420since1974

Thank you to Peeps for helping me get back on the board. I'm on a PC using Chrome and this link works great: https://community.fans.flames.nhl.com/

I have never met a NHL player. But, at ages 10 & 11, I played basketball, baseball, and hockey with someone who would become one. At that time, Doug Wickenheiser was simply the best player on the team at any sport that he played in. Despite coming from a well to do family (his dad was a doctor), he was always a hard working and humble kid.

I don't completely disagree with you, but Markstrom's NMC makes it highly unlikely. IMO, Wolf won't see any NHL time this season barring an injury to Markstrom or Vladar. During the upcoming summer, if a team was to make an attractive offer on Vladar, BT might just bite at it, and Wolf would be next season's backup.

I agree. I've liked Ruzicka since he was drafted in the 4th round and I think he'd improve his overall game playing with veterans Backlund and Coleman. He is listed as a Left Shot C/RW, but like so many European players he has no issues playing on his "off wing". Right now, he has to gain more of Sutter's trust or have Lewis sustain an injury.

Vladar became Vadorov at 3 in the morning after a few wobbly pops 🤣

I’m going to just throw out some personal predictions about the players that I expect to see on the team this season. Please feel free to make your own predictions on anything team related that you wish. FORWARDS (C/LW/RW) Lindholm – Point a game again. Huberdeau – Replaces Gaudreau with more size and a little more aggression in the O zone. 100 points. Toffoli – Has a renaissance. 30-25-55. Kadri – He’ll play hard nosed hockey 25-45-70. Mangiapane – Small improvement 30-30-60. Dube – Another step 20-20-40. Backlund – He will thrive at 3C. 20-30-50. Pelltier – He’ll force himself onto the team during training camp and will benefit from the “Backlund bump”. 15-15-30. Coleman – He’ll rebound to his career average of 20-20-40. Ruzicka – He will also force himself onto the team during camp playing C & RW. Lucic – Still a nuclear deterrent, he’ll be around for one more season. Lewis – Expect much the same as next year. Rooney – Press box fill-in for any of the above 4th liners. DEFENCE (RD/LD) Anderson – I expect small improvements in all areas (maturation). Hanifin – Same offence, slightly better defence (maturation). Weegar – He’ll fit in quick and make Zadorov look great. Zadorov – Career year due to his new partner. Tanev – Comes back quickly from injury and plays well again, but fewer minutes. Kylington – Continues to improve in all areas alongside Tanev. Valamaki – sticks as the 7th D. GOALIES Markstrom – comes out of the gate strong again but gets a major injury before Christmas. Vadorov – becomes a solid backup. Wolf – pulls off a Mike Vernon circa 1985/1986 (Flames make it to the Stanley Cup Final) 😉.

Working with what we have: Hanifin (LD) - Andersson (RD) (It works, don't change it). Zadorov (RD/LD) - Weeger (RD/LD) (Weeger moves the puck forward very well, so maybe fewer "Adventures" for Zadorov). Klyington (LD/RD) - Tanev (RD) (Tanev is susceptible to injuries, so maybe fewer minutes keeps him healthier for the play-offs). Mackey (LD) - Meloche (RD) Valimaki (LD) - DeSimone (RD) Gilbert (LD) Poolman (LD) All 12 are eligible for waivers. I think that the Flames will keep 8D on the roster, Sutter's MO is that it is necessary for a long run. I'd bet that at least one of the remaining four would not clear waivers. So, I feel that one of Valimaki or MacKey will get traded before training camp.

The bottom line is that the trade saved the Flames owners $10M. I don't think that there were any other considerations.

Huberdeau is a stud that will replace Gaudreau fairly easily. My prediction for next season's lineup: Huberdeau (LW) - Lindholm (C/RW) - Toffoli (RW/LW) - This should bump Toffoli's stats in case they want to trade him at the TDL. Mangiapane (LW/RW) - Backlund (C) - Coleman (LW/RW) Dube (LW/C/RW) - Monahan (C) - Rooney (LW/C/RW) Lucic (LW) - Ruzicka (C/RW) - Lewis (RW) (both Lucic and Lewis can take face-offs on occasion) Phillips (C/RW) - has to clear waivers, so I think that he will be the 13th forward. Obviously, I am assuming that Monahan recovers near fully from his last hip injury and can play to at least 3C level. I'm not including Duehr (RW) on the roster as he is still waiver exempt. Hanafin (LD) - Andersson (RD) Zadorov (LD/RD) - Weeger (RD) Kylington (LD/RD) - Tanev (RD) (This gives Tanev less minutes so less chance of injury). Valamaki (LD) or MacKey (LD) - Meloche (RD) Valimaki and MacKey both need to clear waivers, so I expect that one of them will be traded for a draft pick. Markstrom Vladar

I wish.

