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2019 Offseason Thread


JTech780

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So now that the season has come to an unceremonious end, we can start looking toward next season and what the Flames have to do to take the next step.

 

PLAYERS UNDER CONTRACT FOR NEXT YEAR

LW                                                                                   C                                                                            RW

Johnny Gaudreau (3/$6,750,00)                                     Sean Monahan (4/$6,375,000)                              Elias Lindholm (5/$4,850,000)

Dillon Dube (2/$778,333)                                                Mikael Backlund (5/$5,350,000) NTC                    James Neal (4/$5,750,000)

Martin Pospisil (3/$796,667)                                           Derek Ryan (2/$3,125,000)                                    Michael Frolik (1/$4,300,000) M-NTC

                                                                                        Mark Jankowski (1/$1,675,000)                             Austin Czarnik (1/$1,250,000)

                                                                                        Glenn Gawdin (1/$775,833)                                   Matthew Phillips (2/$733,333)                                                   

                                                                                        Luke Philp (2/$817,500)                                         Buddy Robinson (1/$700,000)

                                                                                        Adam Ruzicka (3/#801,666)                                   Dmitri Zavgorodny (3/$786,666) Entry Level Slide

 

LD                                                                                                                                                                 RD

Mark Giordano (3/$6,750,000)                                                                                                                     TJ Brodie (1/$4,650,400) M-NTC

Noah Hanifin (5/$4,950,000)                                                                                                                        Travis Hamonic (1/$3,857,143)

Juuso Valimaki (2/$894,166)                                                                                                                        Michael Stone (1/$3,500,00) M-NTC

Oliver Kylington (1/$730,833)                                                                                                                       Rasmus Andersson (1/$755,833)

Andrew Nielsen (1/$697,500)

Carl-Johan Lerby (2/$925,000) *19/20 will play in Sweden

                                                                                          G  

                                                                                       Jon Gillies (1/$750,00)

                                                                                       Tyler Parsons (1/$759,167)

                                                                                       Nick Schneider (1/$675,000)

                                                                                       Artyom Zagidulin (1/$842,500)

 

PENDING RFA'S:

FORWARDS:

Sam Bennett ($1,950,00) ARB

Matthew Tkachuk ($925,000)

Andrew Mangiapane ($705,000)

Alan Quine ($700,000) ARB

Curtis Lazar ($950,000) ARB

Spencer Foo ($925,000) ARB

Kerby Rychel ($725,000) ARB

Brett Pollock ($711,667)

Ryan Lomberg ($710,000) ARB

 

DEFENSE:

Josh Healey ($858,750) ARB

Rinat Valiev ($650,000) ARB

 

GOALIES:

David Rittich ($800,000) ARB

Mason McDonald ($822,500)

 

PENDING UFA'S:

FORWARDS:

Garnet Hathaway ($850,000)

Tyler Graovac ($650,000)

Anthony Peluso ($650,000)

 

DEFENSE:

Dalton Prout ($800,000)

Oscar Fantenberg ($650,000)

Marcus Hogstrom ($700,000)

Matt Taormina ($650,000)

 

GOALIES:

Mike Smith ($4,250,000)

 

2019 DRAFT PICKS:

1st Round: 26th Overall

3rd Round:

4th Round (NYI):

5th Round:

7th Round (Car):

 

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6 hours ago, JTech780 said:

So now that the season has come to an unceremonious end, we can start looking toward next season and what the Flames have to do to take the next step.

 

PLAYERS UNDER CONTRACT FOR NEXT YEAR

LW                                                                                   C                                                                            RW

Johnny Gaudreau (3/$6,750,00) - Get a speedy skilled scorer to play on their line, with a bit more of a mean streak, I liked how Bennett looked with them last night, but it hadn’t worked in the past                                  Sean Monahan (4/$6,375,000)                           - I hope he can work on his speed and bulk up just a bit. He started getting a bit meaner in this playoffs.

 

Elias Lindholm (5/$4,850,000) - play him on the 2nd line, possibly with Tkachuk and Bennett

Dillon Dube (2/$778,333) - Play him with Backlund on the 3rd line                                              Mikael Backlund (5/$5,350,000) NTC                    James Neal (4/$5,750,000) - Probably traded due to severed relationships coach and player

                                                                                        Derek Ryan (2/$3,125,000)                                    Michael Frolik (1/$4,300,000) M-NTC - I wouldn’t, but he’ll probably get traded.

                                                                                        Mark Jankowski (1/$1,675,000) - Trade and maybe get a depth pick for him. Didn’t show enough for a depth C.                          

Austin Czarnik (1/$1,250,000) - Trade for a pick. I don’t mind the player but size in the depth on the team was anissue. Does he have enough speed defence to make up for it?

