travel_dude

I'm just arguing the points. Feel free to disagree if you like. If you are right in the end, then we get a good trade return. If you are wrong then we get a good player for a long time.

The reason why teams win differ from year to year, so I'm not sure there is a benefit to comps. Bottom line for me is we needed a top LW and a scoring top 6 C. We got that, so that's what I expect to see. If that works out to a cup, then we were lucky to lose Gaudreau.

You are funny. It's a very complicated deal to negotiate. Huberdeau's was simple, since he was basically getting the exact same deal we offered Gaudreau. Even then, it took some time. With Weegar, he will be potentially signing for the highest paid Flames D man. That's the simple part of the negotiation. The more difficult part is we have other players coming up in a couple of years for extensions. Lindholm and Hanifin to be specific. Not to mention Kylington, Tanev, Backlund, etc.... You have to make sure it's all going to work.

Yep. Necas was rumored to be part of the CAR deal, but he's not even playing as a C again this year. He may be underrated, but if that was the major piece coming back, many would be really disappointed. I am quite happy with the deal and resulting Kadri signing. Both were a results of two players not wanting to be here. We lost two wingers and gained a winger and top 6 C. Age is a concern, but we have added two pieces we need to get to the next level.

Give it up already. What does the guy need to do to prove he wants to be here. He was excited to play here. He's said he wants to get a deal done. They are working on a deal. The season hasn't started yet. Not everybody does a dick move like Gaudreau did. Tkachuk made two dick decisions, but was still reasonable to give them enough leeway to make a good deal. Not a lot, since there were only a few teams he would sign with.

Phillips is great as a finish guy. Milano looks to be more of a setup guy, but he has a good reaction time on slot shots. Play him with Mangiapane and Kadri and I think you see better results.

JG is going to help guys in CBJ for sure, but they got rid of one of their best players. Laine is very much in the same level of dedication as JG; will quit on plays when it gets tough. Actually, Laine has more heart. We now have two players that drive the net, and gave up only one that played near the crease. His antics in the crease area will not be missed. Kadri will drive goalies and D-men insane with their attacks. Hubie with soft hands will score in tight. Haven't really had that. Hubie looked this good without being used to the elevation. He said he was gassed in the first 3 minutes. Kadri will not even notice.

I just hate the idea of a delay that could be just $500k. Yes, every dollar is important, but this shouldn't be that difficult.

It was nice to see our top line LW go to the net. That's all that I need to really say other than he's going to be really solid. Milano was good for some of the game. Poirier was good too. Backlund and Dube and Coleman best line overall. Maybe.

Game in CGY has more regular players. Hubie and Backlund look good so far. Vladar solid in nets.

Sounds like the game in CGY is also on the Flames site.

It looks like the Flames coverage today is the B squad on TV and the A squad in Calgary only on Canucks website. A squad features Hubie, while B squad features Lucic on the top line.

I like how Sutter referred to Hubie as low maintenance. Just what you need, guy the coach doesn't have to 'splain things to or pump their tires. Sutter said the difference between Tkachuk and Toffoli was one guy won a couple of cups. That will be the difference between Gaudreau and Hubie soon.

It makes sense other than the fact it still doesn't give them much flexibility. Right now they have $167.00 in cap space. They have two guys on PTO (Demers and Jake). Broburg sucks, so they could sign one of them if they send Broburg down. I think we have to consider trading a LHS for a RHS. Too few in the top 9. We probably regret losing Dube, but he's not growing as a player much to this point.

Teehee. He should have more value than Valimaki. My issue with the player is that he doesn't seem to take any steps ahead. Perhaps I undervalue his play a bit, but I find him weak on the entry. I hope he can develop a strong lower body and use it to stay upright. He should be in the same realm by now as Breadman. Something is just missing in his game.

I think you will see something like that for a pre-season game at the very least. Without Kylington, we are just trying some things. Have to see where he fits and whether Tanev is the right choice for Weegar. You have a good left-right balance, but Weegar played best on LD. Maybe that's just the best use of Weegar and why he is a top player.

Didn't hear this but it was mentioned on twitter... In case you were curious, apparently during an interview with Sportsnet 960 yesterday, Treliving mentioned that Valimaki, Ruzicka, Toffoli, and Coleman came in "phenomenal condition."

I'm out on Chychrun. It was possible before we picked up Weegar, but we have nothing left to trade. Kylington doesn't have enough value to make sense to ARI. The assets we would have to add would be very high, like a 1st, a top prospect and a top roster player. Weegar will likely play top minutes, so I don't really agree that Zadorov makes the most sense. With the other pairs, there were some issues during the year. Nothing was perfect, even if they were very good. I can't provide the evidence, but to me all pairs struggled with some things. Weegar was good at preventing zone entries. Weegar and Andersson seem to be built to keep the puck in the O-zone. Hanifin struggled with that IMHO. Hanifin was less effective when defending from behind. Kylington was pretty good at getting back but took risks in the O-zone. Zadorov was good at disrupting the cycle IMHO and separating the puck from a F. Tanev was good at defending the net, but struggled with speed in transition. All of this to say that pairs are organic. There are formulas that you can follow like LHS-RHS or puckmover with shutdown. But what is more key is chemistry and communication. Have to see what shakes out from camp and pre-season. And even the first few weeks of the season.

The Hanifin Andersson pairing is a hold over to last season. Will probably try out Weegar with Hanifin and Andersson at some point. But I do like the idea of trying Milano with Kadri. It makes sense, since we kinda need someone not on the roster to push into the top 6.

It needs to be said. Stops the media from asking a bunch of questions. If he wants to talk about it, he will. None of my business.

I for one was not overly impressed with Tanev/Zadorov. I think you have to look at skills and how they balance out a pairing. Hanifin with Tanev or Kylington with Tanev worked before, since you have the skating and puck moving to match the defensive skills of Tanev. Hanifin also worked with Andersson. Weegar with Andersson makes the most sense to me, since it puts the top two out there for the most minutes. Kylington (before injury) showed to be one of the best on the team. Whether that was due to his faults being covered by Tanev or that he's that good remains to be seen, but overall he was top 4. Zadorov was played with a slow but effective D. He has another gear, but you have to find the right mix. The depth guys are suitable #6 on a lot of teams, so we are quite set. I just don't see the logic of using assets (high ones) to bring in another top D. Chychrun is a LD, so it doesn't balance us out. And the cost is too much for us. If you could actually name a target, this would be more constructive, as it allow potential pairs to be considered. The other thing to consider is we are trying to build and improve on last year, not remake the entire D. That takes a lot of time. Integrating Weegar is going to be enough of a challenge. It potentially shakes up 2 pairs minimum, more likely 3. I would prefer to look at improving the F first. We should see what camp shakes out, whether we have all the right pieces or need some upgrades. Dube has to take a big step. Ruzicka needs to show he is a full timer. Having 3 solid lines is key, as the 4th line will play closer to 10 minutes. All good discussion, but hard to argue without a target.

Or it's typical BT speak for we are getting ready to sign.

That is true. He even said he hasn't played it in his career (IIRC). But, that's the thing. You sometimes have to adapt. Is it better to be fighting for a 4th line C role or fighting for a 3rd line winger role. If he was able to play win with Backlund, he would be improving his chances of making the team out of camp.

Makes sense. A lot of players for Sutter to evaluate. We may already have a "new" top 6 or middle 6 player at camp. BT probably also wants to see which D, if any, push their way onto the roster.