FlameFan4Life

If we are truely all in this year I can see BT moving or buying out Mony and spending that cash on Bergeron short term. Also Montreal is reportedly looking to move on from Anderson. So moving some dmen out and possibly Lucic or Backlund could make the cap work for us. Hube/Berg/Anderson Mang/Lindy/Tofolli Pelltier/Rooney/Coleman Dueher/Rudzica/Lewis Hannafin/Andersen Zadoroz/Weegar Mackey/Tanev

a BUNCH OF WINERS. It is day one and you are acting like we just found out we didn't qualify for the players already. We got cap room and assets they may be in play. Tre is not done. Maybe act positive instead of willing the bad to happen.

It to me is competition for the young guys. Shows that the fourth line is not free.

So Calgary just signed Trevor Lewis 1 year - $800k

This will sound dumb but I think it won't help them win to many more game but may keep them from losing to badly.

It does seem like something is coming with all the depth on the left side. I hope whatever happens brings us a true top 6 right shot right winger

I wonder since CHI is over the cap would they trade Nylander? He is a right shot right winger. Could be a good fit.

Personally I could think of dozens of better trades. I just think the reason this was in some article may have to do with the doubt people have towards Johnny staying here and trying to get something before using him as a deadline asset. I think Johnny is more likely to want to extend with us than Tkachuk. But does that mean that we then trade Chucky for Tarasenko and maybe Kyrou? Or More if he is extended first. I just do not see this team succeeding in the future without a bigger change. These 2 guys are the only way I see enough of a change happening to actually make a difference. Either way I am certain I will be disappointed in the return, or at the fact that nothing will happen at all.

Sorry I am not sure it must include Couturier extend first.

Ok here is one more I read as a rumor. The Voracek, Atkins trade was a trade to tie into a Gaudreau extensions and trade to Philly. This sounds less likely but a read that : Calgary gets: Couturier, Atkins and a first Philly gets: Johnny, Dube Clb gets: A D man from one of the two teams for the added salary they took in the previous deal.

I am not sure how much truth there is to this but I have read that PIT has decided to move on from Zucker, also they had called Calgary and inquired about Lucic. It most likely would take a sweetener on our end but if this was to get done there would be a better balance on the wings and we could then be able to look at the other Ritchie brother as a physical replacement to Lucic with a little more offense. Feel's like a good fit all around. Also a finish to the trade that never was....

People try to understand that just because you say something does not make it right. Eichel is not being traded for roster players alone. There will be pieces as in high end prospect and first round picks that will easily make this team weaker down the road. Even if we all could say that such a trade makes us better right away there are still a few factors to consider. Will Eichel be healthy and recover from his coming surgery fully? What kind of future will we have after giving a first round pick and multiple high end prospect? If Jack Eichel never recovers fully or loses a step or 2 are we going to be happy with the cost to acquire him while still paying his salary? I love the "idea" of a number one center in his prime do not get me wrong. I just do not like the risk to reward equation. Just me saying this but Can we not find a trade out there that is less risk and more certainty for a lesser price? I understand swinging big but this is scary, it could actually end up Eichel has the surgery and never plays again. We would then have paid a king's ransom for a spot on our LTIR.

I agree that the taxi squad is going to be very instrumental in a teams success this year. While we know and expect the top guns to be playing the more competitive nights which will be most nights in the beginning of the season, the nights where we are playing teams lower in the standings or with injuries we will be able to give playing time and get looks at the taxi squad players. We know that by the looks of things there are 3 main forward pairs in: Tkachuk - Lindholm Johnny - Mony Mange - Backs The obvious line mates for these guys are Leivo, Dube, Bennett, Simon, all of which would be on the right side. The fourth line is most likely going to be Lucic - Ryan, and a rotation of the others. The top 5 dmen is clear in Gio, Andersen, Tanev, Hannifin, and Valamaki. The sixth and seventh spots are up in the air. Nestirov, Kylington, and Stone look to be the front runners to me. Goal is obviously Markstrom, Rittich, then Domingue. Although I love the "idea" that changing things up with the busy schedule allows other to rest, and gives the taxi squad playing time I think it may cause more trouble than it is worth. Changing things up is good if it works out, but if it ends up sacrificing existing chemistry along with leaving top end prospects on a taxi squad which can slow down development. Yes they would get to practice with the big club, but real game minutes are huge in progression. Personally I would like to see Lucic and Ryan spend time on the taxi squad to allow Gawdin, and Nordstrom to get time on the forth line if earned.

