[PlayfulGenius]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

There is absolutely no way that the Flames are as bad as they were this year next year and the playoff teams not as good.

Hartley, King, Feaster will all be fired and out of hockey if the Flames are as bad. There is no way that Feaster ices a tanking line-up as his job in hockey will be on the line. New GM would likely mean whole new organization.

The Flames have always spent to the cap, they have lots of cap space to buy UFA's in a market where all other teams have to cut down.

Teams that are currently spending to the cap (most of the playoff teams) will be buying out under-achievers AND will not have cap space to bid on the UFA's.

The Pens have 7.8 M to sign 5-6 players to fill in their rosters.... Means UFA Iginla, Morrow, Murray, Dupuis and cooke will not be signed by the Pens .

The Hawks have 2M left to keep RFA Leddy and a goalie and another roster player..... Means Rosinval and Stalberg and Bickell are not Hawks next year.

If you don't see that big bodies Bickell and Stallberg make Baertschi and Hudler and Cammalleri better you just are not paying attention,

If Horton, Clarkson, Iginla, Regehr, Clowe, Ryder, Morrow, Cooke, Dupuis, Douglas murray do not sign with the Flames... who will they sign with? For how much ? and how does that team work them under the cap?

The Flames can basically figure out which ones of these UFA's they want and make them reasonable offers and they will be Flames.


The Flames are in their best position to become a playoff team since they signed Bouwmeester for so much more cap space than he was / is worth.

Your assessments are very premature... Trades and Buyouts will change the cap-space landscape a great deal.