Dreger: Flames disappointed in missing out on James Neal
Apparently said on TSN Radio a few minutes ago.
Hope_Smoke @Hope_Smoke · 33s
Dreger "I know Calgary, and others, were disappointed that the Pens didn't shop Neal more before they made the trade"
Hope_Smoke @Hope_Smoke · 1m
Dreger "I don't know how Neal would be a fit in Cal because they're in a rebuild but Treliving definitely wants to be busy"
Neal is 26 and could have still been a part of the solution. Oh well not disappointed we missed out evacuee he has character issues but it would be nice to add a goal scorer in his prime
They've done basically everything right so far this offseason and are making a beeline in the right direction as far as I'm concerned. Stay away from the flashy acquisitions and stay the course. I wonder what this would have cost them...
Dreger: Flames disappointed in missing out on James Neal
Being in a rebuild doesn't mean you give up any hope of being competitive, unless you're Buffalo or Edmonton maybe. Neal is 26 and would have been a great fit here, depending on the cost (which was apparently not much).
Dreger is a tool.
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I think it'd be a mistake not to look into nearly every player available, through free agency and trade. The Preds didn't have to give an arm and a leg for Neal so maybe the price wasn't extremely high. Could always flip Neal for assets later, while having a temporary solution and making the team more competitive
I could see why the flames are disappointed. It's not like Neal got a whopping good return. At the price that he was traded for would have made sense to the flames. Neal at 26 would have helped for rebuild and still part of the team when pushing for a cup years later.
I must be missing something, because the entire hockey world knew Neal was available for trade.... Maybe the Flames had interest but i dont buy that they were caught off guard by him being traded
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neal would have been a decent move for the flames. Our weakest position, and he's only 26 so could be part of the long term solution here.
guy who can score, understandably not at the same clip given his penguin linemates, but also has good size, and is known to rough it up (to the point where many feel he is cheap).
Would have been a great pick up for the flames. I imagine the flames similar proposal would have been glencross+depth forward.
Adding top line players is the only really useful way to spend to reach cap floor. Give the young guys some talent to play behind so they can establish themselves against lower defence pairings.
They've done basically everything right so far this offseason and are making a beeline in the right direction as far as I'm concerned. Stay away from the flashy acquisitions and stay the course. I wonder what this would have cost them...
Flames have a big gap in terms of players between the ages of 25-30. Backlund is 25, Hudler/Stajan are 30. They've got David Jones who is 29.
Doesn't surprise me they are looking to fill players in that age group. Bollig is 27 and fits that bill.
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Hope_Smoke @Hope_Smoke · 33s
Dreger "I know Calgary, and others, were disappointed that the Pens didn't shop Neal more before they made the trade"
Hope_Smoke @Hope_Smoke · 1m
Dreger "I don't know how Neal would be a fit in Cal because they're in a rebuild but Treliving definitely wants to be busy"
also, clearly dreger just isn't a very smart hockey guy, the more you hear him speak/tweet, the more apparent that becomes. I guess going full oiler and playing rookies to fill out the lineup is the only way he sees a rebuild "work".
I wouldn't have minded picking up Neal, as most have said he's young enough to be a part of the teams potential upswing, but I don't think people here would have liked what we would have had to give up.
Nashville gave up a very good, big two-way player in Hornqvist, something we don't have an abundance of. It likely would have cost Backlund and a good prospect and maybe a pick to nab Neal. Not sure I would have liked that. Backlund is big for our center depth going forward and we likely would have had to give up one of our better prospects (Sven, Wotherspoon) and a decent (3rd or higher) pick to complete it. For a one dimensional winger, it would have been tough to swallow.
So how did I now that Neal was going to be moved out of Pitt but the Flames didn't?
It didn't say they dint know he was available, it said they wished he was shopped around more. Maybe the flames thought there would be more dialogue between the 2 teams before giving him to Nashville.
Dreger: Flames disappointed in missing out on James Neal
