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GranteedEV · 05-26-2017, 06:25 PM

My hope for the off-season is as follows:

Expansion

Las Vegas relieves us of the Troy Brouwer blunder This one's a no-brainer. Getting 4.5 million dollars of dead salary over three years off the books is almost vital if we want to be a competing team during the prime of guys like Gio, Backlund and Brodie.

RFAs to qualify:
Sam Bennett - No-brainer. This kid is gonna be real good.
Micheal Ferland - Another no brainer.
Kulak - He has earned another contract. He is an NHLer.
Wotherspoon - I am skeptical of him however I am willing to give him a final chance with a better partner. If he doesn't swim next year as the #7 then Bartkowski can sit in the press box and we can cut bait on spoon.
Linden Vey - With him signing in the KHL you pretty much guarantee a monopoly over his NA rights by qualifying him without actually having to sign him.

RFAs to let go:
Alex Chiasson - It's just a dollars thing. He was fine at under a million but he's earned himself a raise that squeezes him out especially if we want to get better across the lineup.
Ryan Culkin - I hate to say it but he is done as a Flame

UFAs to let go
Stone - I actually liked him. I would take him back at 3.5 million or less but I am predicting he gets payed upwards of 4.75 million as he checks a lot of boxes and his play beside Brodie propped up his value. We can't afford a fourth defenseman making those kind of dollars.
Wideman - He wasn't as bad as the fanbase said he was, but I think it's best for both parties to part ways at this point. The only partner I see as suitable for him is Brandon Hickey on the third pair which ain't happening for a plethora of reasons.
Engelland - He almost looked competent on the penalty kill, but we need a 5v5 bottom pair that can ween Kulak, Andersson or Wotherspoon into the NHL and that's not happening with Engelland as the last three years have shown he is a drag on all his partners. The FLames need to play fast and that starts with a clean first pass
Bollig - If he wants a PTO or two-way deal, he can have it as he showed he's a pretty servicable and high-character AHLer. Otherwise buh-bye.
Versteeg - I liked him even more than I liked Stone. He made our PP tick. He created chances at even strength. He showed up in the playoffs. My only qualm was he's not much of a net front deflection presence which made that line a bit too perimeter oriented and made Bennett easy to tie up at the net. I want to figure out an alternative.

New RW
Justin Williams - He can still play and he plays a heavy style which would work well with Bennett at ES.

PP Specialist / 4th line RW
Jarome Iginla at a minimum contract. He can't play top 9 anymore but he would probably still be our best player on the PP. Not a long term solution but cheaper than Versteeg.

4th D
Assuming Stone prices himself out, my choice would be Michael Del Zotto. THese days he's actually more of a defensive defenseman than an offensive guy but he can still produce from the backend. He shoots left so Brodie would have to return to the right side, which is my preference anyways.

5th D
Cody Franson. Can replace some of the lost point-shot offense of Stone, and a strong puck mover who'd be perfect in sheltered minutes with either Kulak or Wotherspoon. Can step up into top 4 duties where necessary.

Starting Goalie

Trade Lance Bouma to the Islanders for Jaroslav Halak. He can handle a 55-60 game workload yet his contract is short enough that we can ween in a guy like Rittich.

Backup Goalie

The Flames offer a PTO to Joni Ortio and let him, Gillies, and Rittich all duke it out for the backup goaltending spot. If no one looks ready in camp, sign a guy like Enroth. As nice as it is to have a veteran like Chad Johnson, veteran tandems simply don't work. We need a clear backup (with starter potential) and a clear starter.