                                                                                        Glenn Gawdin (1/$775,833)                                   Matthew Phillips (2/$733,333)                                                   

                                                                                        Luke Philp (2/$817,500)                                         Buddy Robinson (1/$700,000)

                                                                                        Adam Ruzicka (3/#801,666)                                   Dmitri Zavgorodny (3/$786,666) Entry Level Slide

 

LD                                                                                                                                                                 RD

Mark Giordano (3/$6,750,000)                                                                                                                     TJ Brodie (1/$4,650,400)NTC - Trade and get the best offer possible 

 

Noah Hanifin (5/$4,950,000) - It could be just me, but I feel like Kylington isn’t that far behind Hanifin, and they’re almost the same type of player. I think Noah has the skill, but possibly second guesses himself too often. Kylington almost seems to have better offensive gifts.  Although hold onto him and see if he develops into a solid 2nd pair guy. Valamaki has already leaped him I think.                                                                                                                 

 

Travis Hamonic (1/$3,857,143) - a great 2nd year as a Flame! Need him, play him with Gio to keep Ras and Valamaki together?  

Juuso Valimaki (2/$894,166) - is he a 3rd pair? I think he is already better than Hanifin                                                                                                             . If not, he’s close already.

 

Michael Stone (1/$3,500,00) M-NTC - TRADE if possible. Tough contract to trade, but if we retain some it could be doable. If we traded Brodie, who do we have for depth on RD? Play Hammy with Gio, play Valamaki and Ras on 2nd pair, then what? 

 

Oliver Kylington (1/$730,833)                                                                                                                       Rasmus Andersson (1/$755,833) - 2nd pair with Valamaki next year. 

Andrew Nielsen (1/$697,500)

 

                                                                                          G  

                                                                                       Jon Gillies (1/$750,00) - trade to make room for our goalie prospect depth 

                                                                                       Tyler Parsons (1/$759,167)

                                                                                       Nick Schneider (1/$675,000)

                                                                                       Artyom Zagidulin (1/$842,500)

 

PENDING RFA'S:

FORWARDS:

Sam Bennett ($1,950,00) ARB - 1 or 2yr Bridge

Matthew Tkachuk ($925,000) - 5 years@ 7-7.5

Andrew Mangiapane ($705,000) -YES, but we need to get more size for the bottom 6

Alan Quine ($700,000) ARB - Yes, ok depth

Curtis Lazar ($950,000) ARB - AHL ONLY

Spencer Foo ($925,000) ARB AHL ONLY

Kerby Rychel ($725,000) ARB -AHL ONLY

Brett Pollock ($711,667) - AHL ONLY

Ryan Lomberg ($710,000) ARB - AHL ONLY

 

DEFENSE:

Josh Healey ($858,750) ARB

Rinat Valiev ($650,000) ARB

 

GOALIES:

David Rittich ($800,000) ARB - Yes

Mason McDonald ($822,500) - Maybe

 

PENDING UFA'S:

FORWARDS:

Garnet Hathaway ($850,000) -One of my Favourites but might price out of our market. Hope he re-signs on a two year deal

Tyler Graovac ($650,000)

Anthony Peluso ($650,000) -Do not re-sign

 

DEFENSE:

Dalton Prout ($800,000) - No

Oscar Fantenberg ($650,000) - I Would, but possibly out due to depth or move Kylington to the right side?

Marcus Hogstrom ($700,000)

Matt Taormina ($650,000)

 

GOALIES:

Mike Smith ($4,250,000) - Maybe

 

2019 DRAFT PICKS:

1st Round: 26th Overall

3rd Round:

4th Round (NYI):

5th Round:

7th Round (Car):

 

 

Wow, not many draft picks! I hope we can stock up with a few more. 

 

 

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Here's my take

 

Buyouts

  •  Stone- gonna be tough to trade but maybe to Vegas at half price (1.75), even then they may wait to sign him after we buy him out

 

RFA

  • Tkachuk- this is gonna be a tough negotiation, the market is so different now than when Monahan and Gaudreau signed. This is gonna be a long negotiation I think that drags out. It could be anywhere between 6.75-8.5 I think
  • Rittich- BT tends to be rather thrifty and shrewd, but this negotiation shouldn't be too hard. The Grubauer deal with COL last season at 3.3x3 seems like a good comparable here and that's where I would expect it to end up in the 3-3.5 range. 
  • Mangiapane- this shouldn't be a tough deal either as Mangiapane still has a small sample size at the NHL level. Comparable could be Garland in ARI 775k x2.
  • Bennett- this could be a tough negotiation again as Bennett didn't have a great regular season once again with 27 points. Once again though he was good in the playoffs. I would say though he did look way better than he ever has at any point in his career this year. Question is what do you pay a 30pt guy? My guess is the 2.25-2.5 range on another bridge deal

-only gonna comment on the NHL RFA's

 

UFA

  • Fantenberg- I would like to keep him, depends on cost though. At a shade over 1mill so that you could bury him with no effect on the cao I would be good with bringing him back. 
  • Smith- common theme with all UFA we have is at what cost? I don't think he will be in too high of demand so BT may have some leverage, but I think he will want at least what Rittich gets since they played a fairly even split and Smith played playoffs. 
  • Hathaway- I think Hathaway is the most likely UFA to leave. I'd be ok with giving him up to 1.3 but even that's pushing it an he's coming off a career year. Once in a life time opportunity for him to test UFA. Guys like Tim Schaller signed for 1.9 last year. I think we could use either Czarnik or Buddy Robinson as 4th line RW next year instead.

