Vegas Officially Sets the Odds on Matthew Tkachuk's Potential Landing Spot
The hockey-centric news cycles over the last week have been about 20% general hockey news, 30% sexual assault, and 50% Matthew Tkachuk rumors. Tkachuk is simply the biggest story in the NHL right now, as he has informed the Calgary Flames he will not sign a long-term extension. In order to avoid a repeat of the Johnny Gaudreau fiasco, GM Brad Treliving appears set on facilitating a trade. Most of the speculation to this point suggests he will be moved sooner rather than later. The question is: where to?
Well the line is out from Vegas. BetOnline.ag set the lines on the most likely landing spots for Tkachuk, as follows:
New Jersey Devils +400
St. Louis Blues +450
Nashville Predators +500
Buffalo Sabres +600
Ottawa Senators +600
Dallas Stars +650
New York Islanders +700
Detroit Red Wings +750
Vegas Golden Knights +1000
The Devils, the odds-on betting favorite, make sense given their cap space & asset pool, the general fit, and oh yeah, GM Tom Fitzgerald is Matthew Tkachuk's cousin. The Devils could also field the best offer among teams on this list, but a) will they & b) will Tkachuk sign there long-term?
The St. Louis Blues make sense from a fit perspective, as Tkachuk has roots to the city & he fits their style. But the Blues only have about $600k in cap space, so that move would be tricky to maneuver.
Ottawa could make a play, as they have the cap space & the assets to make a deal. Plus the other Tkachuk, in Brady--the Sens' captain. But would Matthew sign long-term? If he won't sign in Calgary, what are the odds he signs in Ottawa?
Dallas could be a dark horse here because they have the young assets to fork over, namely Logon Stankoven & Wyatt Johnson as well the cap space to fit Tkachuk. Also, Dallas is a highly favorable market due to low tax rate, strong fan engagement, & that sweet-old American freedom.
Of course, we can never count out Lou Lamoriello (NYI) or Steve Yzerman (DET) to swoop in out of nowhere. Both run extremely tight ships, so the rumor mill tends not to function in either city. Both GMs have the space, the assets, & the need to seek a deal, but competition will be stiff. And the Vegas Golden Knights are probably on this list for no reason other than the fact that they are in Vegas.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Owen Power | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Isac Lundestrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||