cross16

Ritchie to the Leafs.

Ya IMO Zadorov is not a top 4 dman so I don't have a problem with them looking at the spot. I would just run Valimaki myself but that's not what they are going to do so I understand why they are looking at the blueline. I'm not a huge fan of Murray unless you get an affordable deal. Big injury risk. Flames D is going to be really starved for offence, which I think is a bigger problem than they think. Guess we'll see.

Could be possible as I think he'd likely be a piece the Sabres want but I don't think that's a direct link. I think the issue is more they lost their number 1 dman from last season (based on ice time) and so far have not really come close to replacing him. Based on some analysts and quotes from Treliving I think the Flames see the blueline as needing some help.

For what it's worth, Ryan Pike of Flames nation says he has seen the inside renderings and he was impressed. I agree, the outside doesn't' really matter much.

I'm fine with Lucic on that line, he's very good in his own zone and he and Dube get along well. Have had success. While it would be great to use Lucic on the 4th line I think we need to be honest and say that just isn't going to happen. I'm highly skeptical that Lucic will be traded and don't really buy that rumor.

Agreed. Highlight videos are a big trap, you won't really get an accurate picture. Some people on YouTube will do shift by shift videos which are nice and worth a look. Still don't necessarily get to see his play away from the puck necessarily but at least you can get a wider array of skills and not just the highlights.

Until Parsons can stay healthy I'm not sure it maters too much if he is in the E or the A. I would see him playing in both leagues but it doesn't really matter if he can't get healthy and stay healthy. I feel for him, it's been a tough road. Was never a big Parsons fan and didn't like the pick, but I really want to pull for the kid to at least get a shot. Flames have done some nice work at this spot the last 2 off seasons. Flames have some nice depth at the goalie spot now and a few different options that could potentially turn into something.

Agreed, felt the same way. I've always like Stephens as a player so I would have made that deal. That being said, they could be ready to give Gawdin the job and while I don't love Gawdin I would understand that decision but would still prefer Stephens.

I'd have some interest in Ritchie but it would need to be 2.5mill or less as he's a bottom 6 guy only and honestly not a huge pressing need for this club. The problem more is where do you fit him? Gaudreau - Lindholm - Tkachuk Mang - Monahan - Coleman Lucic - Backlund - Dube ?? - Lewis - Pitlick I like the player, but unless Lucic goes to the 4th line I don't see it being worth pursuing.

Adding some RS depth for the AHL.

Buddy Robinson off to the Ducks

I like that Adam Werner signing. He's has success at multiple levels and is still in an age range where he can improve. Quality depth there. Rest are nothing special.

Also based on the press conference expect one of those depth signings to be a goalie. Treliving made a comment about how they plan to add to their reserve list there "shortly".

While he says he leaves it up to the coach, Treliving has talked about how Coleman fits on the right side and address their depth on the right side. Sure sounds like the plan to have Coleman as a RW, as Tampa did.

a few "depth signings in the que" according to Treliving who is having a press conference right now

Ryan not coming back. Makes the Flames a little thiner down the middle. Been a fairly successful day I would say, but Flames center depth, and impact, still has to be a big concern to management.

No surprise on that one either. With Sutter for his cups in LA and another good defensive player/Pker for the bottom line. Can play center and wing. Not a great FO guy though. Better option than Ritchie in the lineup (most are)

Could be but i'm not as concerned. I think what has to be understood about Coleman, and why he is different than other FA targets the Flames have signed, is how well rounded he is. This is not a player who can only score goals (Brouwer, Neal) and he isn't a player like Lucic, who even in his prime was not fleet of foot. Coleman has speed and is a very good skater, impacts the game in all 3 zones, can play special teams (more pk than PP) and still is a good shooter. I think this is a player that even if his offense starts to dry up in 3-4 years you will still likely like because of how intelligent he is, he can still impact the other parts of the game at a very high level even if he is not scoring. In terms of his scoring he is a very consistent 5 on 5 player. Whether or not he can be a 45+ point guy likely would come down to PP time and utilization but his scoring rates at 5 on 5 and very similar to Backlund and over the last 3 seasons his goal scoring rate at 5on 5 would put him 70th in the league. I get the counter argument that you are betting against father time and father time is mostly undefeated. However, at the AAV they gave him I feel it's a really reasonable bet for the Flames even at the term they gave him because of how solid a player Coleman is.

Yup. Anyone who has had problem with the Flames speed, forechecking ability, being tough to play against, and the lack of good players deeper in the lineups should be really happy right now. Coleman checks all of those boxes. The Flames basically adding a more physical version of Mangiapane to their lineup. It's not a great contract and you can debate whether or not the Flames should be hunting for players like this on July 1 but at the same time this is clearly the plan. The Flames are not going to rebuild, they want to push forward and in order to do that your going to need good players and this is a very good player.

I would say you don't have a very good handle on who Coleman is as a player if you are going to argue that he is not much of a step up from Lucic. This is a significant step up from Lucic

Still think the Flames have work to do and you can very much argue if they are better, but what you can't argue is Sutter' is getting the type of team he wants. All of these players are very good fits for how he wants to play

Feels like there has to be. It's a pretty crowded forward group of similar skill sets. Still weaker down the middle too.

WOW..... I'm surprised

That's actually a solid deal for the Oilers. Gives them a legit forward for their bottom 6. Of course having to trade Bear because they want to play the likes of Keith, Barrie, and Ceci in their top 4 is a VERY questionable decision.

I like McGinn at the right price. 4.9 Bananas per year or over the course of the deal? Big difference there and thanks to inflation fruit ain't cheap...