 

Needs

  •  top 6 RW
  • top 9 C
  • 3rd pair D
  • backup/1b goalie

 

Trade Bait

  • Frolik- almost got traded to MIN, good player but if not on the 3M line doesn't really fit into the lineup. Could probably use his 4.3 off the books too
  • Brodie- once again could use the 4.6 off the books and with the young blueliners we have he is expendable. Would likely fetch a pair of 2nd's.
  • Jankowski- need a better 3rd line C to contend. He likely doesn't have much value though
  • Kylington- I don't think the organization is very high on him. If they don't see a future for him then I hope they move him before he loses his value and becomes a life long AHer
  • Gillies- minor league move, make room for a Parsons and Zagidulin tandem.

 

Trade Targets

  • Zucker- BT was in on Hamonic for over a year so I doubt he gives up on Zucker completely
  • Haula- could be the ideal 3rd line C and he was Neal's linemate in VGK, shouldn't cost too much as Vegas is cap strapped and Haula pretty much missed a full season also makes our lineup faster
  • Eakin- same thing as Haula, could be a good 3rd line C and Vegas will need to make moves
  • Kapanen- I would throw a 4.05x5 offersheer at him, it would make things really tough for TOR and it has a legit chance at working. Kapanen for a 2nd would be awesome although likely a pipe dream

 

UFA Targets

  • Talbot- if not Smith then Talbot could be a good option, similar deal to Khudobin and Halak signed last year at 2.75x2

I would stay away from UFA to be honest

 

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A few things.....I agree with most of your thoughts, but I would like to try and keep Hathaway.  He really came into his own as a PK specialist, and someone who was hard to play against.

 

I think Jankowski for Eaken would be a good trade off.  I’ve always liked Eaken and his level of compete.

As I’ve said in the past, l want to keep Kylington.  I think he has only scratched the surface what he can do, an I think someone on another topic said he was likely already on the same wavelength as Hanafin, for a lot less money.  Even if he stayed as 3rd line, behind Gio and Valamaki, that makes a strong left flank with lots of upside.

I don’t have a problem moving Frolik but replacing his versatility will be hard.  He proved to be a plug and play guy with the lines.

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I would be open to trading Mark Giordano and I understand why many would not even entertain the idea.  However, he's our best trade asset to help our future (to which his age doesn't allow him to be apart of for much longer anyways).  Giordano has a NTC kick in beginning 20/21 season.

 

  1. Giordano is coming off a Norris performance (aka, highest trade value ever).
  2. He's turning 37 in October (will likely never repeat Norris level again).
  3. We have the depth at LD to withstand the loss (Hanifin, Valimaki, Kylington, and even Fantenberg and Brodie (who should also be traded but still)).
  4. Monahan and Tkachuk are ready to become captain.
  5. We need to trade something good to get something good back in return.  We need a top 6 C, RW, and a starting G.
  6. He can't be this good forever.  Let's not wait until he loses all trade value like Iginla before we trade him.

 

On the point about captaincy, when we traded Iginla, we didn't think anyone would ever emerge as a good captain for us.  Giordano quickly did.  If Giordano leaves, then don't worry, someone will emerge.  That's how it works.  You can't get to second base with one foot in first.  Giordano can't play forever anyways.  

 

On the point about talent, his ice time and responsibilities will be passed down to Hanifin and Valimaki mostly.  The emergence of Andersson on RD also help alleviate the loss.  Again, Giordano is expected to slow down soon anyways.  We have to cut down his minutes played eventually.

 

And lastly, I think we can get someone good to great.  Which is what this is all about.  Giordano allows us to add to Gaudreau, Monahan, and Tkachuk without losing one of them in return.

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21 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

I would be open to trading Mark Giordano and I understand why many would not even entertain the idea.  However, he's our best trade asset to help our future (to which his age doesn't allow him to be apart of for much longer anyways).  Giordano has a NTC kick in beginning 20/21 season.

 

  1. Giordano is coming off a Norris performance (aka, highest trade value ever).
  2. He's turning 37 in October (will likely never repeat Norris level again).
  3. We have the depth at LD to withstand the loss (Hanifin, Valimaki, Kylington, and even Fantenberg and Brodie (who should also be traded but still)).
  4. Monahan and Tkachuk are ready to become captain.
  5. We need to trade something good to get something good back in return.  We need a top 6 C, RW, and a starting G.
  6. He can't be this good forever.  Let's not wait until he loses all trade value like Iginla before we trade him.

 

On the point about captaincy, when we traded Iginla, we didn't think anyone would ever emerge as a good captain for us.  Giordano quickly did.  If Giordano leaves, then don't worry, someone will emerge.  That's how it works.  You can't get to second base with one foot in first.  Giordano can't play forever anyways.  

