Calgary Flames
Right now, the Flames are in trouble. They are in ninth place in the Western playoff standings. They made a big trade with Florida this offseason, but have been struggling all season. They need to make a move or this season is done.
Remember when I talked about desperation? This is it. The Flames could be enticed to overpay for a guy who can get them into the playoffs. There could be some coaching/admin people on the hot seat after this last offseason and JVR could be a great player to dangle their way and save their season.
Minnesota Wild
The Kings are making a push to get to the top of the Western Conference. There is a race between Vegas, Dallas, Edmonton, Los Angeles, along with the Wild, to get to that top spot. In fact, just 10 points separates the first place Golden Knights from the ninth place Flames. While the Eastern Conference is almost set, the Western is up for grabs.
The Wild, unlike most of the other teams in the West, actually have some cap space. They could do a trade and sign. They could trade straight up. They could ask for some cap relief as they go after other potential players. Minnesota is in fifth place in the West but four points away from first. Van Riemsdyk could fit in quite well trying to power this team forward.
Pittsburgh Penguins
In an earlier article, I suggested that the Penguins are fading fast. They have an older core of vets and are falling behind in the Eastern Conference. More importantly, all their efforts to reunite the band this past offseason (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang) is going to most likely end up in a first round out.
However, it is just as likely that this team misses the playoffs. Van Riemsdyk’s addition to the club could be what puts them over the hump to get in to lose to Boston or Carolina in the first round.
Buffalo Sabres
And if a team is going to knock the Penguins out of the playoff race, it would most likely be Buffalo. This team is trying to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2011 and the top movies out, in April of 2011 where Hop and Rio and the top song was Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Since the Bills let down the city of Buffalo, yet again, it’s up to the Sabres now.
The Sabres are literally that team that needs that one person to get over the hump. That guy could be van Riemsdyk. Plus, he offers a lot of veteran experience that most of Buffalo’s players do not have.
Seattle Kraken
Speaking of which, it might be good to think about JVR in Seattle. This young team has surprised many. Lately, they’ve been struggling; unless they are playing the Flyers. And since they can’t play Philly in every game, they need help. They need a veteran who has been to the playoffs. Van Riemsdyk can fill that role.
Dave Hakstol is on the verge of bringing the Kraken to the playoffs for the first time in team history. Much like Buffalo, they are one solid player away from making that dream happen. He could be a good fit there on the West Coast.
Now, JVR isn’t the only asset that the Flyers could be selling. There are all sorts of rumors that have involved Kevin Hayes, Ivan Provorov, Nick Seeler, Justin Braun, Joel Farabee, Patrick Brown, and others. There are even outlandish one for Travis Konecny.
As for van Riemsdyk, it really will depend on what team needs his services. As other names fly off the board, the demand for JVR could rise; which in turn could bring in a better return for the Flyers. For that reason, perhaps waiting a bit could pay off big for the Flyers.
We won’t know what happens until it happens. Until then, stay tuned and hope for the best…unless one of these Flyers gets traded for “future considerations.”