travel_dude

There was nothing wrong with either trade. Toffoli's next deal is going to be a problem. He's going to be expensive for whatever team has him or overpays as a UFA. Govich was an underrated player and proved he can score with minutes. Zaddy was traded to open up cap space as much as it was to get rid of the player. We don't need to be a Eric Francis punch line, let's get rid of the question marks. If all we do is get back Kylinton into the lineup, it's not even a loss of a decent player. And you have to be blind half the time to call him a top 4. Kylington at least played that way and kept his spot (long time ago, in a land far away). If Kylington isn't back any time soon, then we see what 12 minutes of a bottom pair can do. Even hockey is at least acceptable.

That was what, back in the summer? Not much point in re-signing your 5/6 D while you haven't signed the #2 (Hanifin) and #4 (Tanev) guys yet. But anyway, he can say what he wants to make himself look better. Like Tkachuk saying he wanted to be here and we wouldn't give him a long enough deal last time. He seems to have cozied up to the FLA way of life pretty quickly. I laugh because the last winter he was here, he went to FLA to look at boats with his pops and brother.

The Flames haven't extended any of the pending UFA's excpet Backlund. They did Backlund because he was the logical choice for captain.

Players under the NHL program are not the same as an injured player. You wouldn't have team docs dealing with him. There isn't a lot of documentation on entering or exiting the program or how it runs. Just that the program needs to be the one to release him from it.

I know you have suggested in the past that we give more than a few games to players to get comfortable. Govich has played but a few games on the top line as it is today. SHunting Lindholm to RW means we have one less C, so everyone bumps up. Kadri top line C Backlund 2nd line C After that it's guess work. So, I would assume we would need something like: Mange-Kadri-Lindholm Hubey-Backlund-Coleman Zary-Ruzicka-Govich Greer-Dube-Pospisil I don't argue that is couldn't work, just that it's an extreme change to all but one line. They seem to be playing well as of late.

I would say that Pelletier is much further off than Kylington. Kylington is needing to get up to NHL speed. Pelletier is rehabbing. If there is a connection to Zadorov being traded now, it may be more to do with the fact that the Flames knew Kylington was coming back to the rink at least the day before the trade. Everyone knew he was going out the door, but the Flames had no certainty they had a NHL player coming back soon. I don't know it's fact, just that it seems too close. The reported discussion with VAN happened just before the trade. They moved Beau just days before the trade for Zaddy.

There was a shot that Govich tried to take on the PP. I think it was against the AVS. It was popped into the exact right position by Weegar I think. He smashed the puck, and.... his stick exploded. I think he bought his stick at the Gio used PP stick sale. But, there have been other times. Coronato on the RW wing. Lindholm on the RW. Ras on the off wing. We just don't have that mentality to be in the wind up when the puck hits the area. And perhaps we don't have the laser accuracy to hit a certain part of the net. Unless it's the off wing, there is too much time for the goalie to react.

I think what made Tkachuk successful in that spot was that he wasn't just in that spot. He would be behind, looking for a slot pass. Or he would be digging in out front for a rebound. Monahan used to be in the slot and lived there. What I have noticed that really isn't working is when we get bottled up on one side. The guy with the puck has no easy passes other than the point or board guy next to him. Most times it just turns into a loss of possession. Because we struggle to gain the zone, it seems like they just force it when it doesn't exist. I don't really have answers to what would work for us. 1-3-1 isn't working for us right now, maybe because we are never shooting from the point. It's not the only way to get goals, and you need someone that can actually get the shot on. When the other teams plays us they know the shot is not coming from there. So, the screen is almost useless. What do you think about a unit that cycles spots insstead of just snapping the pass. As he encroaches, the other guys are shifting so the defense has to adjust. Spots and lanes are more likely to open up.

Big Buff was as much a forward as he was a D back then. I didn't mind using Hiberdeau net front, since his pass instincts are somewhat odd right now. Using Govich as the QB, more or less, seems to have allowed for a lot better passes. I don't like Ras or Hanifin on the top PP unit though. Hanifin is fine with 2 D, but not as the lone man. Ras will never take a shot until it's telegraphed well in advance. He has no shot instinct anymore. Or so it would appear. I think we have to strip it down and start over. Kadri, Govich and Zary on a unit. Figure out the rest. Huberdeau and Lindholm maybe on the 2 unit. Ruzicka is a big body shooter.

He's had what, 5 years to be the driver? He's done well with Tkachuk and Gaudreau for exactly one season. Was a winger with a healthy Monahan. Again, I was looking at what makes him want to hold off. At present production, he ain't gonna get $9M from any team. The best he can hope for (if not here) is to sign a decent 2 year deal and get better offers in his contract year or as a UFA, when cap had driven up the prices of a complementary C. Whether we keep or trade him, we still need a 1C. If we keep him we need to replace the top LW. If we trade him, it needs to include a capable top 6 C. Maybe that's impossible, but it's a challenge we must face.

