That appears to be Shane Doan's stance in advance of the NHL's upcoming trade deadline, and in response to a recent report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman suggesting the longtime Arizona Coyotes captain would be open to being moved to a Stanley Cup contender.
Doan was made aware of the report and has validated it, but with major caveats.
"People have texted and talked to me about it," he told Tim Campbell of NHL.com. "I never said I wouldn't go anywhere. I've always wanted to stay here. If there was ever an opportunity, the Coyotes have always been incredible to me and respectful to me in every way.
"I'd talk about (possible trade) with my family and make a decision on that if it was to come up but it would have to be so perfect and so right that it's pretty hard for it to all line up perfectly. It would have to be exactly perfect and that just doesn't happen too often in our sport."
Doan, who recently turned 40 and who's on a one-year deal with the Coyotes, has a no-move clause built into his contract, meaning he'd have to approve any trade attempted by John Chayka, and a move likely wouldn't even be considered by the Coyotes without Doan's knowledge and permission.
For his part, Doan let it be known the report didn't originate from his side of things, even with the Coyotes languishing near the bottom of the standings.
"It wasn't me saying it," he said. "I've been frustrated with the year, with us not winning and stuff, that's always tough. I haven't said it to them, to management, or said anything to them, but I've also never said I wouldn't (agree to be traded)
"If it comes to that point, we'll sit down and talk about it. It's happened in the past, it's just that no one's ever heard about it. We've had the discussion and said yes or no and for the most part it's been no."
Doan added it's difficult to assess a clear-cut contender in the NHL this year, meaning there's no guarantee a trade would pay off with a championship.
The No. 7 pick at the 1995 NHL Draft when the team was known as the Winnipeg Jets, Doan has played his entire career with the organization, and he's the team's all-time leader games played, goals, assists, and total points.
Following weekend contests against the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals in which the Flyers allowed a combined 11 goals, Philadelphia is once again the league's weakest between the pipes.
The Flyers own an awful .892 save percentage as the team enters its bye week. Meanwhile, those same Capitals, a team the Flyers are chasing in the Metropolitan Division, sit atop the rankings, coming in at .931.
Rank
Team
Goalies
Save %
26
WPG
Hellebuyck & Hutchinson
.901
27
DAL
Lehtonen & Niemi
.899
28
COL
Varlamov & Pickard
.898
29
STL
Allen & Hutton
.895
30
PHI
Mason & Neuvirth
.892
But concerns in the crease are nothing new to the Philadelphia faithful.
Beyond Mason and Neuvirth, the Flyers have shuffled through six other netminders (minimum 10 games played) since the team advanced to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals.
That list includes Ray Emery, Rob Zepp, Ilya Bryzgalov, Sergei Bobrovsky, Brian Boucher, and Michael Leighton. That's eight goaltenders in eight seasons.
All but Bobrovsky are gone from the league. Bobrovsky, of course, is a 28-year-old Vezina Trophy winner who is putting up another stellar campaign this season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and is once again in the mix as the NHL's best netminder. But he wasn't good enough for Philadelphia, sent off to Columbus for a package of three draft picks.
By comparison, and with the same 10-game standard, the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins have used six netminders since 2010, though Marc-Andre Fleury has held down the majority the games - playing 445 - while the other five have primarily taken the backup role.
Goalie
GP
Record
GAA
SV%
Shutouts
Mason
37
14-15-6
2.95
.897
0
Neuvirth
13
6-3-0
3.30
.877
0
Here's the good news: both Mason and Neuvirth are unrestricted free agents at season's end, and given their play, neither has shown why a new contract should be in the works.
That means Philadelphia will have a clean slate to enter the offseason and repair its goaltending position once and for all.
Of course, the last time that happened, the Flyers bungled the situation, when it acquired Bryzgalov from the Arizona Coyotes, only to hand the 31-year-old a nine-year contract extension.
Bryzgalov accumulated 130 victories over four seasons in the desert, but lasted only two years in Philadelphia before he was delivered a compliance buyout. Two years, $51 million, five playoff wins. Not what the Flyers had in mind.
In all, the Flyers have been guilty of instilling goaltending half-measures, with no defined or legitimate No. 1 since the days of Ron Hextall, who has since left the crease for the general manager's seat.
Young netminder Anthony Stolarz got a preview of the big leagues this year when he made his NHL debut, winning both of his starts, but it's unlikely that the 22-year-old is ready for prime time just yet.
Of note, there are slim pickings available in free agency - unless the Flyers want to bring in another question mark - and save for a Bizarro World where the Flyers can acquire Fleury from their arch rival, the best option could be Ben Bishop, as the Tampa Bay Lightning netminder headlines the best names available this summer. Bishop is the one free agent worth the price.
It will take a big contract to land the 31-year-old, but the good news is that Bishop has a far better track record than that of Bryzgalov, so the Flyers wouldn't be repeating their history of past mistakes.
Bishop has been a key figure for the Lightning since arriving in Tampa Bay in 2012, a resume that includes a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015 and last year's run to the conference finals
But perhaps the bigger question is can the Flyers afford to wait to fix their goaltending concerns?
After rattling off a 10-game win streak through mid-December, the Flyers' fortunes have since veered in the opposite direction. The team has gone 3-8-3 since Dec. 17, grabbing just nine of a possible 28 points. That's left the Flyers barely holding down the final playoff spot in the East.
Then again, it's been years of iffy goaltending, so what's one more?
