Hanifin plays his best when it counts
This was, barring a massive surprise, Noah Hanifin's final appearance in the Battle of Alberta. It was a heck of a farewell.
The Calgary Flames will certainly miss him.
The Edmonton Oilers may not. The scouts must have been drooling Saturday as this soon-tobe-traded defenceman — a swap seems like an inevitability after he couldn't be convinced to sign a long-term extension with the Flames — put on a show, piling up three points in a 6-3 victory at Rogers Place.
“I'm just trying to focus on my game right now and helping this team get into playoffs,” Hanifin insisted in Saturday's post-game interview on Hockey Night in Canada. “That's where my focus has been this whole year. You just can't give that (trade talk) any attention this time of year.”
Ironically, Hanifin is one of the reasons that some are already writing off the Flames.
That's not any sort of knock on this 27-year-old smoothie. It's absolutely fair to wonder, as many have, how the Calgary-based crew could possibly remain relevant in the wild-card race when they're poised to ship out two of their best blueliners. Hanifin's defence partner, Chris Tanev, is also on the block. Both on expiring contracts, they should be top targets on the rental market.
While Oilers superstar Connor Mcdavid did collect a pair of assists, neither came on Hanifin's watch. He finished with a plus-3 rating in 25 minutes of icetime.
“And I hit the post at the end there on the empty-netter,” Hanifin told reporters in Edmonton. “That would have been nice.”
While he wasn't able to complete the hat-trick, he did boost his season goal total to 11, a new career-high.
Hanifin will, between now and the March 8 deadline, be mentioned in every rumour site and trade-bait list. The Flames, after offering an eight-year contract that was reportedly worth roughly US$60 million, really have no choice but to flip this minute-muncher for future assets.
It's believed the Boston-raised rearguard prefers to play south of the border. Certainly, any bidder will want to know if he's willing to extend — and at what cost.
“He's a defenceman that we rely on heavily,” said Flames coach Ryan Huska, whose squad has knocked off three contenders — the Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins and Oilers — over the past week. “And we're going to continue to do that.”
Probably not for long.
The Flames, just three points out of the final wild card slot in the Western Conference, have only four games remaining before deadline day. Next up is Tuesday's clash with the Los Angeles Kings at the Saddledome (7 p.m. MT, Sportsnet West/sportsnet 960 The Fan).
During his post-game scrum in Edmonton, Hanifin stickhandled around questions about his future.
“I just focus in on each day and whatever happens, happens,” he told media at Rogers Place. “It's just taking it one day at a time and doing everything I can just to help the team win. We're in a playoff hunt right now and that's the focus in the locker-room. I'm a part of this team and that's where my mindset is at right now too — just each game helping us move forward to a playoff spot and playing the best hockey I can each night for the team.”
He was certainly near his best Saturday in his bye-bye to the Battle of Alberta.
“It was a great team effort tonight,” Hanifin said after the Flames snapped a four-game skid against the archrival Oilers. “We needed to get a win against those guys.”