edmonton’s future down the middle looks bright with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (even with his recent move to wing), they need a better defensive center. Plekanec’s a good fit there. More importantly, his contract, which ends after next season, gives them more cap flexibility to sign McDavid to a long-term deal.
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2. St. Louis Blues
Let’s face it, Tomas Plekanec is a Western Conference player stuck in the Eastern Conference. His style of play is far better suited for the rigors of the west than the skill of the east. The St. Louis Blues could certainly use him, especially if they don’t feel confident they can re-sign Patrik Berglund, who will be a free agent after this season.
The two fulfill basically the same role. They see a lot of defensive zone starts, as neither of the two has an offensive zone start percentage of over 43 percent as of Jan. 8. The biggest difference between Berglund and Plekanec is that Berglund is more physical. However, he is also less durable.
This could be a trade the two sides discuss during the offseason once the Blues figure out what they’re going to do with Berglund. However, it could even make sense right now. Berglund and Plekanec could be on the same line, giving the Blues two excellent defensive forwards on the same forward line. It would also give them two stellar options in the faceoff circle and would help make their already stellar penalty kill even better.
It’s a bit of a curious fit for the Blues, but they have the cap space to pull it off and the only other player they have to worry about re-signing is Colton Parayko.
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1. Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators have various issues they need to solve. One of them is their center depth. Currently, the Predators rely quite heavily on Ryan Johansen and Mike Fisher in the faceoff circle. This is because Calle Jarnkrok (45.5 percent win percentage) and Mike Ribeiro (42.7 percent win percentage) haven’t been able to win faceoffs.
Moreover, they might need to replace Fisher this offseason. He’ll be a free agent and even if he’s their captain, he’s no lock to stay in Nashville. Fisher’s also starting to get up there in age, as he turns 37 in June of 2017. Plekanec is no spring chicken, but he turns 35 in October. So he could serve as Fisher’s replacement as Nashville’s top defensive center. Mike Ribeiro will be a free agent after this season as well. The Predators, however, can plan ahead of time by trading for Plekanec. It likely wouldn’t cost them too much and they certainly need the center depth.
Nashville needs to solve their issues if they want to win a Stanley Cup while P.K. Subban’s with them. Plekanec certainly doesn’t solve all of their issues, but he at least eases the burden on Johansen and Fisher.
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