Tyler Toffoli traded to the Calgary Flames
The Montreal Canadiens have traded Tyler Toffoli to the Calgary Flames for Emil Heinemann, Tyler Pitlick, a 2022 first round pick, and a 2024 fifth round pick.
Full deal is #Flames get Toffoli from #Habs for 2022 1st round pick (Top 10 protected), 2024 5th round pick, Tyler Pitlick and prospect Emil Heineman.#Flames clear enough cap space with Pitlick's $1.75 million coming off the books, no need for help/retain.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 14, 2022The trade comes this morning in the wake of several rumours over the past few days connecting the Flames to bringing in the right winger as some kind of deadline addition. Obviously, it’s several weeks before the deadline, but that gives Toffoli even more time to get adjusted to the team before a potential playoff run.
Toffoli is having a solid season for a bad Montreal Canadiens team, with 26 points in 37 games. His goal scoring is down quite a bit from last year, with only nine goals, but a lot of that is due to regression from his 28 goals in 52 games last season, where he shot 17.7%.
Toffoli has three years left on his contract with a $4.25 million cap hit, so he’s not just a rental acquisition. No salary needed to be retained in the deal because Pitlick’s $1.75 million cap hit was enough to get the Flames under the salary cap ceiling.
Toffoli comes into an already strong Flames forward group, and will likely find himself in a middle six role on the team. This will probably push Dillon Dubé or Brett Ritchie into a more suitable fourth line role for the team, bolstering the team for a strong playoff run, especially in a weaker Pacific division.
Pitlick is the roster forward going back, who was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft before being traded to the Flames for a fourth round pick. The center appeared in just 25 games for the Flames, gathering up two assists in that time, and will likely just be a body on the roster for the Montreal than any real long term project.
Heineman is a left wing prospect originally drafted by the Florida Panther in the second round in 2020 before getting dealt to the Flames for Sam Bennett. Heineman had seven goals and 13 points in 43 games for Leksands IF in the SHL this season, and one assist in four playoff games.
The 2022 first round pick is protected, and will be exchanged for the 2023 first round pick if the Flames find themselves in the top 10 of the draft this year.