Is Tomas Fleischmann A Fit For The Los Angeles Kings?
By Jeff Henning
Fleischmann, Dale Weise, and Tom Gilbert are on the Canadiens trade block
According to various media outlets, it would appear as if the once mighty Montreal Canadiens are open to moving certain pieces of their team. After breaking out of the gate and going 9-0 to start the season, the Canadiens have fallen on extremely tough times. Their all-world goaltender Carey Price hasn’t appeared in a game since late November and there’s not set return date in sight. Without their MVP and an offense that has great trouble scoring goals, the Canadiens went from a legitimate Stanley Cup contender to a team that might contemplate selling at the trade deadline.
If anyone had any doubts or reserves about Carey Price being the league MVP last year, the 2015-2016 Montreal Canadiens should cement not only how great he is, but how valuable he truly is to his team. In Price’s 12 starts this season, he went 10-2, posting a 2.06 GAA alongside a .934 SV%. It seemed that Price was just picking up right where left off in 2014-2015, where he led the league in wins, SV%, and GAA while also collecting 9 shutouts throughout the course of last season.
Unfortunately for the Canadiens, the train has veered off the tracks completely. When Price was put on the shelf with an apparent leg/knee injury, the Habs were 17-4-2, an exceptional record. As of February 8th, the Canadiens will enter their next game with a cumulative record of 26-24-4. That means it’s taken the Canadiens close to 2 1/2 months to win 9 games, something they did in 2 weeks at the beginning of the season.
With that in mind and with Price’s return date still a mystery, Canadien’s GM Marc Bergevin has made it known that a few upcoming veteran free agents are on the trade block. Those veteran players include forwards Tomas Fleischmann and Dale Weise, as well as defenseman Tom Gilbert. While I wouldn’t be surprised if the Los Angeles Kings had some interest in all 3 of these vets, it’s Tomas Fleischmann who I believe would be the best fit for the Kings in their march towards the postseason.
The 31 year old, left handed shot, has put together a solid 2015-2016 season so far. Through 52 games played, Fleischmann has registered 9 goals and 10 assists, as well as a (+1) rating. Sure, thats not exactly lighting the world ablaze, but keep in mind that Fleischmann hasn’t netted more than 9 tallies since the lockout shortened ’12-’13 season. Perhaps Fleischmann’s rediscovery of his game would be of great use to the Kings, whom are already enjoying the fruits of such labor, in particular Vincent Lecavalier. Fleischmann should also be familiar with the L.A. area, playing out the final stretch of last year’s regular season and playoffs with the rival Anaheim Ducks. In Fleischmann’s 20 total games played with the Ducks, he scored 1 goal and 6 assists.
While Fleischmann’s production may be a valuable asset in the King’s bottom-6 forwards, it may be his contract that’s most appealing to King’s GM Dean Lombardi. The former 2nd round selection is currently playing on a 1-year, $750,000 contract. While most of Lombardi’s trade talks have come with a fair amount of salary cap concerns, Fleischmann’s cap friendly deal would be a godsend for the Kings. According to generalfanager.com, the Kings have roughly 2.7 million dollars in cap space, which means even if the Kings would go out and acquire Fleischmann, they would still have wiggle room to make other roster moves. Fleischmann also wouldn’t cost the Kings a valuable prospect or pick in order to acquire him. If Lombardi offered up a 2017 5th round pick, the Canadiens would most likely be willing to part with a player they clearly have no intentions to resign.