2024/2025 Trade Rumours and Speculation thread

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

I have zero faith Makar will become a Flame. It's fun to joke about but he's a franchise player and IMO he'll never reach free agency. The Avs will lock him to an 8 year extension before he even plays a game on the final year of his current deal.

That is fair but I do see a situation where the Avs are not looking to be super competitive in that timeframe and the Flames may have the ability to offer a strong up and coming team, with a shiny new building and the lure of playing for his hometown. It’s a long shot but a dream worth believing if you ask me

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

Treliving was the GM. The main guy that built this team.
They are bottom feeder , needing a major rebuild

But it’s not his fault. Nice

I think there's a happy resting place between everything is Treliving's fault and nothing is.

If you tee up one over the top view you're bound to get the opposite extreme.

Things should have gone better last year ... nothing went right. But no GM in the league is going to be able to keep free agents that don't want to play in Canada or don't want to play in the Saddledome.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I wouldn't trade Kuz until next deadline anyhow. Feed him lots of minutes and PP1 time and he is going to score a lot of goals, you will get a significant rental return at the deadline if he is on pace for 30-40 goals or more.

I would argue early February or during 4 Nations break might be the maximum return if this year was any indication. Kuz at the deadline would probably return something like Toffoli did (2nd and a 3rd).

[Funkhouser]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

I would argue early February or during 4 Nations break might be the maximum return if this year was any indication. Kuz at the deadline would probably return something like Toffoli did (2nd and a 3rd).

I suspect we will be underwhelmed for the returns for next year's UFA crop (Mangiapane & Kuzmenko) next deadline. Both wingers, both slightly overpaid.

Toffoli has a better pedigree and a cheaper salary and returned a 2nd/3rd with retention. I understand the idea of pumping both players up and dumping at their peak, but Toffoli was pumped this year and didn't return a haul.

I think the best time to move them would be this summer when the cap goes up and teams miss out on UFAs. I would be happy to get a 2nd for either, but am not optimistic.

[SaskyFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I think there's a happy resting place between everything is Treliving's fault and nothing is.

If you tee up one over the top view you're bound to get the opposite extreme.

Things should have gone better last year ... nothing went right. But no GM in the league is going to be able to keep free agents that don't want to play in Canada or don't want to play in the Saddledome.

My belief is:

- Treliving built a very good team while he was here, a legit contender

- The summer of 2022 gutted that team

- Treliving’s fatal flaw was not starting a re-tool then and getting younger. Maybe not his choice, maybe it was

- The mess the team was left in all goes back to that summer, changed the entire trajectory of the team

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by SaskyFlamesFan

My belief is:

- Treliving built a very good team while he was here, a legit contender

- The summer of 2022 gutted that team

- Treliving’s fatal flaw was not starting a re-tool then and getting younger. Maybe not his choice, maybe it was

- The mess the team was left in all goes back to that summer, changed the entire trajectory of the team

Rational!

If the GM and/or the organization put off the rebuild I agree, that was the opportunity.

Especially with the number of UFAs slated for the 23/24 season.

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I think there's a happy resting place between everything is Treliving's fault and nothing is.

If you tee up one over the top view you're bound to get the opposite extreme.

Things should have gone better last year ... nothing went right. But no GM in the league is going to be able to keep free agents that don't want to play in Canada or don't want to play in the Saddledome.

Yes, of course. He had his moment. Took a big swing and miss.

But at the end of the day, the state of the team today is exactly on Treliving but nobody else for whatever reasons

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

Yes, of course. He had his moment. Took a big swing and miss.

But at the end of the day, the state of the team today is exactly on Treliving but nobody else for whatever reasons

Who is arguing otherwise?

[Hackey]

Originally Posted by SaskyFlamesFan

My belief is:

- Treliving built a very good team while he was here, a legit contender

- The summer of 2022 gutted that team

- Treliving’s fatal flaw was not starting a re-tool then and getting younger. Maybe not his choice, maybe it was

- The mess the team was left in all goes back to that summer, changed the entire trajectory of the team

It's tough to gauge what they actually were because they had a few great seasons and a few terrible seasons. They always flip flopped. It's tough to know what they actually were. They seemed like a good team but not a legit contender.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by SaskyFlamesFan

My belief is:

- Treliving built a very good team while he was here, a legit contender

- The summer of 2022 gutted that team

- Treliving’s fatal flaw was not starting a re-tool then and getting younger. Maybe not his choice, maybe it was

- The mess the team was left in all goes back to that summer, changed the entire trajectory of the team

I wonder if Gaudreau tracks the news of all these Flames mainstays leaving and thinks to himself about how his decision to leave is what set it all off.

More or less, that's what started the chain reaction that led us to where we are now.

[Vinsta13]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

I wonder if Gaudreau tracks the news of all these Flames mainstays leaving and thinks to himself about how his decision to leave is what set it all off.

More or less, that's what started the chain reaction that led us to where we are now.

Gaudreau leaving was a blessing in disguise. I believe we weren’t going to win the cup with a core of Lindholm, Gaudreau and Chucky. We had too many up/down seasons with no real depth (as we are seeing now). I believe if they stayed we would have continued to be a mediocre/middle of the ground team and not drafting low enough to get an elite player to compliment the 3. That core did not have the strength to beat an Avalanche, or Vegas team.

I believe Conroy has a chance to do this right and add a few elite players from the draft while still having veteran players to help the “retool”. We lucked out with Gaudreau in the 4th round, let’s find another bigger, younger and more elite Gaudreau in the top 10 of the draft (hopefully a centre).

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

I wonder if Gaudreau tracks the news of all these Flames mainstays leaving and thinks to himself about how his decision to leave is what set it all off.

More or less, that's what started the chain reaction that led us to where we are now.

