Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
I wasn't saying you weren't an optimist.
The Flames are looking to make changes, to upgrade. Hudler is one of our most tradeable commodities. I'm not underrating him, quite the opposite. Recognizing that he's a skilled, good veteran is what makes his trade value solid right now. So we're going to be talking about moving him this summer because Treliving and Burke are likely looking to change things around and try to upgrade the team. Sure we can move him later but then who are we going to move now to change things now? He's one of our most valuable commodities that we can part with long term.
And yes his value could definitely regress. He was the Flames top scorer last year. A bad stretch or some injuries next year and his value could certainly be lower. Look what a bad start to the season did to Cammalleri's value.
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Okay, you definitely make some good points. However there's also a chance that he could improve on last season, especially if Cammy doesn't re-sign. He will be option #1 in most offensive situations. Also, we will have a much better idea of whether Johnny or Sven are able to hack it full time at the NHL level by November/December. I just feel it's too early to trade Hudler now unless the return is unbelievable. Let our young guys show that they can step in and fill Hudler's role before deciding to deal him. Handing Sven or Johnny the job before they've earned it, is Oileresque.