cross16

I get why they liked him but I'm not sure that Stromgren pick is going to turn out well for the Flames. They passed on some very talented players, Stankoven at the top of that list, to take him. A project yes but early returns are not promising.

Don't really have a problem with trying different lines. I'm not really a fan of many of them but I do get the idea of trying things out at this point in the year. I do think the Flames need to have conversations around Kylington though. I haven't liked his game for a couple months now but these last few weeks it's really going off the rails. He's playing way too fast, throwing pucks away, can't get shots off, and really chasing the game. There isn't much they can do about it now but if they can get enough cap space by the end of the year I really think they need to consider using Valimaki in that spot.

IMO if the Flames don't get out of the first round it shouldn't negatively reflect on Treliving. He did his job now it's up to the players to perform. What he paid to get there is no longer relevant I don't believe.

Despite the record in the AHL, the Flames have graduated Mang, Dube, Andersson and Kylington from their AHL team. Not to mention Ruzicka looks like a future option and they've also brought up options like Hathaway, Rittich or Gawdin in the past. Not to mention the flow of good coaches. Despite the record the talent pipeline has been steady and good so that is why it wasn't a big deal. The only reason it's better now is all that would indicate is there is potential that talent pipeline could be even better. Can obviously believe whatever you want but iMO it's not a binary argument. AHL winning doesn't equally good, nor does losing in the AHL equal bad it matters more about the pipeline and if you feel that is good then the record should be secondary. What is impressive about the AHL this year is they are not carried by tweeners, they are carried by legit prospects the most important being Wolf.

In a poll of all the players at the CHL Top Prospects game Kuznetsov received 1 vote as the most challenging player to play against. I found that interesting. From what I understand he's had a pretty so/so year in the CHL but he will need to make it as a hard Dman to play against so that's why I find this interesting.

Thought this was interesting. CHL Top prospects game is coming up and all of the players were asked who was the most challenging player to play again. Kerins received a vote. So did Flames prospect Yan Kuznetsov (2nd rounder from 2020 playing in Saint John) which is really interesting given his short duration in the CHL

I don't know what bigger fish was out there to acquire. Eichel sure but the Flames didn't have what the Sabres were looking for and I think that was made pretty clear through the process. What else did he miss on? I also struggle with this idea he didn't go all in. How do you justify that when he went after players to fill all the needs he had. What more did you want him to do? Honestly I think this "all in" idea is just fan speak. Concept doesn't really have meaning to me.

I do like Carpenter but I don't think i'm taking Monahan out of the lineup for him. Monahan isn't playing poorly and I do get the "better fit for a 4th line argument" but I'm not there. Keep Monahan in there, give the line some pop and use him on the PP. work Carpenter in from time to time, see if he fits on the PK and use him more for depth and injuries than rush him in there. How I would do it anyway.

I get now is not the time to decide this but I think Treliving has earned himself an extension. Still not without faults and not without his misses, but I think the way the organization is operating right now is the way you want it to run. Sutter no doubt helps but just even looking at the players they are targeting, the fits within the lineup, and then how they stacked their needs going into the TDL, it's all impressive and the sign of a well functioning organization. Yes I know he has to get Gaudreau signed and this post is going to look really silly if he doesn't, but I full expect he will. As long as this team doesn't fall off a cliff he will have delivered 2 of the best seasons in franchise history and on top of that their AHL team leads the league in win %. Not something that is a rush or has to be done but i'm just saying I think Treliving has earned it.

Pelletier continues to add to his very successful rookie season

Hard to find a place to put this but figured this made the most sense. This is a really interesting and well written article by Salim Varji that goes a little deeper into the Flames evaluation process and how they combine data, scouts etc. I would recommend giving it a read as I thought it was fairly insightful and I think helps demonstrate why (IMO at least) their decision making has gotten better these last couple seasons. https://www.tsn.ca/organizational-alignment-playing-key-role-in-calgary-flames-success-1.1771318

I've posted this before but I don't' think he is getting enough credit for the season he is having. A huge bounce back season from him and seems to be hitting his ceiling. Top pairing d production.

There isn't a need to paper transaction a player to the AHL until after the TDL as it serves no purposes for anyone. I think conundrumed is right that with Kylington unavailable they wanted an extra D for the game and Ruzicka is the only forward they had the option to send down. Everyone else would have required waivers and they wouldn't have got it done prior to the game. I will be surprised if it's more than that. How long he stay will likely give us an indication on the severity of Kylington's injury.

I don't know about that. Tough for me to find an argument why Matthews isn't even a finalist when he is likely the front runner. He'd be my pick if the season ended today. He has been pretty incredible for the Leafs this year.

