We've just passed the midway point of Brad Trelivings first season as the General Manager of the Calgary Flames, so after nearly nine months in charge, I thought it was time for a first assessment of what he's been doing so far. This is neither a "I like Brad Treliving" nor a "I don't like Brad Treliving" thread (which we both had when Feaster was in charge, so it's quite surprising that we have neither right now), but rather a list of all of his moves and an attempt to interpret them.
Let me preface this by saying that I was very happy when Brad Treliving was hired and I still am. He appears to be a very intelligent and pragmatic guy who was certainly ready to step up from his assistant role in Phoenix and become an NHL GM himself. The thing I probably like most is how he deals with the media - he's basically the anti-Feaster, who was bubbly and seemed to try to oversell his players and transactions all time.
One of Trelivings strongest fields so far IMO, I can't really find a bad apple here. Most of those were no-brainers and Treliving certainly didn't overpay for any of those guys. The two signings at the bottom are the most valuable ones, without a doubt. T.J. Brodies new contract blends in nicely with contract extensions of comparable young upcoming defensemen in the league and he will certainly be a core member of the team going forward. Bob Hartley also deserved an extension and it's nice to see them agree to a new contract so early.
Again, not really a single bad decision there. Cammalleri was a good veteran to have, but I'm really happy that Treliving stayed away from giving him a similar contract as the one he signed with the Devils (5 years at 5.0). All the others were depth guys and I think it's fair to say that none of those has been missed.
Still love the Hiller contract because not only did it create competition in net for the starting job this season, but it also allowed the Flames to be patient with Joni Ortio and send him to the AHL for one more season. Because of the short term, it also makes Hillers contract tradeable should the Flames decide to go that route (which I'd prefer - trade Hiller, re-sign Ramo ... but maybe that's just me). Acolatse, Thiessen, Setoguchi, Potter, Diaz - hey, why not. Some good depth guys to be in the press box or down in Adirondack.
With Raymond and Engelland, it obviously gets more tricky ... Treliving shelled out a lot of money and it's up for debate whether the Flames have so far got their money's worth. Raymond has obviously gone on a lengthy cold streak and he needs to start producing again. Engelland is pretty much as advertised ... a bottom-six defenseman with some grit, but probably not worth his contract, neither in term nor AAV. The Setoguchi experiment obviously failed and some will criticize Treliving for that one, but I still don't mind the signing at all. Low risk acquisition that didn't pan out, that's all.
Obviously it's way too early to assess this draft, but at least it's encouraging that Hunter Smith and Austin Carroll have been able to improve their scoring numbers and that both Brandon Hickey and Adam Ollas Mattsson have settled in nicely after moving up to higher leagues. Mason McDonald has faced a much higher workload than last season and that's a huge plus in my opinion. Sam Bennetts injury has been a pity, obviously.
Have there really only been two trades so far? I double-checked, but it really seems I didn't miss any. Obviously the jury is still out on Shore, but there seems to be more potential than with Knight and so I'd call that a win for now. Bollig? That's a different story. I'd have prefered if they had simply used the pick on a player and I'm not a big fan of Bollig so far, but again, that is surely up for discussion.
So in short:
POSITIVES
* re-signing T.J. Brodie and Bob Hartley
* creating competition in net by signing Hiller
* letting all the UFAs leave. The Flames have not missed them at all ... well, maybe Cammalleri, but the contract would not have been worth it.
* signing stop gaps and competition in order to let prospects overripe in the AHL and earn their NHL spots instead of just gift-wrapping them.
* Treliving seems to have no problem freeing up roster spots for young players. Johnny Gaudreau got a spot out of training camp, Josh Jooris secured one shortly after that and Markus Granlund has been up with the Flames for the majority of the season as well. Treliving waived veterans like Setoguchi and McGrattan to create roster spots for young players.
* Trelivings trade record would indicate that he prefers to play it safe despite in theory being allowed to spend to the cap. While I'm not a fan of Bollig, his acquisition made sense as in getting bigger and adding grit to the lineup.
NEGATIVES
* flipping a 3rd for Brandon Bollig. Wasn't worth a 3rd then, isn't worth a 3rd now.
* Mason Raymonds contract does not look pretty right now. Obviously Treliving could have not predicted the impact of the young players who have stepped up, otherwise, does he sign Raymond to that contract? Probably not. However, let's not forget that Raymond was great at the beginning of the season and it's entirely possible that the injury is still slowing him down.
* Deryk Engelland ... I guess that contract is immovable until the final year, but maybe I underestimate Engellands worth. Probably not though.
That's still a pretty good scorecard in my book. All in all, I'd give Treliving a B so far.