I totally disagree on the not being trusted in the d-zone.. You do realize he is a penalty killer right? And I watched every game that he has played as a Flame. He does drive hard to the net and yes that can allow players to get the jump on a return rush. This does not matter. He tries harder than most on this team to get back and plays the roles asked of him any given shift. If he is asked or required to play a certain way I believe he plays that way.

I wanted to add to a few comments. I keep reading peoples opinions on a few players and where they should be slotted next year. On Backlund - he is not good on the wing, also he is seen as a very capable center. He is not to old yet but after next season his cap hit starts to look pretty steep. On Lindholm - yes he is our best right wing option. This doesn't mean that he wouldn't be our best center option if given the chance. On Tkachuk - He is very closely tied to STL, and may be as likely to leave as Johnny to PHI. If we really want him to extend long term start working on that now. Give him top line minutes on his strong side and put an 'A' on his chest. On Bennett - people will hate this but if he is going to make the full time permanent move to center he is best suited to replace the minute that Backlund plays as a shut down center but on the 3rd line. He will get less than what he would if we were to play him higher in the line up and replaces part of what both Ryan and Backlund bring but still allows us the option of Gawdin or Dube on the 4th line. As for the left wing - If we are honest, truly honest the older from best to worst is, Tkachuk, Gaudreau, Mange, and Lucic. I add Lucic only because I don't expect them to sit him and at this point training camp hasn't pushed him down YET!! As for right wing - It goes...hahaha Leivo, then who know....Buddy Robinson. (right shots) So even after Ryan is gone we will still have Dube and Bennett as center options right, why not put Gawdin on the right wing and start transitioning him to that position this year? He is said to be ready for NHL minutes and playing the wing is said to be easier. He is not small, or slow, and he is a right shot. In addition we as a team seem to always take chances on the RW position. Mainly on a player who is to old and it never works out. If we can clear the cap space isn't Tyler Johnson the right age, speed and handed player to add? He is free and comes with a pick or more. His contract for his type of player is actually fair. IMO. So why not? I know alot of people in here will disagree but think of things as if you are trying to put players where they fit, and what they have actually proven not what you or we hope they can be. It is not time to take risks on trying players here or there. I feel it is time to come to terms that Bennett is not a top six player full time. He is a gritty bottom six guy that could maybe fill in top 6 in worst cases but he has proven he can play in the bottom six and is so good at it, why move him and have to replace him and then have to give him a big raise if it works? Keeping him in the bottom 6 gives us stability and more cap control long term.

After hearing Tre admit to the high possibility of Lindholm moving to top line center next year I am expecting a larger caliber player on the way out. My suspicions are Mony or Backlund. I am not exactly on board with this but I expect it. If Lindholm is moving to center that pushes Mony to the second line and having Backlund play third line minutes is a huge overpay on that line. I do not want to lose Backlund, I think he is our best shut down center option but I can not see us trading a younger Mony at all. Ryan has way less value being older, smaller and Backlund can easily improve alot of teams. Now what would I expect Tre to be adding in return? Not much actually. The value I would expect to be getting back would be disappointing to say the least. It would most likely be a depth RD and picks or most likely picks by themselves. Why do I say picks alone? Because I actually think he is all in on another player. I would like to guess Tyler Johnson. Reason I say this is because if you take a loss on Backlund you would be adding in the Johnson trade. If we took the route of not fleecing TB completely and just take his whole contract, all 5 mil, we could get a couple solid picks. Say a 2nd and a third round pick. Come trade deadline We would have 2 2nds, and 3 3rds, plus whatever we get for Backlund to sweeten any Ryan trade to make room for deadline additions like Hall, if the plan is to actually replace Johnny sooner than later. Or a solid vet with size for the playoffs like a Foligno if CBJ are on the outside looking in. I know Ryan is just 3 mil but with the right prospect and picks Buffalo or any other team can retain salary if and when they don't make the playoffs. The line up would look close to this at this start of the season. Tkachuk - Lindholm - Johnson Gaudreau - Mony - Leivo Mange - Bennett - Dube Nordstom - Ryan - Simon Yes I know Lucic is missing, NO he is eating popcorn as the extra forward. I posted this in the suggested trades but thought it related well to this topic, and your post.