So the big rush was to solidify the team and not leave us with pending UFA's. In some ways, they may have given us a hand in making the right decisions. They could all still be re-signed. Kylington has the chance to solidify his spot again. Lindholm - I think he is waiting it out to see if we run a putrid 1st line....again. We haven't had a really competitive 1st line in 2 years. Last year was passable at times. Why would he commit to a middling team? So, it's up to Connie to add. Hanifin - I think this comes down to what we can do with him. I don't think it was the offer keeping him from signing. I think it comes down to wanting to play further south. Tanev - I think he likes it just fine. I think we have to decide what he is worth (truly) and how long a deal we can agree to. Whatever he signs for in term will be a retirement deal, like Backlund. If he only wants a longer term deal, then it has to be structure with no trade protection near the end and a buy out friendly salary. The extra year does allow us to lower the overall cap and still pay him.

It sort of fits in with the lines discussion, but I will move it to Flames talk. If nobody replies to it, it will drop down.

It's still a ways off, but we need to open up a spot for Pelletier. Coronato showed signs of being ready, but Pelletier proved he was ready. We probably can't have a roster with all of Zary, Pospisil, Coronato, Pelletier, Duehr, Greer and Ruzicka. Zary, Coronato and Pelletier are waiver exempt, but Duehr, Pospisil, Ruzicka and Greer are not. Interesting to see how they manage players coming off IR and recalls etc. I don't really see a fit for Rooney. The called up kids have cemented a roster spot (IMHO). Greer is at least a top 12 or at worst a 13. Ruzicka was playing well before the injury and demotion. Duehr had the biggest dropoff in play that I have seen among the roster. Pospisil may have seen his points pace drop off, but he is getting at least one HD chance per game. Zary is the same, but has a higher skillset. Top 10 players? Mange, Lindy, Govich, Zary, Kadri, Pospisil, Huberdeau, Backlund, Coleman, Greer. To be considered: Dube, Ruzicka, Duehr, Pelletier, Coronato.

It's odd that Kylington's departure from the team coincided with the Flames getting Weegar and Zadorov signed. Not that it's related, just odd timing. Zadorov signed an extention 2 weeks before Kylington signed, but Kylington never played last season. No D traded this summer after Kylington resumed skating in the spring. Kylington goes off before camp again. No rumors being suggested, just that the timing is odd. Zadorov gone and the players resumes skating in front of the team. Backlund mentioned he heard Kylington was going to be skating around the time the trade was announced. Anyway, I don't really care either way. I am happy to see Kylington back in prep to possibly resume his career. If he's able to regain his skills, he will bring something we have been lacking or at least some of what we lost in Zadorov. The skating side of Zaddy.

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/flames-oliver-kylington-skates-in-calgary-no-timeline-for-return-1.2043304

Huska says no timeline on his return. Will take it slow. In the meantime, Solo recalled. Hope he gets in to see if he's progressing.

#Flames' Kylington back practicing for the first time since leaving training camp https://dailyhive.com/calgary/flames-kylington-practicing-first-time-training-camp

The top line is a bit of a mess right now. In no way is Mangiapane a top LW. He has one good year and the rest were good from a g/60 perspective, well at least earlier on. Govich is fine, but again we are asking a bit much for him to be a top RW today. LW - Huberdeau, Mangiapane, Zary, Pelletier, Dube (LW/C/RW), Ruzicka (LW/C), Pospisil (LW/RW), Greer C - Lindholm, Kadri, Backlund, Ruzicka, Dube RW - Govich, Pospisil, Coleman, Dube, Duehr Mangiapane should be 2LW or 3LW. Huberdeau should be 1LW or 2LW. Zary should be 2LW or 3LW. Govich should be 2RW or 3RW. Pospisil should be 3W or 4W. The reason why we have players playing above or below their skill level is lack of depth or poor performance with the line they should play on. I have no issue with Hubey playing with Backlund or the kids with Kadri, as they are playing alright. The top line continues to be the big issue. Might see them have a good game, but overall it's a weak top line. Govich and Mange are fine in the right circumstances. I would almost think the best use for Govich is with Kadri and Zary. But the hain reaction messes it up. Since we are talking about trades, we have to consider the cost of getting a top 3 winger. At least one to replace Mange. Maybe a trade of Mange and Dube for one makes sense. Then you only have to worry about fitting in the other top winger. And Pelletier into the mix. $8M out allows us to bring in a hefty priced winger.

Honzek name captain for the Giants. He also is on the prelim roster for the WJC for Slovakia.

I first thought this may be a Kylington thing as well, which would make this a zero sum game IMHO. Maybe even a big positive. If we activated Kylington, I would pair him with Tanev and figure out the fit for Hanifin. A lot of time off, but Kylington could replace the need to keep Hanifin. Or at least give us some time to make the right decision. I feel right now we have only 3D that are NHL top 4 regulars. Trading Z only fixes a player issue not the need for the D. I'm getting a bit lost in the cap calculations. According to actual players active, we have $77,925,833.00. But our cap shows $83,161,321.00 Go figure.

I like Raty, so I am biased. VAN gave up the 2nd rounder and got a 4th with Hronek. The trade tree for these deals is sometimes hard to follow. ASP for Hronek. I know it's not the same value, but should Lindholm get you a subset of what Horvat brought back?

I do hope it's Solo that gets the call. Gilbert is fine, nothing special but he gets it.

Needed surgery to repair the cut, so it was DEEP. Tendons most likely. Rough

The more annoying part of this is that we face Zaddy too many times for my liking. The advantage of a non-division trade is you only see them max twice. And in the cup finals. LOL

SN fawning all over VAN. Good luck in the rest of the season.