Jonathan Drouin made the Los Angeles Kings look like the Washington Generals in one play on Monday afternoon, losing Tanner Pearson with a nasty fake along the boards, then threading an unbelievable pass through traffic to Tyler Johnson for the tying goal.
They're playing at the Staples Center in L.A., so unfortunately we won't likely be hearing "Sweet Georgia Brown" there any time soon.
J.T. Brown was presented with another chance to meet Willie O'Ree prior to Monday's game in Los Angeles.
The Tampa Bay Lightning forward, who was not in the lineup due to injury, shared a few words with the man who broke the NHL's color barrier almost 59 years ago after O'Ree dropped the puck in a ceremonial faceoff to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Earlier in the day, Brown talked about how O'Ree impacted his life, and how he can keep his legacy going.
"He broke so many barriers, made it possible for me to play the game that I love," Brown said, per Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. "Anything I can do to keep growing the game, keep doing the things he did to help, that's something I'm willing to do."
Brown currently plays an active role in the Lightning's "Guide the Thunder" program, helping mentor local at-risk youths.
The Los Angeles Kings marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day by having Willie O'Ree drop the puck in a ceremonial faceoff prior to Monday's game against Tampa Bay.
O'Ree, 81, made history by breaking the NHL's color barrier as a member of the Boston Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958.
In a fit of rage as the Stars trailed the Sabres 3-1 in the second period Monday, Benn took out his frustration on his misfiring weapons, snapping one stick over his knee on the ice before heading to the bench for more catharsis, and Bo Jackson-ing a couple more.
It's a been a tough season for Benn, the leading point producer in the previous two seasons combined. He's scored one goal in his last 10 games for a Stars team on the outside of the postseason bracket after earning the No. 1 seed in the West last year.
It's Maroon's second season in Alberta since arriving on a quiet deal from the Anaheim Ducks at last year's trade deadline. At the time, eyes were focused elsewhere. Mikkel Boedker was dealt to Denver, Lee Stempniak was off to his ninth team in Boston, and the Dallas Stars sent three pieces to Calgary for hard-nosed blue-liner Kris Russell.
In Edmonton, there was once again disappointment, as the Oilers extended their playoff drought to 10 seasons, matching an NHL all-time record of postseason futility. In the midst of it all, the Oilers shipped AHL defenseman Martin Gernat and a fourth-round pick to the Ducks to bring Maroon to Edmonton.
The deal barely garnered a headline, as Maroon seemed like a project for the Oilers. He had a lowly 13 points on the season, after averaging 32 points over the previous two campaigns.
Season
Team
GP
G-A-Pts
Pts/GP
G/GP
12-13
ANA
13
2-1-3
0.23
0.15
13-14
ANA
62
11-18-29
0.47
0.18
14-15
ANA
71
9-25-34
0.48
0.13
*15-16
ANA
56
4-9-13
0.23
0.07
*15-16
EDM
16
8-6-14
0.88
0.50
16-17
EDM
45
18-7-25
0.56
0.40
That all changed once he arrived in Edmonton, where he played out the remaining 16 games of 2015-16, and where this year he has lined up alongside alongside phenom Connor McDavid.
Fans of the Philadelphia Flyers will recall when fellow left-winger John LeClair came to town following a deal with the Montreal Canadiens. In Philadelphia, LeClair teamed up with dominant center Eric Lindros and Swedish winger Mikael Renberg to form hockey's Legion of Doom line.
The trio made instant magic. During the 1995-96 season, Renberg, Lindros, and LeClair combined for 257 points - a preview of what was to come when the Flyers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final a year later.
Season
Team
GP
G-A-Pts
Pts/GP
92-93
MTL
72
19-25-44
0.61
93-94
MTL
74
19-24-43
0.58
*94-95
MTL
9
1-4-5
0.55
*94-95
PHI
37
25-24-49
1.32
95-96
PHI
82
51-46-97
1.18
96-97
PHI
82
50-47-97
1.18
*LeClair was traded to the Flyers midway through the 1994-95 season.
LeClair virtually doubled his production following his trade to Philadelphia. Through his final 155 games in Montreal, he recorded 92 points, or 0.59 points per game. That number grew to 1.21 in his first 201 games with his new club.
Maroon has seen a similar uptick. After posting 0.39 points per game through his time in Anaheim, that number has climbed to 0.64 through his early goings with the Oilers.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been showered with praise in recent weeks, particularly since defeating New York and Ottawa in consecutive nights over the weekend.
So, in an effort to manage expectations and alleviate pressure from his rookie-laden team, head coach Mike Babcock worked to pacify the excitement swelling around his club when he met with media Monday afternoon.
Babcock added that plenty can change from one half season to the next, saying, "Let's not get carried away here."
Alas, it might be too late.
The thinking has shifted from progress to postseason-or-bust for many people who follow the Maple Leafs closely. The numbers that support them as a viable top-three team in the Atlantic Division are too strong to ignore.
This is a club on an 8-1-1 stretch, and which now has the 12th-best points percentage in the NHL and rising. Toronto has outscored the competition 40-26 over that span.
And, the Leafs have displayed positive signs over course of the season: Just one of their 20 wins has come in the shootout. They're one of seven teams averaging more than three goals each night. Six teams have a better goal differential in the East. Two teams average more shots in the NHL. They're a top-10 score-adjusted possession team. And only the Capitals and Blue Jackets have held the lead for longer.
These are positive signs worth talking about for the Maple Leafs.
