Flyerfan52

Hiller carried the majority of the load & had the better #s. Why pay his backup more on a "show me" contract? Especially in a year when there are more 'tenders on the market than there is demand? We'd get little for Hiller & if Ramo checks the UFA market he'd be lucky to get 1/2 that 5 million given his lack of resume. & $5 million per is starters money for most in the league.

Before his eye injury I would have given up a fair bit to add Malhotra. Now I'm worried that we are the team to let him lose what he's got left of his vision. That said I'd take him cheap & play him limited minutes/select games for 1 year to add even more compete to the room. Maybe after a few games ask if he's ready to transition to coaching with him having full knowledge he starts as an assistant in the ECHL or AHL. I'd offer him that training as a coach 1st but profer the last hurrah contract to seal the deal. Gonchar, Weaver I have 0 interest.

Watching the Ducks against the Jets & Flames I wanted the Flames to pursue Beauchemin as he becomes a UFA this year. THN has him listed as 34 & I thought "great. No 35+ contract" but then looked @ his birthdate. June 4, 1980 making him 35 by UFA day. I wonder if he'd be open to a 1-2 year offer? Last contract was 3.5 cap hit so 4.5-5.0 x 2 sounds good to me for now with all further contracts being 1 year based on previous season to avoid that Pronger situation the Flyers are stuck with. Dang he'd be a nice addition to our blue line!

It's the foundation. D typically take longer to develope. Our current top 4 is adequate but only that. I don't want a future rock star from the Isles or any other team unless we can use surplus assets to land 1. I'd be really happy to land Pulock but not ready to overpay. What I want is a current top 4 D (or 2) to strengthen our defence. As I've often stated I value the defence part of the job description a heck of a lot more than a D that acts like a 4th forward. Top 4s are usually available in the 4.0 (give or take 0.5) price range. They are also very popular @ the trade deadline should a prospect outplay him enough to make him expendable.

As those in chat know I manage to catch a Flames game from time to time. In my humble opinion Stajan is that Swiss army knife type that plays well regardless of line. To me he's more valuable. I'd qualify Backlund to keep his rights. When trade talks happen during the summer the worth of Backlund depends how trade talks go. If they go well for a reasonable contract & a team asks for Stajan I'm open to trading him. If it comes to either/or I'd prefer to keep Stajan.

Nobody responding to stating the positives can mean tacit agreement. Unless a poster has other positives to add there is really no reason to respond. We're better served rebutting the negative comments. If a post gets no/few responses it means it's accepted as true. No need to simply agree.

I caught that on the main page. Wideman punked the media while easing the atmosphere on a stressful day. Way to go Wideman!

Good news. Thanks KH. Let's hope he returns to a stronger D.

1 dimentional winger (least important position). $8 X 8 hit. I see Backlund as a decent 3rd C, Sven as a maybe & our 1st as mid to late so not a heck of a lot for a player. I personally see Kessel as a waste of cap. I think the same of all coasters that rely on their team to make them look good but really just care to pad their own stats.

It depends on the player coming back. As part of a trade for a Shea Weber/Duncan Keith he's a tradable asset. For lesser players you hesitate.

$8 million for 7 more years is rather steep for a 1 way complimentary player. On a work ethic driven team that offense only stuff will likely chafe those expected to @ least hold their own in every zone. Seeing his salary compared to theirs they could be forgiven if they said "if goals = $s on my paycheck why should I bust my hump when I could cherry pick". I certainly wouldn't trade a 1st + for him. On paper that is a reasonable deal but it undoes the identity the Flames are putting in place. Sometimes you have to look @ the big picture of the team. Canada found out that an all-star roster doesn't get you far but a team where everyone pulls his share of the load works.

A # of points hack reporters base their speculation on: Home province Former GM that drafted/traded for him Former linemates play for the team apparently interested Has a brother on that team For Euros because the other team has a few _____ players they tend to want more Ignored are things like need, cost (to acquire & the cap space), NMC/NTCs. ***************************************************** There are many more on both sides but the writer sent in his copy for the day & got his cheque.

Don't hold your breath on that trade nor Wotherspoon becoming OEL quality

The very reason I deliberately omitted Russell. I want to upgrade the defense part of our D corps. Russell is 27 so unlikely to get taller. If he adds 40 pounds it muscle turned to flab. He is what he is. A complimentary player. I'd be fine with him as depth but in the playoffs push comes to shove & I don't want to rely on him playing big minutes when hungry forwards have only him between a 2 on goalie.

