cross16

Tampa might the the clubhouse leader

I think you are going to see that with Kylington. He'll be a staple in the top 4 once Hanifin is gone Kylington - Andersson ????? - Weegar ???? - Pachal So you've got 2 open spots and Oesterle, Hanley and Gilbert plus guys on the AHL. But also keep in mind Solovyov is hurt, they just acquired Grushnikov and Kuznetsov needs to play. There is still a spot for them when ready but I think the depth was really needed. Also as Jtech pointed out he is under contract next year where Gilbert and Oesterle are not. This gives them flexibility without having to rush young dmen.

I don't think they need to pick up the phone. I'm not sure this rant comes as a surprise to them. I think Holtz's name has been out there for a while. Why i'm pretty confident in thinking he was the offer for Markstrom.

Start of the season yes. but GM contracts tend to be longer and pricier so firing a coach less than a year is much less expensive then a GM 2 months after being re upped. Also far less detrimental to fire a coach then a GM

Signed an extension 2 months ago and got a promotion. He isn't going anywhere.

He just signed his extension so I can't imagine he's on the hot seat but boy is Fitz looking bad in this. - Ruff was always a pretty questionable hire - The Meier trade/signing is looking rough - Toffoli/Sharky trade isn't looking good - Failing to address a major need and then publicly call out players and point to holes in their game. Holes that goaltending would really, really help with - Fire said coach in large part due to weak goaltending He just sounds all over the place these days. Kind of like he can't believe he's here and is reaching at straws trying to get out. Sounds like a guy under a lot of pressure. Just give the Flames Mercer for Markstrom and you'll feel better.

I think it's fair to say he isn't a "start the car" type return. That be Mercer but for the same reasons NJ is resisting given him up. He's got his warts and I for sure see why people are wary of him. I think my take is less about him and more about the value. Do we really think Markstrom is going to return a piece that is better than Holtz, a former top 10 pick? I don't think he does so i'd bank on the upside personally.

No surprise. I think he is going to get a couple games. not based on this hit but based on his overall approach. He's gotten too reckless out there

That's not how you do it if that's your intent. You don't single out a player like that if you are trying to build his value.

Going to add fuel to the fire that it's the Florida teams after him

Huge opportunity for Kylington. Are you a top 4 dman or did you look that way with Tanev? I'm excited for him.

Strickland is pretty credible. I think he's going to go to a Florida team and which one is still uncertain

Brutal hit. He'll get a call from the DOPS on that one.

Not a good look for the org. I didn’t like the hire but this is a pretty clear scapegoat move IMO and it looks bad coming off rumors you want pay the asking price for your top target at a major position if need. I wouldn’t give up Mercer for Markstrom either but it does look bad all around for Devils.

Devils with even league average goaltending right now are likely comfortably in the playoffs. Vezina calibre?? who knows. Wonder how much pressure is on Fitz right now. That ownership group can't be happy hearing the rumors of being that close to acquiring a goalie like Markstrom as their season craters. Will he feel it enough to pull the trigger is now the question

I agree, but i'll just add or get compensated for it. Retention or taking on a cap dump comes with a price and if you are not going to build that benefit into the offer than I woudln't be interested in it. A 1st and Ceci, there is no benefit to me there. That's Edmonton saying ya Ill give you a first but I need you to take Ceci in order to do it so where it he upside? I think that ultimately agreeing to that cost is what prevents a lot of these trades

So if you want to believe the Edm rumors then I think this would have been your choice. Oilers 1st round and Cody Ceci Vs Stars 2nd and Grushnikov. I don't think is debatable as to what package is better there, IMO the Stars is clearly better. I would have taken that 10/10. I think it's less about not wanting to take on the salary dump and more you had a better offer on the table. I'm not a big fan of ownership here mostly because of their expectations and I think some arrogance that prevents them from making moves that I think are necessary to win a cup. However, even if I acknowledge my dislike I have to admit than they have been good about providing the financial resources when asked or required to in order to improve the club. Don't think the narrative is totally fair that they hold this club back, the situation could be far worse.

It is and I think the owners have put a stop to things if they deem it to be too expensive, that part I can understand. But at the same time they've also said yes far, far more often. They have ok'd buyouts, they've ok'd coach firings and they ok'd talking on salary in trades, if it's wroth it. That's the big question, is the money they are going to spend worth it to the club. If this was a case of "we don't want to pay that money" then I think it's highly unlikely Conroy would have even gone down the path because he would know the answer. He would only go down that path if he felt it was something he could sell as a benefit to the club. Again for me, I like to keep it simple and I think the simple answer is right there. The value to the club wasnt' wroth the retention being asked. Anything else is just adding complication and when I consider the source, there is a history there of adding things to make them more news worthy or build his name.

I'm not sure this is a more vocal person here against the owners than me and i'm calling BS to this. It makes no sense that they would nix it over salary retention and then turn around and retain on Tanev. Yes I know it's a matter of months vs 2 more years but it also makes no sense that you would let your GM have that conversation and then stop it. Do we really think Conroy went rogue here? Feels like a lot of lines being drawn here to try and get a story. The far more likely here is that they just coudln't agree on what it cost to retain. I think the Flames put a high price on it and the Devils didn't want to meet it. I'll trust Lebrun and Friedman on this one, both of whom have been saying the same thing. FS wants to be the story so he'll drawn things together more than those 2.

That would point to Ceci IMO. I've heard he's out there. I agree that the Dallas trade is better than Ceci and a 1st.

I think Hunt as been very solid since they've recalled him. He's outplayed Kuzmenko. Really wish the Flames would just keep Coronato down in the A.

No one, but I don't think this makes the point you think it makes. I look at that and say let's learn from our mistakes. I think the Flames could have turned Iginla into a core player. Never been confirmed but there were a ton of rumors that LA was prepared to give the Flames Brayden Schenn. They said no, because you know we have to be competitive, and only dealt Iginla when he basically told them to. Here we have the same situation with Markstrom, and to a lesser degree Hanifin/Tanev. A chance to get a better return but many here, and potentially the Flames, don't want to move him because again we have to stay "competitive". But what is competitive? Great we kept Iginla and we didn't tank but they also never made the playoffs so what do we have to show for our competitiveness? Is a first round playoff birth worth the talent we are giving up on? This franchise needs to learn from it's previous mistakes and so far, doesn't look like they are

going to be there in 2 years anyway. The idea of needing to keep Markstrom because of the difficult of finding another number 1 would make sense if Markstrom was in his prime. At age 34, the Flames are already in the process of needing to think of where there next number 1 is coming from, so why wait any longer?

trade offers and contract offers are two different things. im talking about trade offers

It amazes me that Eklund is still in business. Guy is literally never right and people pay for his stuff blows my mind