cross16

I'm not sure why this blocking theory keeps coming up. Flames are not always perfect but I think once thing they've shown with this management team is that if a young player earns the spot they will demote a veteran to do it. I also don't see who is being blocked? Ruzicka is a center not a winger and that spot is open. Lewis plays both C and RW but he can also be easily sent down as he is below the minimum. I'm sure no one likes Ritchie on the team but he was required to be signed for the expansion draft. His salary is also below the minimum so he can be easily demoted. Bringing in Coleman doesn't block anyway as there is no one even close in the system who can play as well as Coleman can. Duhler has never played pro, so not sure why he would be looked at as an option. I can maybe get behind Matthew Phillips but I also see this from the Flames perspective. Philips is skilled and i'd love to give him a shot but the hesitation around size is fair. He'd be the type of asset that should be shopped IMO (but I also could see him not being worth much). He isn't a bottom 6 option.

I'm generally optimistic in general but I see plenty to like going to into next season. I think Markstrom rebounds and plays like a number 1. They will be one of the top defensive teams in the league. This includes a strong PK. I think they will know what type of team they are going to be right from the get go. They never really found it under Ward last year. Scoring is a concern for sure but I can also see where they can get better. They've got more flexability in their lineup now so there is no reason to have the likes of Brett Ritchie on their top line. They can run a solid top 6 and a solid bottom 6 which wasn't the case last year. I think this should help some of their better players, namely Gaudreau, have better seasons. It really comes down to the PP for me. At 5 on 5, the Flames were good in a number of areas in terms of offence but their PP killed them. Getting that back on track is where the scoring increase would come from. Perhaps brining in Muller helps there.

he's not eligible for the CHL as he was never drafted, as you suggest. USHL would be an option I believe.

Chechelev doesn't necessarily have to play pro and I think it's likely that both the AHL and ECHL teams would carry 3 goalies. While I understand the development argument and agree with it, should be pointed out that the schedule in those leagues are a nightmare. 3 games in 3 days is commons, 5 games in 6/7 games is common so carrying extra goalies is really not an issue.

From his agent. Be interesting to see where he winds up

I just thought the post was funny but mostly because I'm not a fan of Will Nault so I thought it was a funny response. He's honestly made the fan shows almost unlistenable for me because he's just trying to be the contrarians in the discussion bur rarely does he actually have much to back up his opinion. I wasn't sure where Nault stood on Dube so I didn't in anyway way try to bring Kehatch into it. I respect his opinion too.

The GM and hockey ops people probably were but the owner wasn't. They've paid Aho close to $30million already and I've read multiple reports that part of the reason the Canes had such a hard line with re signing players was they had to tighten up their cash following the offer sheet and the bonuses they've had to pay out. Doesn't impact their cap, and Aho has a great cap hit, but it's impacted their operating expenses. I think Dundon is behind this offer sheet 100% and it's a big finger right back at the Habs.

Only if they want to maximize the benefits of LTIR. You can use LTIR to make you cap compliant on Day 1. While the Canucks could do this, it is cap circumvention so if they were caught they would likely be penalties involved.

I don't think this is the case. All of the recent signings were normal cost of business signings to retain their own guys that would have happened with or without Eichel. The Flames were always in a position where if they wanted to pursue Eichel, or really anyone at that dollar figure, they needed to send money out. IMO, nothing has really changed. I have no idea if the Flames are still active with Eichel, a few reports suggest yes, but I don't think we can read anything into that based on their most recent business.

This was a great post. Well done

That is based on his ice time

While it's not quite Mang levels there is lots to look at in terms of expecting a bump in Dube's game. How he gets utilized will be key. I don't really see it turning into a bad deal though. Good investment.

Probably would have had we had the cap space. Looks like the plan is to use the cap space to add some term to the deals being done.

Dillon Dube now done. Get's a 3 year deal with an AAV of 2.3mill. Surprised at the term (thought they'd want a 1 year deal) but I like the commitment. I think that deal is going to be excellent value in years 2 and 3 Puts Flames at 3 mill of cap space for a 22 person roster with Connor Mackey the last remining RFA to sign.

On the topic of Sutter impact, interesting chart here. Looking at expected goals rate for the coaches. Big change for the Flames moving from Ward to Sutter which matches the eye test for me.