 

On the point about talent, his ice time and responsibilities will be passed down to Hanifin and Valimaki mostly.  The emergence of Andersson on RD also help alleviate the loss.  Again, Giordano is expected to slow down soon anyways.  We have to cut down his minutes played eventually.

 

And lastly, I think we can get someone good to great.  Which is what this is all about.  Giordano allows us to add to Gaudreau, Monahan, and Tkachuk without losing one of them in return.

The issue with Gio is he’s the face of franchise on and off the ice. He epitomizes the qualities the ownership group strive for. His commitment to the community, the guy won a Mohammed Ali award...that’s rare company. Sometimes it’s deeper than hockey, or captaincy. In Gio’s case he IS the culture of this team. Which is why he’ll likely never get traded, and he’ll retire a Flame. 

 

Only instance I can see them trading him is if this core completely collapses, fails to qualify for the playoffs consistently then they may try and ship Gio off to a Cup contender out of respect and mercy. 

 

To Gio’s credit he hasn’t hit his wall yet. Logic says he starts to decline sooner than later but he’s somehow getting better with age which makes it even harder to trade him. His intangibles have almost made the guy invaluable in Calgary. 

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Our entire 1st line is an asset of which I’d say Monahan is the most expendable, mainly due to his limited play making abilities and injury history...oh ya and lack of playoff ability. After that it’s probably Brodie, Backlund, Rasmus and Valimaki that are likely the most expendable at this point or sought after in trade. We aren’t moving Rasmus or Vali without significant future upside coming back at the least. Thing is with BT you just never know, maybe he swaps out our 1st/2nd lines in another blockbuster this offseason ?

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7 hours ago, The_People1 said:

I would be open to trading Mark Giordano and I understand why many would not even entertain the idea.  However, he's our best trade asset to help our future (to which his age doesn't allow him to be apart of for much longer anyways).  Giordano has a NTC kick in beginning 20/21 season.

 

  1. Giordano is coming off a Norris performance (aka, highest trade value ever).
  2. He's turning 37 in October (will likely never repeat Norris level again).
  3. We have the depth at LD to withstand the loss (Hanifin, Valimaki, Kylington, and even Fantenberg and Brodie (who should also be traded but still)).
  4. Monahan and Tkachuk are ready to become captain.
  5. We need to trade something good to get something good back in return.  We need a top 6 C, RW, and a starting G.
  6. He can't be this good forever.  Let's not wait until he loses all trade value like Iginla before we trade him.

 

On the point about captaincy, when we traded Iginla, we didn't think anyone would ever emerge as a good captain for us.  Giordano quickly did.  If Giordano leaves, then don't worry, someone will emerge.  That's how it works.  You can't get to second base with one foot in first.  Giordano can't play forever anyways.  

 

On the point about talent, his ice time and responsibilities will be passed down to Hanifin and Valimaki mostly.  The emergence of Andersson on RD also help alleviate the loss.  Again, Giordano is expected to slow down soon anyways.  We have to cut down his minutes played eventually.

 

And lastly, I think we can get someone good to great.  Which is what this is all about.  Giordano allows us to add to Gaudreau, Monahan, and Tkachuk without losing one of them in return.

 

I get where you are coming from and it does make sense.

 

Where I have to disagree is that I don't believe we have the depth to withstand the loss of Giordano. Hanifin is fine as a number 4 and I think he will take another step in his development next year, but he isn't a guy I would throw out against other teams top players.

 

Valimaki will get there IMO, but he is probably a year or two away from being a top pairing defenseman.

 

Giordano is our only top pairing defenseman at the moment, sure Andersson and Valimaki are trending in the right direction, I just don't think it's smart to put all of that on their shoulders at this stage.

 

Trading Giordano would create a bigger hole than the holes we would fill with the pieces we got in return.

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10 hours ago, The_People1 said:

I would be open to trading Mark Giordano and I understand why many would not even entertain the idea.  However, he's our best trade asset to help our future (to which his age doesn't allow him to be apart of for much longer anyways).  Giordano has a NTC kick in beginning 20/21 season.

 

  1. Giordano is coming off a Norris performance (aka, highest trade value ever).
  2. He's turning 37 in October (will likely never repeat Norris level again).
  3. We have the depth at LD to withstand the loss (Hanifin, Valimaki, Kylington, and even Fantenberg and Brodie (who should also be traded but still)).
  4. Monahan and Tkachuk are ready to become captain.
  5. We need to trade something good to get something good back in return.  We need a top 6 C, RW, and a starting G.
  6. He can't be this good forever.  Let's not wait until he loses all trade value like Iginla before we trade him.

 

On the point about captaincy, when we traded Iginla, we didn't think anyone would ever emerge as a good captain for us.  Giordano quickly did.  If Giordano leaves, then don't worry, someone will emerge.  That's how it works.  You can't get to second base with one foot in first.  Giordano can't play forever anyways.  

 

On the point about talent, his ice time and responsibilities will be passed down to Hanifin and Valimaki mostly.  The emergence of Andersson on RD also help alleviate the loss.  Again, Giordano is expected to slow down soon anyways.  We have to cut down his minutes played eventually.