I guess what I'm trying to boil it all down to is we have a dang good 1st pairing. Wideman is a good 2nd pairing guy & we can make do with his partner. I'd like to upgrade our depth though. We talk about Franson to help our depth but likely because he's a name player (thanks to TO based media) but we don't need it to be him. Coburn (4.5), L Schenn (3.6) & Grossman (3.5) are 3 Flyers D (chosen because of familiarity) with a year left after this before going UFA. They all have some form of NTC but probably see the Flyers are unlikely to make the playoffs this year. All 3 could be on our 2nd pairing & be had for a reasonable price as Hex tries to work his way out of the cap jail Homer left him. The Flyers have 4 or more very good D prospects with @ least 2 capable of rating a test drive this year. If Hex trades any/all of the 3 it'll be for prospects/picks/expiring this year contracts to have space to add players he likes rather than inherited. I've always liked Coburn but he's best with a top guy like Pronger or Timonen. Wideman isn't that caliber & I don't want to break up Gio/Brodie although Gio could fill the role with Coburn. Luke is because imo he is best suited for the west.He'll clear the crease which endears him to goalies. Grossman is an older version of Luke but has been through the west & will battle every game. I'd be looking @ the east for players that would suit the west as dealing in conference has teams dreading what the good 1s do against them often so want a premium). I care less if they are name players because they put up points (not the way I judge D). I'm looking for a hard nosed guy that makes life easier on goalies. I think I want a younger Robyn Regehr. None of the Flyers I mentioned are near that but other than Luke they aren't young & Regehr sets the bar high. Myers is often mentioned by people that want him but not by Buffalo management. Iffy & costly. Probably worth it if he becomes what he could be. Boychuk is 1 we can shoot for in the summer if NYIs let him test the market (which I doubt as they'll sign him well before). Gleason off the Canes roster is said to be available. UFA rental depth/shutdown D. You get my drift. Not a guy we need the fans to fall in love with but someone that earns time, helps in our weak areas & won't decimate our depth. If deserved we re-up him before the UFA madness or if a year left on the contract we have a year to sign or trade him. A Weber or Keith would be great but those would cost most of our current team. **************************************************************** Before others mention trading current players for future D like Pulock remember I'm talking about improving the Flames for the present. I'd really like to trade for Pulock but that's stated in a different thread.

Trading Wideman to open replacing him with Franson is something I'd rather not do. Franson is 4 years younger but we have Wideman for 2 more years @ 5.25 & know he fits the team. Franson is apparently looking for @ least = while being an unknown. I'd treat Franson as a pure rental because he's an unknown on the Flames. Offer a 4th & roster dump & go as high as a 3rd if needed. If someone offers more the Leafs can take it. By the deadline other teams will be off-loading & if we want a longer term player the summer allows us to load up.

I just spent time with TML fans. The figure there will be a bidding war for pending UFA Franson so expect a 1st rounder +. Of course they figure the Leafs will win a SC before hitting 50 years since the last 1 (when team pictures were sepia).

A few reasons I don't want Kessel: 1) Basically forced a trade to the Leafs (& only the Leafs) 2) $8 million until 2022 3) Cherry picker with 0 inclination to play any form of defense

Weber, Josi, Jones & Ellis? Keith, Seabrook. Hjalmarsson & Oduja? Enstrom, Trouba, Bogosian, Stuart with Buff in case 1 (or more) is injured? All 3 are in the western conference. With St. L that puts the Flames 5th. ************************************************************ I could look to the east but think I made my point.

@ present Hiller/Ramo has us on the cusp of playoffs. Ortio in a nice fill-in for now. Decisions will need to be made during the off-season. As it stands we have Hiller for 1 more year, Ramo becomes UFA (but it's doubtful the market for 28 year old backups with barely over 100 games on their resume & lower end #s is high) & Ortio is under contract for another year before he becomes RFA. For now a good tandem with a reliable option in the AHL serves the purpose of making/attempting to make the play-offs. That said I'd trade any one of them for help on D. Still leaves a decent tandem @ worst while improved D makes them play/look better. Showing pride in the jersey makes me want to keep all 3. Yet making trades of good parts for current help will show future UFAs that Calgary is serious for both the now & future. No "maybe in 5 years when you are retired we'll be good but we want you as a mentor". Instead BT can say "We're moving on up (remember that line from a tv show) & think you can help us win the Cup". I'm not talking about a SC this year or next but within the player's likely remaining career as a selling point. The further we go or closer we get to play-offs the better the chance of landing better UFAs rather than the dregs that will sign anywhere for a paycheck when it's apparent good teams don't want them.