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Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
That is false. You don't know why Hickey declined to sign. Flames tried to sign him this spring. And we didn't lose him for nothing, we just traded him for our new starting goalie
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I can't establish direct cause and effect but I think we can draw a reasonable inference. It's not like Hickey is Justin Schultz and will have a huge payday when he's signed as a UFA. I think he's calculating his odds on his two-way deal. Riding the bus on less than 10% of your NHL salary for two years while the club signs PTO defensemen every year isn't so enticing. Especially when you look above you and see that the system is logged with other top defensive prospects who are also struggling just to get playing time in the AHL. The best thing we can say about it is it's a positive reflection of the depth of our defensive prospect pool.