[bigrangy]

Sort of out there proposal but I think it's a very good fit for all players and teams involved:

To Montreal:

Giordano
Backlund

To Calgary:

Brendan Gallagher
Mikhail Sergachev
David Desharnais (cap dump)

The Logic:

Montreal is on the very cusp of being an elite team. Their biggest holes are a partner for Weber and a #2 Center to take the heat off of Galchenyuk. Montreal isn't worried about Giordano's big cap hit because the future is now, and they need to win while Price is still under contract and still elite. Giordano-Weber would be an elite pairing for the next several years and Backlund fills a huge need.

Calgary is (sort-of) stumbling through a rebuild and needs to decide what it wants to be. Is the window open now or will it be a few years. I'm of the opinion that the window does not open until Monahan and Bennett get better, and by that time, Backlund will probably need a big extension and Giordano might not be a dominant #1 anymore. Gallagher, despite being tiny, is one of the league's premier net front forwards and is on a great contract for the next 5 years. I think he'd be a fantastic compliment to Gaudreau. Sergachev is one of the best defensive prospects out there and should end up being a good #3 and probably better. He projects very similarly to Giordano, a two way defenseman that has elite offensive skills. DD is a cap dump, expiring this year. The Habs may prefer to send Plekanec instead, since he expires next year. Either way I think the cap is manageable.

The Flames would rebuild around Gaudreau, Monahan, Bennett, Tkachuk, Sergachev, Hamilton and Brodie. As well, this move would open up a protection slot for another d-man should Brad be looking to acquire one.

Next year's lineup:

Gaudreau-Monahan-Frolik
Tkachuk-Bennett-Gallagher
bottom 6: Ferland, Bouma, Brouwer, Stajan, Hathaway, Chiasson, Hamilton, Versteeg (if re-signed), DD (if re-signed), Jankowski, UFAs

Brodie-Hamilton
hopes and prayers, Kulak, Andersson, Sergachev

goalies

The Flames would have about 21 million in cap space to fill the holes on defense/goalie with UFA's or trades (Fleury maybe?) which should be enough to bridge the team until 2018/19 when I believe the Flames should be truly competitive.

It would suck to lose the captain and this year's best forward but I don't think the Flames have sucked quite enough to ensure future success. One more year of pain will have the Flames set up incredibly well for the future.

Also, for Giordano, it will give him the opportunity to play on a contending team while he is still in the height of his career. He deserves it after toiling in (relative) mediocrity his whole career.

What do you think? As far as fit goes, I think it's damn near perfect for both sides, but the value may be off.