travel_dude

Things happen fast. The buyout window opens after the SCF concludes. I think it's prudent to see if any coaches are let go in the next week, just to see what else is available. Anaheim is in the same boat. I think you will see some dominoes fall after the buyout window opens. We will have a better idea of the available cap, the roster spots, other players available that were bought out, etc. The draft plays a part in that as well; players going out in deals that are RFA's. You aren't necessarily going to qualify a RFA if you intend on trading them.

If you continue by doing nothing more than bleating out your view of the worlds, but your only backup is saying you are right, don't expect anyone to stroke your ego. Voice your opinion all you want, but abide by the rules and the spirit of the forum or leave. Being a STH doesn't make you right. By rights, Hartley should have been canned in November. That's how it works in the NHL. Your team fails and the coach or players are sent packing. In the Flames case, Raymond and Ramo were waived to make the team better. Nakladal was brought up to replace an injured player but sat on the bench. Bollig played a lot of games for a player that was a boat anchor. Hartley was given the rest of the season to get better results. He didn't. Tanking is a lot easier if you tell the coach to give less ice time to the stars. Hard to tank if your top player gets 78 points. If you consider trading three pending free agents as proof of tanking, then you you are wrong. We were out of the playoffs. Russell`s value had increased to a point where he couldn`t be re-signed. Hudler`s value had plummeted and there was no chance we were going to give him an extension. Granlund was traded because he wasn`t good enough at center to stay in the lineup. His spot was replaced by Bennett. We got a top prospect for him that played this year. Year 2 as GM, BT did just about everything as right as you would want. Trade picks for a future top 2 d-man. Sign him below what he turned down in Boston. Re-sign Gio to a contract that is below what top D-men in the league make (Subban, etc.) Re-sign Brodie to a value contract for a top pair d-man. Trade players at deadline for max value. Picks, prospects and a NHL defenseman for three players that were pending UFA`s and a waiver eligible depth center. Two of the best players on the team don`t have new contracts. We don`t have a new coach yet. So what. The buyout period has not begun, expansion has not been announced, and the playoffs are still on. A thorough search for a coach takes time. Well though out deals for top players take time.

I was just basing it on Ramo probably wanting to stay in NA. If it was a one-year deal, it at least makes it more likely that he gets back into the NHL. Going to Europe would kill that chance. He likely wouldn't sign for $1m+, but there are going to be a lot of goalies out there vying for positions. The offers may not be there, especially if he isn't even on the ice until October.

I think that there may be a place for Ramo in the organization, but it's not in the NHL. If we go with a real starter and with Ortio as backup, we don't have anyone on the farm besides Gillies. Maybe MacDonald turns pro, or maybe he goes back to junior. That leaves us a little light down on the farm. And it also assumes that Ortio is a bonafide NHL backup. Ramo is not likely to get many offers this summer. He may go back to Europe, but I think he would prefer to stay in NA. If he was desperate, would it be a reasonable option to sign him to a 1-way deal at around $1m? It manages the risk on the farm and Ortio crapping the bed. Maybe the $$ are way too small, but if it's that or the unemployment line, he may choose to stay in NA. Just a thought. Maybe MacDonald turns pro and this is not needed.

Sure, Vasilevskiy is a great guy to target, but it's very possible that Tampa makes Bishop available. Very much depends on RFA's and Stamkos situations for them. I guess I have the opinion that Vasilevskiy or Murray are going to cost the most to obtain, assuming either are available. Andersen is probably a goalie that would come in cheaper, mostly due to their cap. They can't afford both.

As you say, there are really only a few roster players that couldn't be part of the deal. Prospects, I have a little more trouble dealing. Kylington could be as good as Brodie. Andersson could be another Gio in the making. Extreme projections, but the point is what you could be giving up. Every other defense prospect IMHO could be made available. The forward group is smaller. If they were able to trade picks and prospects I would be happy.

Depends what "all out" means. 1st rounder - out. 2nd - sure. Prospect not named Kylington/Andersson/Shinkaruk - sure. Players from the roster - some off the list.

You mean like threatening to fine the Lightning for trying to have a viewing party for a 2nd time this series? I couldn't believe that. To your point, they will wait till as close to buyout period as possible. Teams have to know the status of the expansion draft before the buyout period begins.

I get that Burke has input, but he isn't the GM.

I sit corrected. The only other forum I saw was HB. I didn't see anyone backing it up, just commenting on it, much like the blogger was.

What makes this suspect is that nobody else is reporting it. One person.

Maybe it's Irock19. Random thoughts. Thrill seeker. Troll?

^^^^^^ Carty - I kind of agree with you. Way too much info to be coming from a Flames POHO. Why go into the Hartley stuff or tipping their hand on what they will use for a trade for a goalie. Bollig? Really? I would think he is an example of why Hartley was let go, not a strategy for next year, next coach. Seems like a busy guy; how many games would he be able to attend?