Pretty underwhelming year all around unfortunately. None of the long shots stepped up and while I don't beleive Coronato had a "bad" year necessarily I do think it was reasonable to want more. But it's another weird year all around with COVID, scheduling, World Juniors being canceled etc. I'm not going to make too many decisions based off this year. I would be very surprised to see Mattson or Koumontzis get contracts. Wouldn't shock me to see them sign Nodler but I think his season season is more likely. Boltman continues to be a read head scratcher of a pick but hey still time to prove everyone wrong. Edit: saw this after I posted. I would be very surprised a player would go back for a 5th year if his club was interested in signing him but you never know

Nothing ground breaking here from Treliving but a few pointed comments about re-signing Gaudreau. I will be shocked if the Flames don't get him signed. Plus a few comments around Toffoli, Sutter and the up coming deadline. https://www.nhl.com/news/calgary-flames-gm-brad-treliving-discusses-johnny-gaudreau-trade-deadline-and-coach-darryl-sutter/c-331718170?tid=277548856

Could be but I think that also gets offset by the fact Mang goal scoring rate is better. League does tend to pay more for goals. I think it provides a ball park. I feel like McCann gave the Kraken a bit of a deal here but I think most comps i've looked at a fair deal for both sides is somewhere in the 5-6 AAV range on a longer term deal.

Good points made by Pike here. The other nice point from a Flames perspective is both are very strong 5 on 5 producers and don't rely on the PP. Also only buys 1 Arb year. Good reference point for what a Mang extension could look like, although I must admit I was a bit surprised by this deal.

Weber could make some sense if the Flames acquire him for next to nothing and think they can put together a team that would be very close to the cap (including Weber) or slightly over the cap (again including Weber). It could open up some cap credits for them, but they would need to factor in Webers contract and it's difficult for me to see that scenario happening here.

I can get behind this for Monahan but not Backlund. I think you will be extremely hard pressed to replace what Backlund does for much cheaper than he gets paid. Trading Backlund makes no sense to me. I'm not sure people realize that the Flames center depth is a bit of a wasteland in this organization right now. If you don't have internal replacement and you don't have cap space I think your making a mistake moving on from 2 of your top 9 centers in one off season.

Looking at LW over the last 2 seasons at 5 on 5 Mang is: 12th in individual expected goals/60 32nd in Individual Corsi chances for/60 11th in scoring chances for/60 7th in individual high danger chances for/60 That's in the entire league. Also have a look at his history at 5 on 5 (photo below). His individual numbers are actual very consistent despite who his linemates have been. Mang does not get enough credit for how much plays he drives at 5 on 5. Almost since his first year in the league the Flames have tilted the ice in their favor whenever he is on the ice. Is he putting the puck in the net more because of better linemates now? of course he is but who wouldn't? The list isn't very long of players who are going to put the puck in the net at a high rate playing with poor linemates. While I do agree with this I don't think Backlund can take credit for what Mang has done. I'm with Peeps a lot of Mang's success is do to his play and not the play of others. He is extremely good at creating opportunities for himself.

Because a one year deal walks him right to UFA I don't see that as a viable option. I think the risk of him walking for nothing or getting more expensive is greater than the flexibility you would maybe gain. perhaps, as his agent indicated, they won't have an option but if Mang and his camp are reluctant to do term I'd be very willing to listen to what offers were on him. Would not like the idea of him walking for nothing. Kylington is fine because you have 2 more years before UFA.

Love to see that he impacts the game almost everywhere. Not a surprise just good to see in his rookie year. Also crazy that he is putting up the points he is and his finishing is actually quite low so there is room to grow.

Thing is with Mang is you could see this coming, at least if you look at different statistics. He's been on of the better 5 on 5 wingers, not just for the Flames but in the league, and I think the production you are seeing now is not as much as a surprise as it should be. Here are his last 3 seasons for Goals/60, Assists/60, First assets/60, 2nd assists/60 Total Points?60 1.04 0.98 0.77 0.21 2.02 1.24 0.91 0.91 0 2.15 1.79 0.56 0.28 0.28 2.35 His PP numbers have jumped quite a bit are not likely sustainable but he only averages 1:46 so now a huge swing on the numbers. Could point to his shooting % for food for thought he shot 15.31% 2 years ago, 19.48% last year and now is shooting 19.79 this year. he's average almost 3 shots more /game which just points to the fit with Sutter's style IMO. I can understand the discussion around moving him at peak value and in certain context it makes sense but at the same time we should be prepared that we will very likely lose that trade and it will leave a large hole. The cap forces decisions like that so it is a worthy discussion to be had I just don't think the could find a player that comes close to impacting the game to the level Mang does. for me, he is worth every penny of an extension as long as the number doesn't run past 6 million which i'm not sure it will.

I already think Monahan is gone this offseason, they need that cap space and he is the most obvious candidate because his pay isn't close to the level of his play. All i'm saying and demonstrating is that buying out Monahan doesn't open up cap space for Gudbranson unless he is willing to stay for 2 or less. If Gudbranson wants 3 or more (never mind the fact that the Flames should RUN if that's what he wants) they can't afford him without making moves in addition to Monahan.