The Other RFAs

[Itse]

As things are, I'd rather try Monahan on the wing than Colborne.

I don't get what people are seeing when they complain about Colborne at center. The guy is PPG, tied for the team lead in points, and has a very respectable +/- of +3, among the best in team. He's not even that terrible on faceoffs, ~47% (or five wins short of 50/50 on a little over 100 FO's taken.) Even the team is doing well.

In any case, you can always move centers to wing, and ideally you need at least four guys that can play top 3 center on the roster, in case one of them is injured.

Byron is a placeholder in my books. A likable, energetic stopgap, but one that will make room for bigger and equally/more skilled guys probably as soon as next year, possibly even this season.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by devo22

with Sven and Ferland rotating in for Byron, Granlund etc. Somehow need to find a way to get rid of Jones though

Put him in the lineup for a game or two, he'll take care of the rest.

[OutOfTheCube]

Stajan is the definition of a completely forgettable player. This is his SIXTH season in Calgary and it feels like he hasn't done anything. A long term extension for him was a big mistake.

[killer_carlson]

Bouma might look at a guy like Eric Nystrom and want the $2.5 per that Nystrom gets. He's a tough one.

He's a great 4th line player, but to manage the cap properly, your 4th line can't be too expensive or it takes away your room for the top end.

On the flip side, the heart that he shows is exactly what you want to keep around. I'd hate to see him scooped up by the Oilers or Canucks. More than a few Oiler fans have commented to me that they'd love to see him on the Oilers.

I'd like to see him in a 3 year contract at up to 1.5 per. He could get more as the top PK forward on the team.

[Finger Cookin]

I hope Bouma gets a multi-year deal. Anything around $1.5M is fine with me, a couple hundred K around there either way isn't a big deal.

I would definitely like to see Backlund signed for 3-4 seasons. He's good insulation as Monahan and Bennett grow into their roles. As things stand now, I'd like to have the three of them as a group for years to come.

Byron I can take or leave. I like his compete level, but I'm thinking he gets forced out of the picture by prospect development - barring some huge steps forward from him. We're better off as a team either way.

[Goriders]

Backlund. Not sure what they do if they sign him long term. Bennett will be showing up next year. We'll have a log jam at C. Or Colborne has to go back to the wing. This is why I was so surprised the extended Stajan.

Bouma. I also think he's an important piece. He can play up and down the line-up and he does things others won't.

Byron. Nothing but good things happen when he's on the ice. I think he's been our best forward to this point. Hope they keep him around somehow. He plays waaaay bigger than he is.

[442scotty]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Stajan is the definition of a completely forgettable player. This is his SIXTH season in Calgary and it feels like he hasn't done anything. A long term extension for him was a big mistake.

I think Burke was being nice when he did it. But hopefully he will get traded

[Finger Cookin]

We also have a ton of guys coming off ELCs to consider.

Jooris, Baertschi, Van Brabant, Knight, Arnold, Wolf, Agostino, Ramage, Reinhart, Ferland, and Elson. Not to mention older RFAs like Hanowski, Cundari, and Acolatse.

[Funkhouser]

Originally Posted by Finger Cookin

We also have a ton of guys coming off ELCs to consider.

Jooris, Baertschi, Van Brabant, Knight, Arnold, Wolf, Agostino, Ramage, Reinhart, Ferland, and Elson. Not to mention older RFAs like Hanowski, Cundari, and Acolatse.

Does this mean that these guys have to make the big club or we risk losing them on waivers?? If that is the case, we may get a couple strong prospects poached as I only see 3-4 rookies making the lineup this season or next season's training camp.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Funkhouser

Does this mean that these guys have to make the big club or we risk losing them on waivers?? If that is the case, we may get a couple strong prospects poached as I only see 3-4 rookies making the lineup this season or next season's training camp.

nope. IIRC Baertschi, Reinhart and Ferland are waiver exempt until they have played 160 NHL games, while Jooris, Arnold and Agostino are waiver exempt until they have played 70 or 80 NHL games, not sure. Could be wrong though.

[ricardodw]

If Byron gets a 2 year contract he becomes next year's Setoguchi/Jones/Stajan....



Does Byron even make the team next year or the year after with Bennett and Ferland and Jooris and Poirier and Klimchuck and Rienhart and Arnold and Agostino and Granlund and Knight.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by devo22

nope. IIRC Baertschi, Reinhart and Ferland are waiver exempt until they have played 160 NHL games, while Jooris, Arnold and Agostino are waiver exempt until they have played 70 or 80 NHL games, not sure. Could be wrong though.

Waivers is based both on games and years since first NHL contract signed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHL_salary_cap#Exemptions

Based on that, it looks like the following:

Jooris: 1 more year or 59 more games
Baertschi: Waiver eligible in 2015-16
Arnold: 1 more year or 79 more games
Agostino: 1 more year or 72 more games
Reinhart: Waiver eligible in 2015-16
Ferland: Waiver eligible in 2015-16

[Bankai]

After reading this thread, it's so refreshing to see how much talent the flames have developed as an organization. Backlund, Bouma, Brodie. Such an amazing era that the flames are entering into.

[chubeyr1]

I do believe Bouma's last contract was insulting. Yet again really it was his first full season in the league. Team could of and probably should of rewarded his effort a little more. Not an insane number, just 100,000 or 200,000 more. Just as a thanks for all the bruises he has.

I don't know if the right move is to lock him up long term though. 3 years at 1.5million I would be fine with.

Backlund? Here is the question? What is he? 1st 2nd or 3rd line center? I say third line. 3 year no more than 3.5 million. If he breaks out this year offensively maybe a little more.

