Failed monster trade for Matthew Tkachuk took place in Montreal

There is certainly rumblings in the air about the possibility of Calgary Flames’ Matthew Tkachuk getting traded and it got intense on Thursday night during the NHL Draft in Montreal.

Before the first round got underway, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that “the New Jersey Devils made a pitch to the Flames for Tkachuk that included the No. 2 selection overall. The deal didn’t come to fruition and the Flames went out of their way to try to shut down any Tkachuk talk.”

Last month, Hailey Salvian of The Athletic reported that the Flames could look to move Tkachuk if they “sense any degree of uncertainty regarding Tkachuk’s desire to stay” or can’t reach a long-term deal with the 24-year-old. That’s because the Flames need room to keep Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary. Calgary is walking a fine line as Salvian wonders if the Flames should walk away if Gaudreau’s ask goes above $10.5 million on an eight-year contracts. That’s because such a deal would set the team standard for Tkachuk this summer and Andrew Mangiapane and Oliver Kylington still to sign as restricted free agents.

There is a sense that Tkachuk, who is slated for restricted free agency this summer and could hit the open market next year, could look to go elsewhere.

As Garrioch points out, he’s been “linked to the St. Louis Blues because of the family connections with the organization.”

The Flames have just under $27 million in project space this summer, per CapFriendly, with 12 players under contract. With Tkachuk is coming off a career-best season in which he scored 42 goals and posted 104 points in 82 games while playing out the last of a three-year, $21 million bridge deal, he’s going to want to cash in. But the same goes for Gaudreau, who just had a career season, setting highs in goals (40), assists (75), points (115, second in the NHL) and plus-minus rating (league-best plus-64).

The trade buzz is going and it went up a notch last night with this rumoured failed trade with New Jersey.