[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Fire

I'm a bit surprised with all the support that Stajan gets by some people. I admit he has been fine as the 4th line player, but Hartley puts him on the 4th line (and the occasional healthy scratch) and hardly on the top 3 lines for a reason. I think the fact that he has gone through some terrible personal issues causes people to defend him more than they would otherwise. I wouldn't trade him during the season, because doing that when his wife is 8 month pregnant would be a dickish move by the organization, but I have absolutely no issue with the Flames trading him during the off-season.

The Flames have too many other younger/cheaper guys that are capable at handling a 4th line center role. Maybe they will not be as good as Stajan is right now, but it will be better asset management to have lower cap and younger player on the 4th line. Shore and Jooris are two guys that could be doing that right now, but both are healthy scratches.

Two words for you: Cap. Floor. We already have lower cap hits and younger players on our top two lines, and likely will get even younger and cheaper over the next couple of years. What you are describing is something you do once you are near the cap and you're paying all your top players premium dollars. That's not where we will be for the next 3 years, which is why Stajan was signed to that contract in the first place.