phoenix66

Absolutely 💯. There is always luck involved.. too much for it to be a blueprint. Im all In for a retool. Move out those who don't wanna be here.. keep those that do who contribute.. bring in youth.. let them push the vets and learn from them at the same time .. keep internal competition. Your job is never safe ..losing is never acceptable , it's going to happen but there is never an excuse Hartley had the right idea but he veered away from it, "always earned never given" It's clear from the trades he's made .. a player for now..a player who's close ..and some picks to backfill the depth Every player who has been traded has either asked for it (zadorov and Toffoli) or had the chance and offer to resign right up to the last minute . We're already seeing the sprouts of it in a way.. everytime someone leaves..it bonds the ones they leave behind even more .. who knew Kadri was a leader ? Good player yes..but a leader? If you move a guy ..markstrom..Anderson.. anyone who wants to be here and is contributing.. that hurts that mindset you are working to create

And this is basically where I am .. if he asks out , fine... If we get a can't refuse type Offer, then ok.. go to him.. but only when it's in the drawer..nobody is untouchable.. but he has a NMC for a reason..at least we aren't actively shopping him.. But in the end .could be worse ...we could be NJ playing 5x5 with the goalie pulled ..Ottawa where fans are asking to trade Steutzle and Tkachuk..Pittsburgh is about to become the worst team in the league for a good spell . If Sid wants they should ship him to Colorado

And that's another part of it... Everyone is so sure Wolf is the next one . Hope he is , maybe he is .. but make him win the job.. Gibson was supposed to be all that too.. Look at Toronto..imagine if they had a goalie ..

Not really.. the bidding will still happen but he's pushing him to where he has a higher probability of getting the 8th year

I don't think goaltending will save the Devils anyway 😂

I've said this many times before ..never quit..it's a mindset .. the players understand, the ones that left . Had to leave .. they left Conroy with no choice ..if anything they probabaly have a chip on their shoulders against those players .. they know they had a choice to stay, and chose to leave .. Playing to win and refusing to lose are 2 different things Quitting before the race is over is not a habit you want to instill in your team if you want a winning team .. And for what ? A higher lottery ticket in a d draft thats being projected after the top 10 or so a first is as good as a second? And no I'm not saying hes kipper .. I'm saying players like him and kardri etc right now are teaching these kids what it takes when they do get to that level

Except .. Flames are not going to throw in the towel..until the race is over..people can hope but need to accept that ain't happening (again.. an offer we can't refuse aside ) Last night was a big lesson on how times have changed. We honerrd a guy who gave us 9 seasons of excellence . By the last couple seasons, we were hot garbage .nobody was clamoring to push him out of town.. upset that he kept us out of the cellar... We would have understood if he has asked out .. but he never did .. In fact he vetoed a trade that would have given him a chance at a cup that year .. people were actually upset that the trade would have even been made , while at the same time understanding it was a good thing for him..it was more important to him to never wear a different jersey.. Here we have a guy that . Ok BIG longshot .. is attempting to do the same thing ..and fans are upset .. want him gone .. Anybody else notice the big shot Noodles took at those fans last night ? It was subtle but it was there .. saying how lucky some fans were to see us go from Vernon.. to Kipper ..and "now that guy right over there ..Jacob Markstrom"

Actually. Forget who exactly.. the coach at the time I think.. made the comment" I went to bed the night before , thinking we were sending Dougie to St Louis" .. so there definitely was offers.. Also.. NJ is in the same spot we are now.. very minimal shot at playoffs ..they've dropped too far .. plus I'm seeing reports they're shopping Toffoli now .. Vancouver very interested.. so they're all but accepting this season is done.. more reason to wait for summer..get more than one team bidding and up the price If your concern is about him ruining our draft picks.. just think we have one game (I think they'd be silly to play him Thursday against Tampa) of Hanfin left... And that starts an evil gauntlet of a road trip that should all but finish us off

Never say never ..but I think it would be really hard for Calgary to return to the Markstrom talks before summer ..after all the back and forth and bad looks...but hey if the offer is too good to torn down gotta do what they have to It's like the National Enquirer.. everybody knows it's gossip trash but it makes for good reading lol

I'd be Interested in the 2026 first from both Florida teams ...window is closing .. cupboards are bare ..they could be lottery teams ... But only if we get the picks unprotected (not likely.. but that's the only way we should accept them IMO )

Ok that convo can end now ..lol

I think Vladar is gone either way.. either to make way for Wolf or whoever .. but right now you got very little behind Wolf Markstrom has 2 years left ..as does Knight..Wolf isn't going anywhere unless he plays himself out of contention..

