quite honestly the flames are missing 2 middle six forwards.
If there's an option there to grab two forwards from one team in one deal I think that's the natural direction to look if you're Tre.
The Flames have been remarkably fortunate this year in terms of injuries. Imagine how crippling an injury to backlund or Monahan would've been.
If you can get, on paper, a centre lineup of Monahan/O'Reilly/Backlund you can have a dearth of underqualified wingers on the wing. The reason being, in case of a line going cold or there being an injury, you have options for your talented wingers (gaudreau/tkachuk). Not to take anything away from Ferland or Bennett, but we've seen what those guys can do with and without playing those top guys.
If you can nab E. Kane and Oreilly in one deal, you've created a distinct 4 year window in which you can expect your roster to challenge for the non-wildcard spots in their conference.
I don't know what Buffalo is after, but with Phil Housley there maybe they see an emphasis for Fox. If they see Sam Girard potential in him as an example, maybe there isn't a ton of other value needed to secure the deal.
|