Teams are "pencilling in Tyler Toffoli" with the Flames: report

Feb 9 2022, 9:06 pm

A number of teams are “pencilling in Tyler Toffoli’ with the Calgary Flames, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. 

Speaking on The Jeff Marek Show earlier Wednesday, Friedman said the current Montreal Canadiens forward would be a fit with the Flames. 

“There’s a number of teams that are pencilling in Tyler Toffoli with Calgary, and it makes a ton of sense,” Friedman said. “They’re looking for secondary scoring; there’s the Darryl Sutter connection. There’s a few teams who think the Flames are going to be in on that one.” 

“I think they are in on that kind of player, and there’s a few teams who think the Flames are… put it this way… if you’re asking people to make predictions, and sometimes I do that at this time of year, I get a lot of ‘Toffoli to Calgary.'”

Toffoli won the Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings, guided by head coach Darryl Sutter, in 2014.

He was also a teammate of current Calgary keeper Jacob Markstrom and defenceman Christopher Tanev at the tail end of the 2019-20 season when each played for the Vancouver Canucks. Toffoli scored 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 10 regular-season games, and added four points (two goals, two assists) in seven playoff games with Vancouver.

He signed a four-year, $17 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens shortly thereafter. 

Toffoli, who was also teammates with Flames centre Sean Monahan in junior with the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League, has two years remaining on his contract after this season, at an average annual value of $4.25 million.

The 29-year-old winger has 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 34 games with Montreal this year after scoring 44 points (28 goals, 16 assists) in 52 games in 2020-21.

Toffoli also had 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 22 games to help the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final last year.

After losing in five games of the Stanley Cup Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning in July, Montreal is in the midst of one of its worst seasons in franchise history, having won just eight of 45 games this season.

The Canadiens, who are last in the NHL, fired head coach Dominique Ducharme earlier Wednesday. General manager Marc Bergevin was let go in December.

Toffoli isn’t the only current Canadiens forward being linked to a Western Conference team. 

Freidman also suggested that Christian Dvorak, a teammate of Matthew Tkachuk’s with the London Knights of the OHL, has been linked to a team out west.

“One guy I’m wondering about, and he didn’t play last night, is Dvorak,” Friedman said. “I’ve also heard some Western Conference teams who know that he’s a lot better than he’s shown this year. I’m wondering about that. His name hasn’t been mentioned a lot because he’s been out, but I’ve heard there’s some traction in the west from teams who have seen him quite a bit, and they’re like, ‘this isn’t him’ so we’ll see where it goes.”

Aaron VickersAaron Vickers

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