[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

Gaudreau - Monahan - (A)______
Tkachuk - (B)______ - (C)______
M Ferland - Backlund - Frolik


Ideally this is how I'd like to see the top 9 constructed. A, B, C can be acquired by trade, UFA signing or filled from within. At this point I'm not very confident that any of those spots can be adequately filled from within though, but you never know as young players can surprise.

A - Bennett, Foo, Mangiapane, Dube. Real long shots would be Phillips or Gawdin. You could always put Ferland there again as he performed just fine, but I'd love to see a young right hand shot in that spot. Someone like Josh Anderson would be perfect.

B - Jankowski, Bennett or a UFA signing or trade. I don't know if Janko has the chops for that role yet, but maybe he could manage if you flank him with another solid winger to go along with Tkachuk. Like a James Neal or David Perron for instance. Ideally Janko takes that spot and runs away with it next year, but that's a huge gamble. Or an even longer shot is Bennett if Peters decides to give him another go at center. Like I said, to have a young guy step up and perform there would be huge, but for the UFA route it's Tavares or bust, which we all know is also very unlikely. As for trades, ROR and Jordan Staal have been rumored to be potentially available, I would also be good with centers like Lindholm, Zibanejad and Duchene at a fair price.

C - If a young C like Janko is used as the 2C, then as mentioned earlier, I'd like to see a guy like Neal or Perron brought in for the 2nd line right wing spot. A proven top 6 NHL winger. If you end up with a homerun like Tavares, then I'm pretty sure someone like Foo or Mangiapane could fill that spot just fine without hurting you. I'd even say the same if a lesser C than Tavares was brought in, as mentioned above.

Fill out the 4th line with the leftover pieces after they battle it out in camp.

Some examples:

Gaudreau - Monahan - Josh Anderson
Tkachuk - Jankowski - James Neal
Ferland - Backlund - Frolik

Gaudreau - Monahan - Connor Brown
Tkachuk - Tavares - Spencer Foo
Ferland - Backlund - Frolik

Gaudreau - Monahan - David Perron
Tkachuk - Zibanejad - Sam Bennett
Ferland - Backlund - Frolik

Gaudreau - Monahan - Jakub Silfverberg
Tkachuk - R. O'Reilly - Andrew Mangiapane
Ferland - Backlund - Frolik

I would prefer Bennett penciled in where you have Ferland. Personally I think the Flames should try and sell high on Ferland and keep Bennett