I think this can be attributed to Rookie GM.. I don't think for one second the leak came from Calgary ..but he didn't get ahead of it.. A seasoned gm doesn't even ask the player until a deal is ready to be signed .. no ask , no leak ..all you have is " the devil's have inquired about Markstrom" .. much like Anderson and we saw how fast that died.. Or.. when you speak with the NJ gm , you advise them any leaks and talks are off .. that way you have 2 orgs putting the pressure on agents to keep their mouth shut.. Heard Doug Armstrong in a radio hit the other day..said when he was a rookie he talked deal with Pierre Lacroix ..who said to him " first rule is any leaks and all talks are off and I will never ever do a deal with you in the future either "

I don't think it would make the Markstrom move imminent . It could signal the end of Vladar possibly.. the goal is to always get better . Adding some competition for Wolf isn't the worst thing .. "too much depth" means you can move pieces for assets . How many times have we been burned by " the next one " in our goalie system .. currently I consider Wolf untouchable so worst case Knight is highly moveable ..

Assuming knight is a return (he's not my top choice ).. he's already in the A . We can just leave thim there ..that gives us all summer to make moves and decisions.. I don't like it ..but after all the garbage I think markstrom is now much more likely to be moved in the summer .. that sets up a possible Knight/Wolf tandem next year which id be ok with if it came to that

This is why I like Friedman..makes way more sense . Players ask for NMC first , to obviously have control over where you play.. second , to avoid the garbage of rumors at the deadline.. He got thrust into the fire .. which he never wanted .. gor led to believe it might actually happen..only to then be pulled back out This is why Big Lou has a no leak policy.. if it hits media ..deals are dead ..

It will be interesting to see . My gut says at this point now it's going to be underwhelming.. people will whine ...but all we can be certain of is he took the best deal . I had some respect for hanifin at the start of the season, thought he was playing it up front .. now he's essentially being selfish and hurting the team on the way out .. god riddance..addition by subtraction

Thanks .. read that wrong

Oh 💯.. believable word out there is it's his agent telling interested teams he will only be a rental .. it's slimy ..yes .. but GM's do it too in UFA .. no way to police it .. Call an agent. Chat about the weather ..just slip in " hey if is was looking for a RSD this summer .. what the market like on players like that "

Yep.. if his head is right I'd love to have a tandem of knight and wolf .. if I'm not mistaken, it was the same draft they came from ..knight was the stud and wolf as too small.. the bury penalty speak of is anything over a million ..anything above stays on your cap. Makes $3.35 so I think that means $2.25 stays on your cap If Connie is smart..and I don't doubt he is ..he's playing the fact that Florida wants that 8th year as leverage

They're definitely not handcuffed on actually moving him.. it's that the word is teams not on his preferred list are now offering garbage essentially cuz they know he's only a rental.. at the end of the day when noon Friday rolls around the best offer wins .. the difficulty is maximizing the return It's like a game of chicken.. in my opinion Connie wins if he ships him to a bottom feeder and costs him and his agent the 8th year. Ship him to Arizona for valimaki and a pick If you have to

Don't know the full details but it was connected to mental health issues last year ..they started him there to get him back to form .. I could see him as a possibility..just not sure what his progress is or if we'd have the option of putting him in the A again..he's likely waiver exempt last year

Absolutely agree.. I'm just agreeing that it should start with a player like Lundell.. their best prospect is considered a 3rd/4th liner at best.. starting with a Lundell would make me ok with a 3rd this year and 2nd next year .or even their 2026 1st ..unprotected

You are correct ..but it comes down to what it's worth to have him now and the ability to give him an 8th year ...and just waiting and getting for free (return wise) in a few months .. that's the only leverage the Flames have with Florida

So true ..I've said for a long time they should reinstate compensatory picks for UFA, much like the NFL still has. Lose a player for nothing you get a pick based on the contract they signed . That would alleviate a lot of issues.