It is a bit confusing but there are 2 different rules. The September 15th cutoff is for general AHL eligibility. You need to be 18 years old by September 15th to play in the AHL. CHL players are different due ot the transfer agreement between the AHL and NHL so that's why it's a calendar year for CHL players. Have to be 20 or turning 20 by the end of the year to be eligible. Zary is eligible for the AHL and I would strongly suspect that's where he'll be. He could go back to the WHL as an overeager but I will be surprised if that happens.

Becoming the norm yes. Without an arbitrations rights there really isn't a push to get the deal done so both sides can slow play it. There seems to be a lot more pressure on the players/agents to make that 2nd contract count and in response teams are patient trying to get the value as low as they can get it. Don't think it's only the GMs at fault here.

Flames have about 3-4 million left to spend depending on how they want to run their roster. I'm guessing around 1 million for Dube, max 1.25 but once he signed a forward will get demoted which is only a net positive cap hit of 500k. Add Vladar at 750k and it's a net cap hit of 1.25 which brings it to 4 million for a 22 person roster. Still have room to run a full 23 which would only add about 750-800K. That's quite a bit of cap space to be sitting on, especially for a team that generally likes to spend to the cap.

Two reasons: 1- Poor and unfair fan expectations from the draft. He was labelled as the future number one center before he even played his first game and likely by many who had never even seen him play. So even though he turned out to be tremendous value for where he was taken and a great player people still remember those silly expectations. I agree with you on his limitations, he doesn't have the best shot, but those limitations were always there and are very typical of prospects where he was ranked. 2- An incomplete understanding of how players can impact a game. People look at this raw point totals and say he isn't a top 6 center. First off, that criteria is pretty bogus and arbitrary anyway, and 2nd it's incomplete. If you look at Backlund's 5 on 5 production he has consistently been in and around the top 50 for center the last several seasons, so how is that not very good for a 2nd line center? Because we've picked some arbitrary 60 point cut off, which also happens to ignore the fact that his PP production isn't much because the Flames prefer to stack their first PP unti and also use Backs as a top PK. Why punish him for decisions that are not his own?

no to mention the only reason he doesn’t have point totals consistently in the 50-60 range is because he’s not one of their main PP guys, and is one of their best penalty killers. Don’t understand why you would knock a player for circumstances he didn’t create. his 5on5 numbers are constantly in the top 50 for centers for the majority of his career. It’s not even just crazy to suggest his offense output was stunted it’s just flat out wrong.

i don’t disagree it hasn’t worked, that’s pretty clear, but for me it isn’t because of what you listed above. That’s very typical GM work you listed in terms of filling positions. To me it didn’t work out because they went in on Monahan as a number one center, and Gaudreau as a franchise player. Not having a number 1 goalie or someone capable of even playing that role for even a stretch hasn’t helped either. Again I do agree there is a change but if the Flames weren’t going to rebuild there had to be one. You can’t create a Tampa like identity without high end skill and the flames don’t have the high end skill to do it. How they are constructing the roster now is the only way they have a shot without a rebuild.

I don’t think most fans will every truly understand Backlund. He’s going to go down as one of the most misunderstood Flames of all time.

I don’t see how his actions haven’t shown that but guess we’ll have to agree to disagree. But other than Zadarov have things changed that much this off-season? For me Zadarov is the only one that stands out to me as a player I don’t think Treliving would have been interested in unless Sutter was here. Pitlick and Coleman both fit the mold of the style of player they’ve liked for a while. There’s been a bit of a pivot, which I have no problem with, but I just don’t think it’s drastic.

Zadorov is done. 1 year at 3.75 mill. I personally like that a lot as I think he is overpaid at that number so I'm really glad the Flames didn't go term. It does walk him to UFA but if he were a UFA right now I don't think his number would start with a 3. Good risk to take and good to keep some flexibility.

I think this is a common misconception with Sutter. He has no problem with skill players, shorter players or players that are on the "softer" side so long as they execute their responsibilities at both ends of the ice and work hard. Remember Sutter acquired, and coached, the likes of Steve Reinprecht, Huselius, Tanguay, Vincent Damphouse, Patrick Marleau etc etc etc. I've said this before but I actually think Gaudreau could reach another level under Sutter so long as he buys in, which I think he was doing by the end of the season.