I totally agree that Treliving has some work to do to free up Cap Space. He'll have to get very creative. I have strong doubts that any team will trade for Monahan before next season begins; if the Flames want him off the roster, a buy out may be the only option. I feel that Lucic could be fairly easily traded AFTER the Flames pay his signing bonus, if it's to one of his 10 chosen destinations. Toffoli appears to be a favourite of Sutter, I think that he'll be staying. If Monahan is on the opening day roster, what would you think of a 3rd line of Pelletier - Monahan - Toffoli? I think that Pelletier appears to have some pretty good play-making skills and playing with those two vets could accelerate his development.

As I read that article, the rumour/suggestion is Carlo OR DeBrusk, not both. I think that I'd offer Dube and Phillips. Personally, I wouldn't trade Hanifin for Dach. Hanifin is a proven solid 2nd pairing D, Kirby Dach is mostly just potential. I agree that Dach still has a chance to develop into a 2nd line centre, but he could just as easily top out as a Jankowski.

I have been impressed by Zadorov's mobility and speed for a big guy. He competes well and is a definite nuclear option to keep other teams honest. His miscues/adventures don't happen all that much more often than Kylington's and they would probably happen a little less playing with Tanev. Kylington was paid the league minimum last season, and even if he goes to arbitration, I don't feel he will receive much more than double or triple his last contract ($1.5M to $2.25M). I would like to re-sign Zadorov; but just don't see a way to afford him, even if he doesn't get much of a raise in his next contract. The only way that I see it as a possibility is if one of Gaudreau or Tkachuk aren't part of the Flames next season.

I feel that Phillips will play in the NHL in the not too distant future. I just don't think that it will be in Calgary. The Flames organisation already have Gaudreau and Pelletier as under-sized forwards. Phillips is a RFA with Arbitration Rights who is coming off a good AHL season (68 points in 65 games). He should be re-signed and could be a decent piece in a future trade as an add-on .

The Flames will need more Cap Space to sign both Gaudreau and Tkachuk. 1. Mangiapane is a RFA with Arbitration Rights. He will likely double his previous $2.425M salary. I'd suggest signing and immediately trading him. Move Dube up into his spot and replace Dube on the 3rd line with Pelletier. That would save $1.56M. 2. I think that Zadorov will not be re-signed, $3.75M is just too rich for 3rd pairing muscle. Valimaki or Mackey will just have to step up their games. That would save at least $2.2M. 3. Try to replace Lucic by trading (picks or prospects) for Ryan Reaves ($1.75M) or signing UFA Nicolas Deslauriers (1M). At least $3.5M in savings. Total saved = $7.26M That would be a total of 34.19M to sign Gaudreau and Tkachuk, plus fill out the other 8 roster spots.

Trade Clause Issues These 4 players all have NTCs which list only 10 teams that they can be traded to. Backlund (2 x $5.35M) - I strongly feel that his skill set and experience cannot be replaced at a lower cost. Coleman (5 x $4.9M) - Trading him after only one year would certainly dissuade UFAs from signing with Calgary in the future. Lucic (1 x $5.25M) - A team may take him off the Flames hands AFTER he's been paid his $3M signing bonus. They would only have to pay him $1M. Whether that particular team is on Lucic's list is another question. Monahan (1 x $6.375M) - Even if he has a full recovery, that can’t really be proven until he hits the ice against NHL competition, so I highly doubt that a trade could be made prior to the season’s start.

Treliving has stated that Monahan's rehab is 5 - 6 weeks ahead of the previous surgery on his other hip.

STAY DOWN OR I'LL REALLY HURT YOU!

Calgary's D will probably frustrate the Oilers forwards. Gudbranson, Stone, and Zadorov are quite good at pinning players to the boards to slow the play down.

IMO, running NHL, AHL, WHL, and NLL teams all out of the same arena could be problematic for scheduling. So, unless a new 5,000 to 10,000 capacity arena is quickly built in or around Calgary; Red Deer and Lethbridge are probably the two best options for the Flame's AHL team to relocate to. The Peavey Mart Centrium in Red Deer seats 7,111 for hockey and it was announced Feb. 28th that the airport is getting a $15M expansion. Lethbridge's Enmax Centre seats 5,479 and the airport is a little smaller.

He's a large lad for sure. https://www.hockeyfights.com/players/n34398

My prediction was Flames in 6 games. I believe that Calgary will eventually wear Dallas down. Nothing in the first two games has changed my mind.