Call ups

[travel_dude]

I hope everyone stays level that Sven is just a month past his 22nd birthday. If Detroit drafted him, he likely wouldn't have seen the NHL until next year at the earliest.

We've gotta lay off the intense microscope and let him season. He got an injury call-up, that's all it is. We aren't developing him in the NHL for 4th line duty, it's simply the injury circumstance right now.

Granlund and Jooris took big off-season steps this year, we shouldn't hold Baer to other prospects. Another year or 2 and that will be Baertschi's turn. I'm good with that.

 

As for call ups, any updates on Ferland's injury time frame?

Nothing on Ferland.  I heard he wasn't traveling with the Flames for this trip, but Colborne is.  Colborne has been skating with a no-contact jersey.

[The_People1]

Nothing on Ferland.  I heard he wasn't traveling with the Flames for this trip, but Colborne is.  Colborne has been skating with a no-contact jersey.

 

Too bad for Ferland. He plays the type of hockey that cannot be played effectively with concussion problems.  I hope they take extra care with him.

[Tri1ickshot]

Too bad for Ferland. He plays the type of hockey that cannot be played effectively with concussion problems.  I hope they take extra care with him.

 

If he stays out long enough, he'll be able to get back 100% and play the brand of hockey he plays.

[Pucksage]

Not sure if this is another topic altogether but continuing this thread that who would you call up.

Who would you put back down to the juniors? I hear Stajan and Raymond is close, so if these two comes back, then Knight and Baertschi?

[CastleMania]

Send Stajan down.

[conundrumed]

Stajan's FO potential alone offsets Knight. Baertschi goes down when Raymond returns. But Baertschi will replace Raymond eventually, let him rock the A with that in mind.

[travel_dude]

Knight was sent down today.  Stajan is not ready yet, so it may be Colborne coming back.  Raymond just started skating, so I think he is a week out.

[Pucksage]

Certainly nice problem to have for the coaches.

[kehatch]

Stajan is cleared to play. Raymond sounds close. No word yet on if Stajan plays tomorrow.

[travel_dude]

Stajan is cleared to play. Raymond sounds close. No word yet on if Stajan plays tomorrow.

Cleared yes.  But Hartley stated that he was keeping an eye on Stajan's conditioning, and would go from there.  I didn't hear him say he was ready.  Millions is tweeting that Raymond was taking full reps today.  But he also said Raymond wasn't starting on Thursday.

[Khrox]

Stajan is going to be a decision after tomorrows morning skate. I see Stajan back by next Tuesday the latest.

[ABC923]

So who goes down when Stajan comes back? Granlund is the only center we called up, but I would hate to see him drop. I suppose you could move either Byron or Bouma to the wing. Then maybe you could sit Bollig. Otherwise, I would favour sending either Ferland or Baertschi down.

[rocketdoctor]

I think Ferland is next to be sent down

followed by Sven

No way Josh gets sent down and Granlund has a major case to stay.

[Khrox]

Knight was already sent down, we don't need to send anyone down for Stajan now. It's when Colborne, Raymond and Backlund come back that we could be struggling to figure out who to send down

[ABC923]

We need to either send someone down or let some else join Grats in the pressbox. I would strongly recommend against making a young prospect watch instead of play.

[420since1974]

Backlund will be out for some time yet, so I would suggest that Jooris is safe for a least a while, and may well have played himself onto the permanent roster.

 

IMO, it'll be Baertschi or Ferland going to Adirondack next, Granlund will be the third sent down.

 

Of course this all could change with more injuries, we always seem to get our share.

[bosn111]

It is very interesting to see how well the call ups are doing. The Flames keep winning with young guys playing well on call ups. It will definitely be difficult for coaches and admin to decide what will happen with returning injured players. There is potential to either send players or move players. Considerations to make:

Vets with possibilities to move:

Jones (Injuries and contract make a Jones trade difficult. An eastern team might be willing to take a risk on him)

Backlund has similar health issues but also has a much lower salary cap hit

Bollig (Has size and grit but adds little other than physicality. Was supposed to be an upgrade over other 4th liners but other than skating has not really added much to the team).

McGratton (barely plays, could be useful on another young team that needs a veteran to help stabilize the team at little cost)

Players possibly sent back to Addirondak:

Ferland: Due to his injury it is likely easier tosend him back down for a little bit. He can be told that it is simply to ensure his game is actually back before keeping him up long term.

