Quote:
Originally Posted by GullFoss
When i watched i read his tone and words around ortio as saying "if we abolutwly no othwr choice cuz ortio has an amzing camp, we'll move a goalie. But otherwise, back to minors for ortio"
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I think you read too much into it. Imo, he was suggesting that if Ortio is the first or second best goalie coming out of camp then he will likely be in the NHL this season, and Brad will make a trade to accommodate that.
As much as every GM says that salary/contract status plays no role in who plays where (aka always earned, never given) it simply isn't 100% true. I do think the Flames are one of the best in the league at staying very true to this motto, but eventually there will be times where asset protection plays a role.
I know others state vehemently that Ortio isn't a risk to send down due to other teams needing to keep him up, but the fact of the matter is he has shown a very big "flash" in the string of games he played last year. When you show what he has in the minors and then you come up and show starting goalie potential like he did, you're on the radar in this league.
All it would take is one of 29 teams scanning the waiver wire and going "goalie X is having a crappy camp, Ortio can't be worse and we could potentially steal a number one starter, let's grab him", and we lose a very big asset for nothing. I really, really can't see Brad taking that risk, not his style, and truly believe that Ortio has a huge advantage to making our top 2, and in all likelihood will earn it anyways.