When this rumor broke a couple days ago and I listened to Conroy on the fan it makes a lot of sense. They want to co tend for years to come and this trade is a little half step back but long term it keeps them more competitive imo.
I think they made the Hamilton deal as a way to speed up the rebuild while not doing something stupid like acquiring older players with picks and prospects. 2 years later after being swept in the first round of the playoffs they felt they were ready to take the next step to being a perennial playoff team and traded picks for a 35 year old goalie and a 27 year old Dman. Fast forward a year and they miss the playoffs by 11pts. This core is not working and in 3 years you are facing your first massive contract extension. Hamilton is going to cost at the bare minimum 8x8 on his next deal but easily he could push to Subban or above depending how the next 3 years go (if he was with Gio probably good)
I don’t think the Flames are where they want to be so they were able to move Hamilton and Ferland (another potential long term big money deal) for younger players. I fully expect 6+ year contracts for both Lindholm and Hanifin and they will come in at numbers that will be easy to fit under the cap. This team still has 4 years before they need to worry about their first massive extension (unless Brodie returns to 14-16 form)
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