Vegas has a hard road ahead. Any team looking to take on there salary will fleece Vegas.

You are probably right. I just think if Bennett plats center next year Ryan plays the wing because they seem to be high on Gawdin when we returned to play before he got injured. I also think Rinaldo may play a few more game this year but that left side will see Lucic on the fourth line most of the year.

As for D we can all have a mix of lines but if we look close we should be pairing Valamaki with a vet. I am certain in my mind...lol that Tanev was brought in to play with Valamaki for the foreseeable future as long as they work. I now people are gonna hate this but I think Andersen boosted Hannifins play a bit last year and they start out together. Here come the pitch forks. Gio play less minutes and if we don't sign another RD he will be mentoring next year.

I like your idea of shaking things up but there is no way they put Bennett on the top line while playing Tkachuk on his off wing. We need to think about a few things. Sure JH has said he wants to be in Calgary long term lately, but he and any player would say that anytime they are under contract. There is even more of a chance he goes closer to home with the addition of covid now being a factor. We are seeing alot more players signing there new deals closer to home. We should be focusing on how to keep Tkachuk happy. He can easily be our next captain. We should be giving him first line minutes with line mates that will help him succeed. Tkachuk - Lindholm - Mange This is close to the Backs line from last year with just a extra touch of offense Johnny - Mony - Backlund This to me is the closet you get to having Lindholm still on this line. I get Backs on the wing is odd but could work. Dube - Bennett - Ryan This line is just energy in a bottle while giving Bennett his chance to center a line with a good amount of talent. Lucic - Gawdin - Buddy This to me supports Lucic while being a hard group to play against. I say an interview a few weeks back where Conroy was hinting at Lindholm on the top line centering. Also a few people in these forums have been saying that Bennett has asked to go back to center because he isn't comfortable on the wing. We could get a little more offense out of Backs if he has less responsibility. (maybe) Might not work. Many are sure to just hate this but I just see balance. Bennett is on a contract year and I think he deserves to get his chance to center for a season. Backs is good a shutting guys down and may make JH a little more responsible, but they would still be great. You gotta stop thinking about Lucic and his contract and play him like a fourth liner because he is. Mony and JH are awesome together but I still see Tkachuk as the best player to lead us into the future and Lindholm is looking to be better than Mony at creating. If we are not going to go out and get a true #1 C we can see if Lindholm can handle it.

Putting a better forward group in front of the goalie will definitely help. If we are able to control the puck, the play, and ultimately score more goals the goalies won't be expected to stand on the heads every night. We are alot deeper at forward. We just lost two of our oldest players and replaced them with more well rounded option and added a well known special teams coach that should help to improve the PP. I think that the net will be fine this year. Smith may even get another smaller contract before the end of the year. He may not play as many games while others get more starts once earned.

I know his numbers don't look good but coming from the team he was on he is a huge upgrade in my mind. Good things is see are age and experience to mentor Gillies as a true number one goalie. At 4.25mil for 2 years I am happy to have a big, competitive, guy that is trust worthy in net. The added puck handling skill and a chance to show what he can do on a team that has a way better D core and one of the best defensively responsible lines in the league, IMO (?/Backs/Frolik) I think he does great, better than most will expect. I know we all can see this as similar to going out last year and getting Elliott, but it is not. Elliott is a career back-up that has had the luxury of good Dmen in front of him for a bulk of his career. Smith has not been so lucky. Sum it all up, this is a chance for Smith, a career 1A goalie, to be number one on a competitive team, a chance he must have been dying for at this point in his career. By the time ARZ is competitive he would be done. He will do well.

I am of the belief that if Calgary was planning on resigning Elliot there would have been some whispers. I personally don't want to see us pay Elliot 3+ a year at any term costing us a 3rd on top of the salary, and still having to hope he has a bounce back year. (better start) I would sooner pick up Halak at 4m for 1 year and hope he has a good year while bringing up Rittich. Doing this gives the starter in the A to Gillies no question, also opens a spot for another prospect. I see something like this being more likely than MAF.