[Poe969]

I think at this point, if you're going to pick anyone up you have to let someone go. If it was as easy as just telling someone not to come back, things would be different but we're stuck with Brouwer and to a lesser extent, Frolik and Lazar in the bottom 6. I'm actually ok with Lazar as a 4th line guy and Frolik is a good utility player but those 3 players are almost $10 mil in cap space. The team has to add from within at some point but first they have to see what they have, it would suck to sign Ryan and then have no room for Dube and/or Gawdin to step up and earn a spot but not have one. It's a tough decision to give out a contract to a depth C at this point. Monahan, Backlund and Janko seem to be the guys they have now but if a miracle happens and they get Tavares, do they still go after Ryan? If JT takes his time and wants a few days, do they wait and maybe end up with neither?

Ryan would be a good 3rd line guy but I think Backlund is already an amazing 3rd line guy, the problem is he's playing on the second line. I think the team needs to pick up a top 2 center and make Backlund the third guy. As good as it would be to have better bottom 6 guys, the top 6 needs to be addressed sooner. The Flames have guys playing too far up the roster IMO and need to pick up skilled guys who can push those guys back down to a spot that better fits them. Backlund, Frolik and even Ferland* would all do better in lesser roles. *Ferland has chemistry with the top line so if they can't find anyone who can develop any chemistry with them, he could be a backup plan). The team really only has 3 legitimate top 6 guys in Monahan, Gaudreau and Tkachuck. Ferland is what he is so he's like a tweener but I think he'd do better on a lower line. Backlund and Frolik make up 2/3 of a really good third line. Bennett and Janko are huge question marks at this point and if they don't step up soon will put the team in a bad spot. This team needs to find a way to get more high end talent.