 

And lastly, I think we can get someone good to great.  Which is what this is all about.  Giordano allows us to add to Gaudreau, Monahan, and Tkachuk without losing one of them in return.

Obviously you don't know the value of experience if you want this core to win a SC in the next 3 seasons, which they should be able to do. Giordano isn't going anywhere.

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9 hours ago, rickross said:

The issue with Gio is he’s the face of franchise on and off the ice. He epitomizes the qualities the ownership group strive for. His commitment to the community, the guy won a Mohammed Ali award...that’s rare company. Sometimes it’s deeper than hockey, or captaincy. In Gio’s case he IS the culture of this team. Which is why he’ll likely never get traded, and he’ll retire a Flame. 

 

Only instance I can see them trading him is if this core completely collapses, fails to qualify for the playoffs consistently then they may try and ship Gio off to a Cup contender out of respect and mercy. 

 

To Gio’s credit he hasn’t hit his wall yet. Logic says he starts to decline sooner than later but he’s somehow getting better with age which makes it even harder to trade him. His intangibles have almost made the guy invaluable in Calgary. 

 

I agree he likely won't ever get traded because of everything you said.  

 

But I'm not here to predict what will or will not happen.  I'm here to give my meaningless 2 cents on what I feel SHOULD happen.  We SHOULD be open to trading Giordano.

 

Yes Giordano is the face of the franchise.  So was Iginla.  So was Theo Fleury. Etc.  If we trade Gio, a new hero will emerge.  They always do.  Don't worry.

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2 hours ago, JTech780 said:

 

I get where you are coming from and it does make sense.

 

Where I have to disagree is that I don't believe we have the depth to withstand the loss of Giordano. Hanifin is fine as a number 4 and I think he will take another step in his development next year, but he isn't a guy I would throw out against other teams top players.

 

Valimaki will get there IMO, but he is probably a year or two away from being a top pairing defenseman.

 

Giordano is our only top pairing defenseman at the moment, sure Andersson and Valimaki are trending in the right direction, I just don't think it's smart to put all of that on their shoulders at this stage.

 

Trading Giordano would create a bigger hole than the holes we would fill with the pieces we got in return.

 

I would argue Mark Giordano won't be Mark Giordano next season.  So we may be hooped anyways.

 

I grant you Nik Lidstrom didn't slow down until he was 39/40.  He retired at 42.  Maybe Giordano has the same type of career longevity... But...

 

...it's about who we get back.  Giordano opens more options to us than say trading Gaudreau which makes even less sense.  The Avs didn't have anyone of Giordano's caliber and it was not a problem.  It's not the end of the world.  

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I believe we need a few internal adjustments with the positions certain players are playing now, a few UFA signings and a number of trades for either a few better players or as many draft picks as we can garner.

TRADES

Our 2019 1st and Mangiapane to TOR for Kapanen and a 2nd.

Brodie, Neal, Frolik, Jankowski, and Stone for as many picks 3rd round and up as we can get.

UFA

Dzingel LW
Mrazek G

Hathaway RW re-signed

TEAM 2019-20 adjusted

Gaudreau, Bennett, Tkachuk

Monahan, Lindholm, Kapanen

Dzingel, Backlund, Hathaway

Quine, Ryan, Czarnick

Rychel and Lazar (spares)

DEFENSE
Giordano, Andersson

Hanafin, Hamonic

Valimaki, Fantenberg

Kylington (spare)

GOALIES
Mrazek, Rittich

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5 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

 

I would argue Mark Giordano won't be Mark Giordano next season.  So we may be hooped anyways.

 

I grant you Nik Lidstrom didn't slow down until he was 39/40.  He retired at 42.  Maybe Giordano has the same type of career longevity... But...

 

...it's about who we get back.  Giordano opens more options to us than say trading Gaudreau which makes even less sense.  The Avs didn't have anyone of Giordano's caliber and it was not a problem.  It's not the end of the world.  

 

I agree that he probably won't be a point per game defenseman next year, even if he plays at last year's level, he is still our best defenseman by a very wide margin.

 

We have a lot of talent on defense but an area that we lack outside of Giordano is guys capable of playing a shut down game. Giordano is it. Brodie has the skating, but lacks the ability to think the game and doesn't have any kind of physical game. Hamonic can play well defensively and puts his body on the line, but he isn't a guy I would want out there against top lines. Hanifin has all the tools but makes too many mental mistakes. Valimaki and Andersson will get there, but they aren't there yet.

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6 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

 

I agree he likely won't ever get traded because of everything you said.  

 

But I'm not here to predict what will or will not happen.  I'm here to give my meaningless 2 cents on what I feel we SHOULD happen.  We SHOULD be open to trading Giordano.

 

Yes Giordano is the face of the franchise.  So was Iginla.  So was Theo Fleury. Etc.  If we trade Gio, a new hero will emerge.  They always do.  Don't worry.