Byron? I love the guy. He has no spot on the team other than an injury call up. Yet another guy taking chances away from our prospects. If he is ok being a tweener I would sign him to a cheap one way with the idea of him being in the AHL for at least half of most seasons.

Colborne? He has grown so much on me. I think he is an absolutely horrible center though. Can we move him to right wing and be done with this already? He is not a playmaker, but he is somewhat of a finisher, what you need in a winger. Big right winger with skill and size, starting to use his body a lot more. I am sold!

[chubeyr1]

Originally Posted by Bankai

After reading this thread, it's so refreshing to see how much talent the flames have developed as an organization. Backlund, Bouma, Brodie. Such an amazing era that the flames are entering into.

I don't know if you forgot to use green text or not? Don't know how old you are, or how long you have been a fan. Backlund was a first round pick, fans should expect him to be in the league. He is a good third line center on a good team. That's not being a bust, but its not completely living up to potential either. YET!

Bouma is a grinder, that blocks shots. Love the guy but its the only way he stays in the league.

Brodie was a fourth round pick that has developed more than anyone could of hoped for. We got lucky here. Yes I do think we developed him well.

Yet the next ten pages of my post is the prospects we drafted that we failed to develop!

How about just a list of names, others can chime into. Chucko, Ryder, Baldwin, Negrin, Pelech, Nemisz, that's just off the top of my head at the moment. There are many many many others I have thankfully forgotten and I would appreciate it if fans don't remind me of them.

Our drafting and development of players has been horrible in the past. Last ten years have been a wasteland. Why are we rebuilding? Cause we have not been able to draft well and develop players.

[Da_Chief]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

If Byron gets a 2 year contract he becomes next year's Setoguchi/Jones/Stajan....



Does Byron even make the team next year or the year after with Bennett and Ferland and Jooris and Poirier and Klimchuck and Rienhart and Arnold and Agostino and Granlund and Knight.

No way he becomes those guys. He's one of the most hardest working players I've seen.

Bennett, Ferland, Porier, Klimchuk, granlund will be fighting for top 6 spots in coming years. He's so far beaten those other guys and continues to play well up here.

Byron is awesome. Plays waaay bigger then he is.

[driveway]

Why would we only offer Backlund a 3 or 4 year deal? Why wouldn't we offer him 5 years, like we just offered Brodie? 5 years at 3.5 and we've got a guy who can play 2nd or 3rd line C depending on how Monahan, Bennett, Colborne and anyone else we draft progresses, kills penalties, and dominates possession numbers.

What team in the NHL wouldn't love to have Mikael Backlund as their 3rd line C for that price? Is there any indications there's going to be regression or stagnation in his game? Hasn't he gotten better every single year he's been in the league?

What is the thinking behind offering him a shorter term deal?

[Finger Cookin]

With regards to Backlund, I can tell you that I personally suggested a 3-4 year deal because I have a personal thing about long term contracts. They seem like a great way to lower the AAV in a cap world, but so much can happen in 7 or 8 seasons. Injury risk, coaching changes, changing role due to new acquisitions/draft picks, trade demands - I suppose I should be able to separate that stuff from contract term and AAV. But personally, I always feel much more at ease with 3-5 year deals. Anything more than 2 years is a commitment to the player IMO. And I like the flexibility of deals that are not 6+ years.

So when I suggested offering Backlund 3-4 years, I wasn't intending a commentary on his role on the team or a desire to rid the club of his services.

[FlameZilla]

Originally Posted by Arya Stark

$2.25 million on a long term deal (4-5 years) is going to put us in cap hell?

That's not even the average salary in the NHL. Is Bouma better than the average player in the NHL? I think he brings more to the table than the average NHLer that's for sure.

He might not be a top 6 player on this team but I think he is top 6 in valuable forwards. If we lose Bouma, we are left with a huge hole.

He was second in the league in blocked shots last season among forwards. That alone will make him get a nice hefty raise. I don't see him getting less than $2 million on about a 4 year deal.

It would only take about half that salary to re-sign Bouma. We know his great attributes and we know what he's worth to the team but there's no way an arbitrator or anyone else rules he's worth any more than what Brandon Bollig earns ($1.25 million).

Teams get into Cap Hell when they start overpaying players by extra millions here and there, thus making average players over-payed and completely un-tradable. I'd argue that we're already vastly overpaying Wideman, Stajan, Engelland, Smid, Jones and maybe Raymond.

Within the next 2 years the following players need to be re-signed if they are to be a part of the future. In bold if they're obviously due a raise.

UFAs:

Giordano (possibly doubling his current salary)
Ramo
Glencross (won't take another hometown discount)
Hudler (if he's part of the future)
Russell (ditto)
McGrattan (ditto)
Setoguchi (probably walks if he isn't waived before that)
Jones (ditto)

RFAs:

Backlund
Monahan
Colborne
Gaudreau
Bouma
Byron
Baertschi
Reinhart
Ferland
Jooris
Wotherspoon
Granlund
Ortio
Knight
Van Brabant
Arnold
Wolf
Hanowski
Agostino
Elson
Acolatse
Ramage

How can you expect to stay out of Cap Hell long term if you start chucking extra millions at 4th liners just for the sake of it? Guys like Wideman, Stajan, Smid, Engelland, Raymond and Bollig don't come off the books for at least another season and I'd argue that most of them, on their current deals, are not tradable. That is going to be a pain once all our 'core' players are re-upped. Especially bad if Monahan, Baertschi, Bennett, Gaudreau and the rest live up to their potential.

We need some cap flexibility some day soon in the future. You engineer that by being sensible now.

[Fire]

^^^None of the current bad contracts are long enough to cause the Flames issues with the Cap.