I'm not sure what you are implying, but being a pending UFA has no bearing on whether they have to be protected or exposed. The proposed rules (not 100% agreed to yet) say you have to expose 25% of your salary cap. You have to protect a player on a NMC, regardless of whether they have term remaining.

The source of the tweets are troubling. I'm not sure why this wasn't picked up by anyone in the (real) media. The only other reference to these comments were HB, but all they did was repeat the same source. None of it makes much sense. It only supports BB's opinion of a "black and blue" team. It doesn't support any of BT's desires of being a possession or better special teams team.

Here are some things Burke has supposedly said..... Calgary Flames President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke says that forward Brandon Bollig will play more next season no matter who the new coach is. Other #Flames news: Burke said Bruce Boudreau was NEVER considered for the head coaching vacancy. At the #Flames STH info session "I'm not paying joe colborne 3.6M - based on his arbitration case" Also, Burke digs Kylington. Said he's got ice in his veins and ran the PP in Stockton - as an 18yr old. He's a keeper and will play #Flames I don't know how much of this is fact. Sometimes Twitter is annoying in that people tweet things that are not fact. The Bollig statement irks me if true. I don't care if you are POHO, you aren't the coach and you aren't the GM.

I wonder if they screwed up Nurse by bringing him up and overplaying him. I thought he was better than he showed. He doesn't seem to have the offensive instinct needed to work in the NHL. His defensive side is a mess. He could get there, but need to get back to basics on the farm. Just my opinion of him from watching Oiler games (oooh, just threw up in my mouth). I agree that Nuge or Eberle isn't enough to trade to get you that big piece. Nuge didn't land Jones. Eberle is a one-dimensional player that saved his season playing with McDavid. Add the 4th and you might get something a lot better. But, then you lose a "core" player plus a top prospect that they don't have any of. Talbot has been great in stretches. It's entirely possible to see a Dubie-Oiler season this year from him though. He was mediocre early in the season. He won't be playing behind Team Canada. A full season from McDavid is probably the best they can hope for this year.

Well I wouldn't hold your breath. Picking up one impact forward isn't going to do much. They have an AHL defense right now, with one or two decent 2nd pairing guys. They don't score from the blueline. They have a mess after the top players. If they don't trade any of the big 3, they have the following: McDavid Hall Draisaitl Nuge Eberle Pouliot A few depth guys like Hendricks, Maroon and Kassian. That gives them two scoring lines and a 4th line. Oh yes, they have "The Drake". Not much depth and not really scary. If they solve the defense by trading Hall and/or Nuge & Eberle, they have more problems. Cue Rebuild 7.0

I think the Oiler problem run deeper than just a good d-man. They don't have many forwards beyond 1st overalls that you build a team with. Even with crappy goaltending, they were no match for us. They have almost no goal scoring on defense.

Ramo isn't even going to be ready for October. I would be fine with signing Reimer on the cheap, for 2-3 years. His even strength SA% is well above Ramo's. Attempt to sign Enroth to the backup spot at about $1.5m. If not, bring back Ortio to the backup spot. This is my plan b. I think there may be better options, but they may be out of reach due to trade demands.

Are you going to be upset when he signs Johnny to 8 years @ $7m+ ?? Or when he drafts the player you didn't want? Or makes a trade you don't like? When you assume, you make an a** of you and me.

Ward was such a good coach that he was fired by a WHL team mid season afterwards. The farm team transitioned away from career AHL players to younger prospects. You want immediate results? We don't have many prospects playing on the farm that would be considered top prospects. Bennett, Shinkaruk and Poirier would be the top ones right now. Gillies missed the entire season and Ortio didn't play lights out while there. What are you bellyaching about? Not signing two players identified as core player before they even become RFA's? We all get that you don't like BT. But, you can't even acknowledge anything positive done by him. Haters gotta hate. Big difference. Hamilton was subject to an OS, so needed to be locked up. Why trade for a player then let his contract sit for weeks? Some of the best or most successful coaches in the NHL came from being an assistant elsewhere or had built a winning organization. What do you want? A coach that failed somewhere else so he's available? An old-school coach that can't coach young players?

Here's a few of the top of my head: - sign Frolik - trade for and lock up Hamilton to a reasonable contract - not re-sign Hiller

Add a "Torts" player to the deal from our side. A roster player like Jooris or Bouma. Or a defense prospect like Kulak. Might even suggest Klimchuk, since we are flush with LW's.

Unless I am missing what you are pitching, wouldn't it be $4.3m net cap hit for two years and $7.425m for year 3? With that, we get rid of Stajan (replace internally at $1m), get a goalie for $4.3m, and have the position sowed up for 3 years while our next guy is getting ready. The 3rd year is problematic, but you can always buy him out at last resort. I think we may need to get CBJ to sweeten the pot to take that big a cap. Yes, they are taking Stajan for $3.125m, but he isn't strictly a cap dump. Throw in Rychel and we got a deal. Oops, missed that one.