Oh I’m with you 100%. We could have traded him his 1st year of Norris consideration...think he had 20+ goals that year. He’d still fetch a handsome return today but he’s just become such a staple to this franchise. He’s reached “heart and soul” status now, it’s as close to untouchable as it gets. There will be a successor as Gio has really made an impression on many a player. Poor guy has massive shoes to fill though

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5 minutes ago, JTech780 said:

 

I agree that he probably won't be a point per game defenseman next year, even if he plays at last year's level, he is still our best defenseman by a very wide margin.

 

We have a lot of talent on defense but an area that we lack outside of Giordano is guys capable of playing a shut down game. Giordano is it. Brodie has the skating, but lacks the ability to think the game and doesn't have any kind of physical game. Hamonic can play well defensively and puts his body on the line, but he isn't a guy I would want out there against top lines. Hanifin has all the tools but makes too many mental mistakes. Valimaki and Andersson will get there, but they aren't there yet.

The importance of Giordano is not only his Leadership but what defensemen such as Andersson, Hanifin, Valimaki and Kylington can learn from him. Brodie has to go as his liabilities now far outweigh any assets he provides. Hamonic isn't fantastic but he provides that toughness and sacrifice necessary to be a good defenseman. Valimaki given another season or two replaces Giordano but not now, which is the other reason to keep working in Kylington. Hanifin I have to agree isn't the quickest thinking however his size and skating indicates the talent is there, maybe he keeps growing with experience. I definitely like what I saw of Fantenberg enough to re-sign him if he wants to be here.

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For once we are going into an offseason without a "blow it up " mentality.. no Fire the coach .. no Overhaul .. but necessary and cap forced changes 

If I don't mention them directly, then I'm on the Keep Them side of the fence 

 

Frolik  -  has to be gone . Coach doesnt want him , he I'm sure wants out , and with his contract needs to be moved now .  Love to revisit the Zingel Trade 

Neal: he is not tradeable , we have him .. so we may as well accommodate him .. get him a playmaking center .. or see if LIndholm can be that center . To buy him out , or give up salary to trade him is just not a viable option right now . If some team is actually willing to take him and his full contract without us having to somehow pay them to do it , then fine , but at the end of the day most of this is on his usage, his linemates and chemistry .. we need to find the answer 

Czarnik: we need these players, young, cheap , high upside . He has to stay . He took the step to NHL this year , his path is still open ..no different than Mangiapane and he finally found his groove 

Stone: We get blinded on him due to the depth of our D. On many teams he is a well paid 2nd pair / #5. We can and we will trade him 

Brodie:  Another player extremely undervalued in our own market , he's the big trade chip we have to make what we need to make . Upcoming UFA, players coming in behind him , Andersson taking the top pair spot , all make him expendable to Us.. but don't kid yourself.. there are at least 10 teams or more who will covet him . I could Stevie Y in Detroit really wanting him 

Prout / Fantenberg  re-sign both  - these guys are the perfect 7/8  keep the cost low , but both bring different and valuable tangibles to certain matchups and are not taking away valuable development time from a young kid in the minors 

Hathaway  Love to resign him, not sure if we can .. if he gets into the 2.5 - 3 range we may need to walk away 

QuineKeep him .. I think in hindsight the coach may look back and realize this is the guy he should have worked into the playoff lineup 

Peluso: Ditto to Quine -- could be the replacement for Hathaway if we lose him 

Bennett - Have to keep him , I worry he could end up in the 4-5 range tho , in which case will have to think long and hard , but he's obviously a guy that loves the playoffs 

Jankowski:  Could be caught in a numbers game, I do believe hes still trending up , but as has been mentioned he isnt super young..and if team decides we need a different style of Center , he suddenly becomes #5..cant be sent to the minors .  Hes more of a shooter , so not what Neal needs.. and will admit he was pretty invisible in the 5 games. Don't want to say give up on him , but may be necessary to move him to get what we do need  .. but my gut still says on the right team in the right mix he may be the guy you regret trading unless the return makes sense

 

Rittich  - No brainer, he's earned the starting net next season , sign him 3-4 years 

Smith  -  This could be a 2-way conversation .. if I'm the Flames I give him first right of refusal on a 1 year , incentive contract to be the backup / 1B , you don't replace his compete level, he and Rittich work well together,  he may not be a 55-65 gamer anymore but that belongs to Rittich now .   If he doesnt want that , or some team willing to give him more, then we can eye the backup market 

Gillies: I think he needs to be moved .. hasn't shown he's ready to take the backup net, must clear waivers.. need room for the new Russian. Get what you can and walk away 

 

 

 

So for reasons listed :

Must Go :  Stone , Brodie, Gillies , Froik

Needs: Playmaking #2 center , Backup Goaltender (if not Smith)

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29 minutes ago, phoenix66 said:

For once we are going into an offseason without a "blow it up " mentality.. no Fire the coach .. no Overhaul .. but necessary and cap forced changes 

If I don't mention them directly, then I'm on the Keep Them side of the fence 

 