I think the only thing Gaudreau tracks now is family things. That drive and passion he had while here is just gone now.

[Mr.Coffee]

I’m pumped the Flames finally decided to rebuild. It’s what I’d been hoping for for a couple years and they finally came around. I really look forward to watching them draft and build a contender.

As we learnt in ‘04, it’s way more fun cheering for a team with low / no expectations than to expect things and be disappointed when it doesn’t happen. I believe the way that ‘04 team came together had a lot to do with expectations being wildly surpassed, especially after such a long playoff drought and then to win that first round. The city exploded, and with that, the momentum, energy, enthusiasm and enormous fan support was a critical factor to that teams success as well.

With a rebuild, I think we’re back on that track. With a salary cap era and in a small market Canadian city with suboptimal climate and competing with cities like Vegas, Miami, New York, Boston, LA, Nashville, etc.- Calgary is an uphill battle to sell to players. So I think you basically have to have cost control through drafting star players and we’re finally on that track.

Feels good that the team finally “gets it”.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by Funkhouser

I suspect we will be underwhelmed for the returns for next year's UFA crop (Mangiapane & Kuzmenko) next deadline. Both wingers, both slightly overpaid.

Toffoli has a better pedigree and a cheaper salary and returned a 2nd/3rd with retention. I understand the idea of pumping both players up and dumping at their peak, but Toffoli was pumped this year and didn't return a haul.

I think the best time to move them would be this summer when the cap goes up and teams miss out on UFAs. I would be happy to get a 2nd for either, but am not optimistic.

Yegor as well... UFA after next season. I think the team should probably try to move Markstrom and Mangiapane at the draft before UFA's eat up other teams cap space. Kuzmenko might have to wait until the TDL.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Vinsta13

Gaudreau leaving was a blessing in disguise. I believe we weren’t going to win the cup with a core of Lindholm, Gaudreau and Chucky. We had too many up/down seasons with no real depth (as we are seeing now). I believe if they stayed we would have continued to be a mediocre/middle of the ground team and not drafting low enough to get an elite player to compliment the 3. That core did not have the strength to beat an Avalanche, or Vegas team.

I believe Conroy has a chance to do this right and add a few elite players from the draft while still having veteran players to help the “retool”. We lucked out with Gaudreau in the 4th round, let’s find another bigger, younger and more elite Gaudreau in the top 10 of the draft (hopefully a centre).

I have a feeling you’re not going to find an elite player where the Flames are going to be drafting.

I don’t disagree with everything else that you said.

[tony-soprano]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

I’m pumped the Flames finally decided to rebuild. It’s what I’d been hoping for for a couple years and they finally came around. I really look forward to watching them draft and build a contender.

As we learnt in ‘04, it’s way more fun cheering for a team with low / no expectations than to expect things and be disappointed when it doesn’t happen. I believe the way that ‘04 team came together had a lot to do with expectations being wildly surpassed, especially after such a long playoff drought and then to win that first round. The city exploded, and with that, the momentum, energy, enthusiasm and enormous fan support was a critical factor to that teams success as well.

With a rebuild, I think we’re back on that track. With a salary cap era and in a small market Canadian city with suboptimal climate and competing with cities like Vegas, Miami, New York, Boston, LA, Nashville, etc.- Calgary is an uphill battle to sell to players. So I think you basically have to have cost control through drafting star players and we’re finally on that track.

Feels good that the team finally “gets it”.

That was a rough 7 seasons, and if it wasn’t for Kipper would have been a lot longer.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

That is fair but I do see a situation where the Avs are not looking to be super competitive in that timeframe and the Flames may have the ability to offer a strong up and coming team, with a shiny new building and the lure of playing for his hometown. It’s a long shot but a dream worth believing if you ask me

I really have no idea if Makar would like to play for his hometown, but I have doubts about Calgary being a strong up and coming team in 3 years, especially if they plan to do a retool.

Who is the core in 3 years?

Calgary likely needs to go down before they go up. I am not certain they’ve hit bottom yet.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

I really have no idea if Makar would like to play for his hometown, but I have doubts about Calgary being a strong up and coming team in 3 years, especially if they plan to do a retool.

Who is the core in 3 years?

Calgary likely needs to go down before they go up. I am not certain they’ve hit bottom yet.

They’re rebuilding now. If they aren’t up and coming in 3 years then it’s unlikely they will be unless they rebuild again.

[prizefighterinferno]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

I really have no idea if Makar would like to play for his hometown, but I have doubts about Calgary being a strong up and coming team in 3 years, especially if they plan to do a retool.

Who is the core in 3 years?

Calgary likely needs to go down before they go up. I am not certain they’ve hit bottom yet.

If you squint (and get a bit of good luck) it's not completely inconceivable that by the time the '26 season rolls around you could be on the upswing with a solid foundation.

Draft high the next two years, try to sign a "hometown" guy like Konecny if he's available after '25, and don't make any foolish UFA signings otherwise of guys that aren't real needle movers that have outsized cap hits relative to impacts.

Emerge with asset base of:
2024 top 10 pick, top 30 pick
2025 top 10 pick
Zary
Coronato
Pelletier
Honzek
Wolf
Poirier? Bruz?
Two firsts in '26

And an older veteran group including some of
*Konency
Sharangovich
Huberdeau
Kadri
Coleman
Backlund
Weegar
Kylington

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by SaskyFlamesFan

My belief is:

- Treliving built a very good team while he was here, a legit contender

- The summer of 2022 gutted that team

- Treliving’s fatal flaw was not starting a re-tool then and getting younger. Maybe not his choice, maybe it was

- The mess the team was left in all goes back to that summer, changed the entire trajectory of the team

Treliving built a team which alternated between making the playoffs and missing the playoffs. Very middle of the pack