The lineup would look something like:

F
Gaudreau / Monahan / Williams
Stajan / Backlund / Ferland
Tkachuk / Bennett / Frolik
Lazar / Jankowski / Iginla
Hamilton
Hathaway

D
Giordano / Hamilton
Del Zotto / Brodie
Kulak / Franson or Wotherspoon / Franson

G
Halak / Rittich

05-26-2017, 06:25 PM	#41
GranteedEV Franchise Player Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Calgary Exp:	My hope for the off-season is as follows: Expansion Las Vegas relieves us of the Troy Brouwer blunder This one's a no-brainer. Getting 4.5 million dollars of dead salary over three years off the books is almost vital if we want to be a competing team during the prime of guys like Gio, Backlund and Brodie. RFAs to qualify: Sam Bennett - No-brainer. This kid is gonna be real good. Micheal Ferland - Another no brainer. Kulak - He has earned another contract. He is an NHLer. Wotherspoon - I am skeptical of him however I am willing to give him a final chance with a better partner. If he doesn't swim next year as the #7 then Bartkowski can sit in the press box and we can cut bait on spoon. Linden Vey - With him signing in the KHL you pretty much guarantee a monopoly over his NA rights by qualifying him without actually having to sign him. RFAs to let go: Alex Chiasson - It's just a dollars thing. He was fine at under a million but he's earned himself a raise that squeezes him out especially if we want to get better across the lineup. Ryan Culkin - I hate to say it but he is done as a Flame UFAs to let go Stone - I actually liked him. I would take him back at 3.5 million or less but I am predicting he gets payed upwards of 4.75 million as he checks a lot of boxes and his play beside Brodie propped up his value. We can't afford a fourth defenseman making those kind of dollars. Wideman - He wasn't as bad as the fanbase said he was, but I think it's best for both parties to part ways at this point. The only partner I see as suitable for him is Brandon Hickey on the third pair which ain't happening for a plethora of reasons. Engelland - He almost looked competent on the penalty kill, but we need a 5v5 bottom pair that can ween Kulak, Andersson or Wotherspoon into the NHL and that's not happening with Engelland as the last three years have shown he is a drag on all his partners. The FLames need to play fast and that starts with a clean first pass Bollig - If he wants a PTO or two-way deal, he can have it as he showed he's a pretty servicable and high-character AHLer. Otherwise buh-bye. Versteeg - I liked him even more than I liked Stone. He made our PP tick. He created chances at even strength. He showed up in the playoffs. My only qualm was he's not much of a net front deflection presence which made that line a bit too perimeter oriented and made Bennett easy to tie up at the net. I want to figure out an alternative. New RW Justin Williams - He can still play and he plays a heavy style which would work well with Bennett at ES. PP Specialist / 4th line RW Jarome Iginla at a minimum contract. He can't play top 9 anymore but he would probably still be our best player on the PP. Not a long term solution but cheaper than Versteeg. 4th D Assuming Stone prices himself out, my choice would be Michael Del Zotto. THese days he's actually more of a defensive defenseman than an offensive guy but he can still produce from the backend. He shoots left so Brodie would have to return to the right side, which is my preference anyways. 5th D Cody Franson. Can replace some of the lost point-shot offense of Stone, and a strong puck mover who'd be perfect in sheltered minutes with either Kulak or Wotherspoon. Can step up into top 4 duties where necessary. Starting Goalie Trade Lance Bouma to the Islanders for Jaroslav Halak. He can handle a 55-60 game workload yet his contract is short enough that we can ween in a guy like Rittich. Backup Goalie The Flames offer a PTO to Joni Ortio and let him, Gillies, and Rittich all duke it out for the backup goaltending spot. If no one looks ready in camp, sign a guy like Enroth. As nice as it is to have a veteran like Chad Johnson, veteran tandems simply don't work. We need a clear backup (with starter potential) and a clear starter. The lineup would look something like: F Gaudreau / Monahan / Williams Stajan / Backlund / Ferland Tkachuk / Bennett / Frolik Lazar / Jankowski / Iginla Hamilton Hathaway D Giordano / Hamilton Del Zotto / Brodie Kulak / Franson or Wotherspoon / Franson G Halak / Rittich __________________ "May those who accept their fate find happiness. May those who defy it find glory." Last edited by GranteedEV; 05-26-2017 at 06:55 PM.