Frolik  -  has to be gone . Coach doesnt want him , he I'm sure wants out , and with his contract needs to be moved now .  Love to revisit the Zingel Trade 

Neal: he is not tradeable , we have him .. so we may as well accommodate him .. get him a playmaking center .. or see if LIndholm can be that center . To buy him out , or give up salary to trade him is just not a viable option right now . If some team is actually willing to take him and his full contract without us having to somehow pay them to do it , then fine , but at the end of the day most of this is on his usage, his linemates and chemistry .. we need to find the answer 

Czarnik: we need these players, young, cheap , high upside . He has to stay . He took the step to NHL this year , his path is still open ..no different than Mangiapane and he finally found his groove 

Stone: We get blinded on him due to the depth of our D. On many teams he is a well paid 2nd pair / #5. We can and we will trade him 

Brodie:  Another player extremely undervalued in our own market , he's the big trade chip we have to make what we need to make . Upcoming UFA, players coming in behind him , Andersson taking the top pair spot , all make him expendable to Us.. but don't kid yourself.. there are at least 10 teams or more who will covet him . I could Stevie Y in Detroit really wanting him 

Prout / Fantenberg  re-sign both  - these guys are the perfect 7/8  keep the cost low , but both bring different and valuable tangibles to certain matchups and are not taking away valuable development time from a young kid in the minors 

Hathaway  Love to resign him, not sure if we can .. if he gets into the 2.5 - 3 range we may need to walk away 

QuineKeep him .. I think in hindsight the coach may look back and realize this is the guy he should have worked into the playoff lineup 

Peluso: Ditto to Quine -- could be the replacement for Hathaway if we lose him 

Bennett - Have to keep him , I worry he could end up in the 4-5 range tho , in which case will have to think long and hard , but he's obviously a guy that loves the playoffs 

Jankowski:  Could be caught in a numbers game, I do believe hes still trending up , but as has been mentioned he isnt super young..and if team decides we need a different style of Center , he suddenly becomes #5..cant be sent to the minors .  Hes more of a shooter , so not what Neal needs.. and will admit he was pretty invisible in the 5 games. Don't want to say give up on him , but may be necessary to move him to get what we do need  .. but my gut still says on the right team in the right mix he may be the guy you regret trading unless the return makes sense

 

Rittich  - No brainer, he's earned the starting net next season , sign him 3-4 years 

Smith  -  This could be a 2-way conversation .. if I'm the Flames I give him first right of refusal on a 1 year , incentive contract to be the backup / 1B , you don't replace his compete level, he and Rittich work well together,  he may not be a 55-65 gamer anymore but that belongs to Rittich now .   If he doesnt want that , or some team willing to give him more, then we can eye the backup market 

Gillies: I think he needs to be moved .. hasn't shown he's ready to take the backup net, must clear waivers.. need room for the new Russian. Get what you can and walk away 

 

 

 

So for reasons listed :

Must Go :  Stone , Brodie, Gillies , Froik

Needs: Playmaking #2 center , Backup Goaltender (if not Smith)

I'm not sure what it will take but I will bet my bottom dollar Neal will be traded. Just because he was not used properly here by BP doesn't mean another team won't have an ideal spot for him. We may have to sweeten the pot or something but with all that has gone on it would be an equally bad decision to keep him. Rip the bandaid off fast IMO.

Frolik could be an interesting decision and I know what you are saying however if they were to trade away Brodie, Stone and Neal there could be enough room to keep him for his last season and sign Tkachuk. In my scenario we need to rearranged the top two lines by moving Backlund and Frolik (if kept) to a 3rd line and bring in someone like Kapanen RW by a trade. Say you could get Dzingel LW and put him with Backlund and Frolik, instantly improved and effective shutdown line with scoring.

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7 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

I'm not sure what it will take but I will bet my bottom dollar Neal will be traded. Just because he was not used properly here by BP doesn't mean another team as an ideal spot for him. We may have to sweeten the pot or something but with all that has gone on it would be an equally bad decision to keep him. Rip the bandaid off fast IMO.

Frolik could be an interesting decision and I know what you are saying however if they were to trade away Brodie, Stone and Neal there could be enough room to keep him for his last season and sign Tkachuk. In my scenario we need to rearranged the top two lines by moving Backlund and Frolik (if kept) to a 3rd line and bring in someone like Kapanen RW by a trade. Say you could get Dzingel LW and put him with Backlund and Frolik, instantly improved and effective shutdown line with scoring.

Don't get me wrong , I like Frolik ..but you have to ask yourself a couple questions..

1) he'll be 32 next year , making $4.3M  are you giving him a multi(even 2) year raise after next season ?  Somebody will 

2) knowing or believing he won't even want to re-sign here , are you risking having to deal him at the deadline in a good season  or let him walk for free? 

