Quote:
Originally Posted by The Fonz
If Colborne is going to cost 3M going forward, then the Flames need to trade him.
I'm not convinced that he's a top 6 forward, and teams get killed cap-wise when they overpay the bottom half of their roster.
I don't believe we'll be a contender with contracts like Colborne (3.5), Stajan (3.2), Raymond (3.15), Bollig (1.3), Smid (3.5), and Engellend (3) on the books. I'm quickly becoming of the opinion that players are either consistent high end NHL talent, or they're expendable, and they need to be paid accordingly. There are no shortage of guys like Hathaway, Nakladal, Grant, etc, toiling away in lesser leagues, and they'd gladly take league minimum if it meant a 1-way NHL contract.
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Unless you expect the Flames to be a contender this year, then there really isn't a problem. Two of those contracts are off the books next summer, and the remaining two the year after.
Oh, and as a side note, the Sharks have Tommy Wingels @ $2.45 m, Joel Ward @ $3.275 m, and Nick Spaling @ $2.2 m. Sure, Ward looks like a great add in the playoffs, but the difference from his regular season performance is fairly analogous to how much better Colborne played in the playoffs last year than he did in the 2014–15 reg. season. The Penguins are paying Carl Hagelin $4.0 m a year, for three more years. If Hagelin is a $4.0 m player on a Stanley Cup contender, then I don't see how Colborne is realistically worth any less than $3.0 m, nor do I see how a contract in that range will irreparably cripple the Flames in the near future.