Quote:
Originally Posted by Toonage
Just to add to the mix of opinions, I really do think this will be a spot where Treliving goes with a known commodity. 3 years of rolling the dice, and while goaltending is always a roll of the dice, he needs to add someone with a history of winning. And that goalie having a great record against Anaheim wouldn't hurt either.
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I have a different take on Treliving's history with goaltenders. One of his first UFA acquisitions was Jonas Hiller in 2014, who was picked up in part to meet cap compliance, and also to contribute a veteran presence to a very young, rebuilding team. Even though the Flames surprisingly made the playoffs in 2015, Treliving was still working on finding a long term solution, and was rumoured to be in on both trades for Martin Jones and Cam Talbot. After a second year in which Hiller demonstrated he was no longer able to play competitively at the NHL level, Treliving was rumoured to be working on a deal to bring Matt Murray to Calgary.
I will agree that the Elliott and Johnson acquisitions from last summer were not Treliving's first choices—and I think given his history Elliott was quite possibly "Plan C" after he was unable to pluck Murray, and then to trade for Ben Bishop.
Treliving's history actually suggests that his first preference will be to find a younger goalie who is ready to be a big-game starter, and to grow with the current core. I think that this is what he will again try to do for a third year in a row—this might be his best chance with upcoming the expansion draft. The UFA goalie market, or a trade for a seasoned, older starter like MA Fleury is probably still a backup plan.