I just feel the time is now .. BT already tried , likely for the same reasons.. he doesn't want to be here and the coach doesn't want him here 

 

On Neal, ya like I said if we can get something serviceable in a trade that doesnt involve us giving up salary , picks, or prospects to sell low ..then fine ,   but they did a masterful job of invigorating  Smith, integrating young D, even re-inventing Sam Bennett..next year needs to be on Neal -- I think this year got out of hand "knowing he'd come around" and "he'll for sure come to life in the playoffs"  then it was too late 

Now , if he demands a trade in the exit interviews, all bets are off.. BT learned from Burke, whos always said .. if you demand one , you are gone 

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3 minutes ago, phoenix66 said:

Don't get me wrong , I like Frolik ..but you have to ask yourself a couple questions..

1) he'll be 32 next year , making $4.3M  are you giving him a multi(even 2) year raise after next season ?  Somebody will 

2) knowing or believing he won't even want to re-sign here , are you risking having to deal him at the deadline in a good season  or let him walk for free? 

I just feel the time is now .. BT already tried , likely for the same reasons.. he doesn't want to be here and the coach doesn't want him here 

 

On Neal, ya like I said if we can get something serviceable in a trade that doesnt involve us giving up salary , picks, or prospects to sell low ..then fine ,   but they did a masterful job of invigorating  Smith, integrating young D, even re-inventing Sam Bennett..next year needs to be on Neal -- I think this year got out of hand "knowing he'd come around" and "he'll for sure come to life in the playoffs"  then it was too late 

Now , if he demands a trade in the exit interviews, all bets are off.. BT learned from Burke, whos always said .. if you demand one , you are gone 

I don't think there is a chance either of Frolik or Neal wants to be back here with Peters. To be honest I have bigger concerns regarding the core and where BP goes from here. I don't think Monahan can stay a C just not fast enough. Tkachuk is a terrible skater and will always need real good players with him. Team wise I believe BP wants to be bigger and faster in order to handle teams such as COL in the future. I would like to see these 2 top lines next season.

Gaudreau, Bennett, Tkachuk ( the intensity level goes way up wit this line and I think Tkachuk can play his off wing as the new young Neal only better) bennet is way better equipped to help Gaudreau with board work than Monahan and plays a better 200' game. If Bennett is ever going to score its Gaudreau and Tkachuk that should be able to get him there.

Monahan, Lindholm and Kapanen (traded for) provides Monahan a new role wit two very good overall good players with speed, playmaking and scoring ability.

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Ironically, this is actually terrible news. For Monahan to play as poorly as he did for that long with no injury is just..... 

 

well not good.

 

 

Deciding what to do with Sean Monahan and their centers is the biggest question Treliving and co have this off-season and it's going to decide the fate of how the next few years go.

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One of my top targets as a UFA is Brett Connolly. He has size, has skill and has learned to play in a bottom 6 role. He was a high draft pick 6th overall I believe and Tampa didn't do a good job with his development. Washington turned him into a very effective 3rd line checker. He just scored 22 goals this year. 

 

I would look at seeing if we could trade Frolik for Burakovsky and the rights to Connolly at the draft.

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1 minute ago, cross16 said:

Ironically, this is actually terrible news. For Monahan to play as poorly as he did for that long with no injury is just..... 

 

well not good.

 

 

Deciding what to do with Sean Monahan and their centers is the biggest question Treliving and co have this off-season and it's going to decide the fate of how the next few years go.

 

I think we could trade Monahan very easily as there would be a lot of takers for a 6'3", 30 goal Center. The question is how we would fill that hole. I don't think we would get equal value back. At best we would hope to get a top prospect like a Cody Glass, Martin Necas, Filip Chytil or Lias Andersson and then hope they develop into a number 1 center. 

 

There are things I really like about Monahan and things that just drive me crazy. Great goal scorer, deadly accurate shot and release, his size is an asset, and his ability to get to scoring areas are all above average skills.

 

He doesn't use his size nearly effective enough, he can be lazy on the back check and his skating leaves a lot to be desired.

 

If we go get a Duchene or Zibanejad to help support our center depth I think it would help ease the load on Monahan. Easier said than done. We would have to clear a lot of cap to get Duchene and we would have to be willing to move pieces we might not want to move to get Zibanejad.

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1 hour ago, cross16 said:

Ironically, this is actually terrible news. For Monahan to play as poorly as he did for that long with no injury is just..... 

 

well not good.

 

 

Deciding what to do with Sean Monahan and their centers is the biggest question Treliving and co have this off-season and it's going to decide the fate of how the next few years go.

 

Interesting, might be the truth, might the coach trying to deflect some criticism away from one his star players.

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So now Treliving saying it's a cracked Thumb for Monahan 

 

Some interesting comments from Peters. Talking about trying Lindholm at center next year and playing with more pace. Seems to have identified the Flames were not good enough at center in the playoffs. 

 

 

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2 hours ago, cross16 said:

Ironically, this is actually terrible news. For Monahan to play as poorly as he did for that long with no injury is just..... 

 

well not good.

 

 

Deciding what to do with Sean Monahan and their centers is the biggest question Treliving and co have this off-season and it's going to decide the fate of how the next few years go.

 

It sounds like an athlete who refuses to make excuses.  But he really is injured.  He just didn't want to sound like a female cat about it.

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