Baertschi Seems to be not getting a ton of ice time or chances to play for whatever reason. He seems to be an odd man out.

Granlund I think has earned the opportunity to stay up, it is whether or not the team can keep room for him.

Jooris has proved he deserves to stick, will the team choose to keep him?

Can the team look at the current work ethic, chemistry and current winning with the belief that it will continue and move on from various players or do they feel the young guys will eventually cool off?

Can Ferland be seen as an upgrade over Bollig?

Is Granlund equal to or better than Backlund?

Compare Jooris to Jones?

These are questions the team needs to look at. Not sure what they would do. If it were me I would:

Trade McGratton since he doesn't play anyways for a 5th or 6th round pick. Bollig then shares duties with Ferland.

-Trade Jones while retaining some salary along with a mid range prospect (Reinhart, Knight...) for a D prospect and conditional pick based on Jones staying healthy.

-Send Granlund to Addy to see how Backlund comes back. If he cannot out do Granny over 10 games, move him and bring granny back. I'm sure that Backs would get at least a 2nd round pick back.

-Sven needs to be sent back down or traded. He has not gotten where he needs to be either because of his skills or a lack of support from coaches. Not sure the reason, but if he doesn't have the trust of the coaches and the rest of the team does well with the coaches, then it is time to move the player.

I have nothing against any of the players above, I am simply trying to analyze what I think would be best long term for the team. The current chemistry on the team is so positive and the players have worked so hard for the spots they are that I think messing with the current makeup becomes dangerous. I don't think Grats or Jones are in the long term plans of the team if even beyond the summer. Every time Backs seems to take a step forward, some injury sets him back.

The issue becomes salary cap, perhaps moving Engelland along with 1 or more of the above players for a higher cap hit D man who needs a change of scenery could solve the issue of the cap.

These are just my thoughts.

[Khrox]

Some good thoughts bosn111 but some of them are easier to answer.

Ferland/Bollig. I think Ferland is a bit of an upgrade, but Bollig's job was never to be a scorer. It was to be a physical 4th liner who could do spot duties on 3rd line if needed. And he is a better skater than some of the previous guys we've had on that 4th line LW role (such as Westgarth). And he does eliminate the need for McGratten, but I don't like the idea of getting rid of McGratten who by all accounts is a great team guy and plays a huge role in helping the young guys out in practice and buying into the system. On a low cost contract you can't really complain about him doing nothing but taking up a spot in the press box (and lets be honest, how many guys other then him or possibly Bollig can you sit on an almost nightly basis? Most our guys are too young and wouldn't really develop. He knows his role, knows he isn't going to play much and just makes the best of what he has). Overall if we traded Bollig Ferland's spot is pretty much cemented on the team. And Ferland is playing the right way, he gets to the net, he hits, he for the most part gets into the right spots to shoot. It's just consistancy if he wants to be anything beyond the 3rd/4th liner (When drafted we all thought he had that potential, then one thing or another has pretty much derailed his career up until this year). One thing for certain is Bollig is consistantly physical and I've seen him get to the good areas when he has the chance, sadly he just hasn't converted when he should have.

 

Granlund equal to our better than Backlund? Points wise, I say he is pretty close. But his posession game needs a lot of work and that is something Backlund has gotten really good at. If Granlund replaces Backlund as a Center, I would rather keep Backlund as a wing instead of trading him (or more likely, Granlund on the wing with Backlund being the Center, faceoff wise he his a huge upgrade on Granlund).

Jooris to Jones? Interesting comparison but not quite fair. Jooris can play right wing but he is mainly a centerman for us, and hasn't been doing too bad a job at it either (He could use work, but he is a huge upgrade on Granlund, Bouma and Byron as a Center). Beyond that big part though, they do have a similar gamestyle. Physical, in your face and with a knack for finding the net in the tough areas. It's just that when healthy Jones plays the right game and fills a big need. A top 6 RW, if he is gone then Byron/Bouma move to that spot since I doubt they want to break up Gaudreau and Hudler. Jooris could fill that spot once Stajan, Backs and Colborne are back but until then it is a huge loss on our faceoffs for any line not centered by Monahan (Seriously, Jooris is 7th on the team in FO%, Colborne, Stajan and Backlund are ahead of him - all injured, and Seto is ahead of him by 2%, and he only took two faceoffs while Knight leads the team but has only taken 11 faceoffs).

