Quote:
Originally Posted by Parallex
Well... McDavid does at any rate. Ekblad looks to be very good but I wouldn't call him a franchise player.
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I'm not sure what more Ekblad can do earn that designation. Being the second (and the first Dman) to ever earn exceptional status to play in the OHL as an underager is pretty significant. Even with being a Dman and missing 10+ games on the year he ended up 7th on the team for points.
What's more, he already has a better beard than most people on this board could hope for. And, to make things even better,
he is apparently a long time friend of McDavid. All the more reason to collect them both.
The article also goes on to give some other fun facts, like how Ekblad is being mentored by Bobby Orr and how he is now 6'5".
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parallex
Honestly though... I'm having a hard time imagining Burke and Feaster not looking at the probable $40,000,000.00 in potential Cap Space we'll have at the end of this year and deciding not to go whale hunting (Not with both Phaneaf & Kessel on the market at anyrate).
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I don't see a Flames - Phaneuf reunion happening any time soon. It will be interesting to see who all makes it to UFA day. There are a lot of big names with their contracts coming up this year and I am sure most of the teams will be looking to re-sign guys like Vanek, Thornton, Gaborik, Marleau, Lundqvist, Boyle, Miller, etc.
If the Flames do go whale hunting though, I expect it would have to be one of the younger guys on a huge contract so that he can both help s
tabilize the team in the short term and still be able to contribute to the long term success after the rebuild.