SUNDAY BEST: ACTIVITY AFOOT AMONG MOST CANADIAN TEAMS

TORONTO, ON — This season, unlike any other, has made the perception of completing trades in the NHL a much more difficult task. Everybody’s perception is different, mind you, and when push comes to shove, sometimes you must do what is in the best interest of your hockey team.

Columbus didn’t want to wait any longer to deal with Pierre-Luc Dubois and his trade request, especially after his last game with the team, so they moved him to Winnipeg for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic, two players who also wanted a change – Laine’s approach to his situation was much tamer than the ones taken by Dubois and Roslovic, but a trade was still the objective.

As we start a fresh week on Monday after the Super Bowl, there are a few storylines floating around the NHL from this past seven days to keep tabs on.

Sam Bennett. Victor Mete. Derek Stepan. Tony DeAngelo. Jake Virtanen. Jim Benning. Phillip Danault. Jeff Skinner. These are just some of the names that have made headlines this week and most of them will continue to pop up in the days ahead.

Bennett & the Flames

Bennett started Saturday’s game on a line with Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau and picked up a goal in the Flames’ 6-4 win over Edmonton. Not bad for 11:29 of ice time, none of which came on the powerplay.

Was he being showcased? Perhaps. After being scratched in the previous game, Flames coach Geoff Ward gave Bennett the opportunity to perform with the big boys. Whether this leads to a move remains to be seen, as his trade request didn’t sit well with management, but unless he’s generating consistent minutes in the top-six, he’d probably prefer a change of scenery.

As we reported earlier in the week, the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the teams with some level of interest in Bennett, who has a $2.55 million cap hit. I’m curious if Toronto pokes around again after news leaked earlier today that Wayne Simmonds could be out 4-6 weeks. There are, obviously, other clubs in the mix. If Bennett’s unhappy, it might be in Flames GM Brad Treliving’s best interest to not let things linger.

Rangers working on DeAngelo trade

Last weekend, defenceman Tony DeAngelo shut the door on his career with the New York Rangers after getting into it with goalie (and teammate) Alex Georgiev. He was waived and later cleared on Monday when Rangers GM Jeff Gorton announced DeAngelo had played his last game with the Blueshirts.

The Rangers continue to work on trying to trade DeAngelo, who has another year left on his contract and comes with a $4.8 million cap hit. There seems to be some progress in that department. According to a source close to the situation, there are a few teams still in discussions for the 25-year-old, who is one season removed from a 53-point campaign.

It’s been difficult to gauge whether a trade will be ironed out this coming week, but Gorton and DeAngelo’s agent, Pat Brisson, are working on it. Everybody wants this matter resolved and the Rangers are willing to eat some salary, so we’ll be keeping tabs on this situation.

Les Canadiens

Mete played in two games for the Habs this past week, but Canadiens head coach Claude Julien likes his current main-six defencemen, and it may be a little while until Mete’s back in game action. The Canadiens have made it clear they do not plan on trading him this season, and under the circumstances, he might have to wait it out.

There are teams in the market for a blueliner, though, so unless someone overpays for Mete, he’s likely sticking around as the No.7 defenceman. Barring an injury to one of Montreal’s other six rearguards, Mete’s likely looking at 15-20 games this season.

Also this week, we reported contract talks between the Habs and centre Phillip Danault have been put on hold. Danault’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and neither the Habs nor his agents would comment on a report he turned down a six-year, $30 million offer in September.

There are no plans to schedule any discussions and it sounds like that course of action comes from Danault’s side. Unless Habs GM Marc Bergevin kickstarts negotiations during the season, this matter will be resolved, one way or another, in the off-season.

Ottawa’s wheelin’ & dealin’

Well, they’re trying to. Whispers started to get louder and louder this week over Derek Stepan’s desire to play closer to his family in Arizona. He and his wife recently had their third child before training camp and the Senators are now trying to accommodate.

Right now, it’s unclear where Stepan might end up, but Sens GM Pierre Dorion is trying to make it happen. I’m not sure he’ll be able to recoup the second-round pick they gave up for him, not unless Dorion’s willing to retain part, or half, of Stepan’s $6.5 million cap hit – and even then, they might need to take on another contract.

Travel within the U.S. is a lot easier than crossing the border, but the L.A. Kings are the only team in the West Division with enough cap space to make it work without dipping into LTIR, and those with LTIR flexibility are limited. The Sens may need to focus on the other two U.S. divisions to make this work.

Meanwhile, the Sens tried to get a team to take Braydon Coburn for free by placing him on waivers, but no dice. Ottawa’s been trying to move a defenceman all week – as Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday night – and we’ll see if they can pull it off.

Trouble in Vancouver

The Canucks have given up five or more goals in nine of their 15 games this season. The only team that has given up more than four goals a game is the Ottawa Senators (4.33 GA/P), and the Canucks won half of their game on the season against them. Something’s gotta give, I’m just not sure what that is.

Yes, Jake Virtanen is available, but swapping him out isn’t going to move the needle.

Vancouver’s defensive structure is atrocious. I thought it was suspect until I watched their last two games in person against the Maple Leafs, who have outscored them 12-4 and they have another game against each other on Monday. I was wrong, it’s just awful. You have to feel for Thatcher Demko and Braden Holtby – this isn’t on them; they’ve been left out to dry way too often and there’s 75% of the season to go.

Alex Edler made one mistake after another Saturday night. Jalen Chatfield tried to mimic him, or at least it looked that way. Nobody attempted to clear the crease during any of Toronto’s four powerplays (how they only converted on one of them is a mystery). And the lack of defensive assistance and energy from the bottom-six is visible.

During the off-season, Canucks GM Jim Benning tried to move out salary. He just wasn’t willing to pay the premium to do it. I don’t know the cost for eating Loui Eriksson’s contract, but it had to be hefty. Benning’s inability to move out Eriksson or Brandon Sutter made it challenging for him to add much more to the roster. They couldn’t make a trade for Oliver Ekman-Larsson work and landed ultimate teammate Nate Schmidt, instead. Nate is great in the room, but needs to be better on the ice. The Canucks also tried to get Matt Dumba from the Wild before free agency, but talks centred around Demko (not Brock Boeser) and a Minnesota source confirmed the ask included the 25-year-old netminder.

Benning tried, but trying only gets you so far. There is unease atop the Canucks organization and the guy signing the cheques isn’t happy. Benning is signed through the 2022-23 season, so I wonder, given the current economic climate, if a change at the GM position is realistic or not. It really comes down to how Francesco Aquilini, who has stayed off Twitter so far this month, feels about management’s ability to climb out of this hole.