 

As I see it, assuming no more injuries to the team (which is doubtful) I see them going down in this order.

Active Roster is 22 Players (23 is limit so we have one spot ready)
Stajan comes back noone sent down

Than we have to cut 3 as Raymond, Backlund and Colborne come back

 

Baertschi - Especially if Raymond is back next, essentially replaces him, Ferland or Byron gets dropped to 4th line

Ferland  - Colborne I am expecting back next (since we know there is still 2-3 months left on Backlund), this bumps Byron to 4th line if he wasn't already, Colborne likely plays third line wing while taking key draws for the fourth line.

Granlund/Jooris - Backlund comes back last, Jooris has earned his spot out-right so far, but Granlund has been right behind him. Granlund has been good but doubt he stays up when Backlund comes back unless they move him to the wing and have Colborne center and Jooris goes down. Jooris gets the edge in my mind based off of his ability in the faceoffs (Granlunds 222 faceoffs is second on the team to Monahan, but his 34.2% win rate only puts him ahead of Bouma, Reinhart and Hudler. Jooris has 201, 3rd on active roster, 4th on team but maintains a 48.8% win ratio which is good for second on active roster behind Monahan, 5th including our 3 injured centers). I think as long as we have 1 guy on IR though Granlund stays up, so it really depends on how quickly Jones gets injured again.

[bosn111]

I agree that Jones fills that RW position, but the Flames filled it anyways while he was injured. That being said, I do not have anything against Jones personally, it is the consistent missed playing time due to injury. When the team is rolling without him and you need to break up chemistry that developped when he is healthy again to put him back in the lneup, it gets somewhat frustrating. It is extra frustrating when it happens multiple times in the same season.

The thing with Backlund is that his first few years were not great in the faceoff dot either. I seem to recall even last year his faceoff abilities were questioned at times. Grandlund hasn't even had half a season yet of experience against veteran NHL centres. We can be fairly certain that his faceoffs will improve. Do I want to move Backlund, not neccessarily, but I think Grandlund and the team are doing just fine without him. What happens to Backs when Bennett is back and able to play? Does Bennett even get a shot at the team this year or does he instantly go back to junior where he can fully heal up? Would you rather have Backlund on third line duties behind Bennett and Monahan or would you rather have a piece received in trade for Backlund and then have Granlund at that C position.

The biggest issue for Backlund and Jones for me is the injury history. The team has shown that they can succeed without either of them on the team. Do they each add enough extra to the team when healthy over their replacements that even the returning parts would not improve the difference? Due to the Jones contract, I think that he will be difficult to move unless he stays healthy and produces until the trade deadline. If the Flames are out of the playoff picture at that time, it is very likely some other team would pick him up.

With Seto sent down, Jooris has filled his roster spot. Seto sat beside Gratts in the press box most nights. When everyone is back healthy, who sits beside Grats? If you want to keep up even one of the call ups: Jooris, Granlund, Ferland or Baertschi, someone needs to sit. The only way to keep one or more up without forcing players into the press box is to make a trade. Who knows what will happen.

[ABC923]

So we now have Stajan back, with Raymond confirmed a go for Tuesday, and so far no one has been sent down.  Surely they don't intend for both Ferland and Baertschi to sit in the presser, do they?  I would rather they send both guys down, but at they very least they should send Baertschi down.  Ferland could maybe still put in another game or two here and there over the next week, but ultimately will be back in the AHL soon barring any further injuries.

[The_Argus]

I think Sven should definitely go down. Ferland, with his grit, is a better fit for the 4th line, if you want someone to swap in and out with Bollig. But really, I think that's what we have McGrattan for; to fill that extra roster spot and swap in and out for the occasional game. So I agree, I'd like to see both Sven and Ferland go down so they can get significant minutes.

[xstrike]

Personally, I would like for more guys to be on the farm around Feb 20. I'm going to the Baby Flames vs Baby Oilers game then so... yeah.

[travel_dude]

Well, the first D-man has been called up. Smid placed on IR.

And the call up is.......

Harry, I mean Corey Potter. He is the +/- leader on D for Addy, so he must be doing something right.

Better we get a look at him than just being stuck with Diaz.

[conundrumed]

I feel like I was the only one rating Diaz in camp...Potter can't possibly be any worse (can he?).

[420since1974]

So, we've replaced one ex-Oiler with another.