[Calgary4LIfe]

The only piece that I believe the Flames will actually miss is Ferland. People look at "only two fights" and "he does't play the way he did against Vancouver" and figure he just isn't physical, but that's just not the case. When he hits, he hurts, and he led the Flames last year and the year before in hits. Nobody on this team hit more than Ferland, and nobody came close to hitting as hard either. Yeah, he didn't fight that much, but he was always willing to fight. It seemed that even under Hartley, he was reigned-in somewhat, but when it needed to get done, he stepped up and did it.


For all the 'he is just a glorified 4th liner' and 'just fed off Gaudreau and Monahan' - I also think this is nonsense. He was good in the defensive zone, he was great at carrying the puck and making plays, he was fantastic in the corners, and he was talented enough to convert on his chances. The whole team had issues converting with the exception of that top line. You might argue that he was simply a complimentary player, and you may be right with that, but he was very good in that role. It is easy to see why Treliving said it hurts to lose Ferland. I will miss him greatly on this team.


As for Hamilton - meh. Without a doubt, he was a good scoring defencemen. However, I hated how often he would shoot the puck instead of making a better play. He just always seemed selfish out there to me. Maybe the CF stats was better with Hamilton and Giordano, but the whole team got better and played much more of a puck-possession style under Gulutzan, so was Gio-Hamilton REALLY better than Gio-Brodie? It may not have been. I much prefer how dynamic Brodie is, and I look forward to his resurgence next season playing his strong side, with a partner he is comfortable with, and according to Peters - playing a more uptempo and quicker-transitioning system. That's a recipe for Brodie to return to what he used to be, and IMO, was a much more valuable piece to the Flames than Hamilton was. Why? Because I saw a Brodie that made other players around him better. Hamilton had substantial value without a doubt, but so did the 2 players coming back.


Fox - he may end up becoming something special, maybe not. Either way, it doesn't matter. When a prospect makes it known that he is not going to sign with your team, his value plummets, especially when he is returning to the NCAA for the season. I don't even factor Fox into the equation really.


What is most important to me is "will this team be harder to play against, and will they have more chemistry"? If they do, that's a win. There was 5 good players that changed teams. Nobody can call this a win. Hamilton can score 20+ goals next season, and Ferland can continue his increasingly strong play and come close to 30 goals, and the players that Calgary acquired may fizzle out. Or vice-versa. Maybe these 4 players all do well, and both teams improve. There doesn't have to be a 'loser' and a 'winner'. Both teams can win in this trade, and I bet that is what happens this season. Long-term, you have to like the increased control the Flames have. I don't like the short-term loss of the physicality - guys like Ferland are so important in playoff series, and I thought Ferland was fantastic in every playoff other than the 2nd round Ducks match-up in which he entered it with broken (bruised?) ribs and only played a game.


It sounds a lot like Hanifin is going to be better at carrying the puck up the ice and making a strong play than Hamilton, which is why I love Brodie so much. For me, that could already be a win.


I can understand both sides of the argument here - saying that the Flames are better off and others saying that the Flames are worse off. That's usually the case with a solid trade to both teams. For me, I am right down the middle on it. I see the Flames losing out on some physicality and potentially some goal scoring, but I think they can absorb the goal scoring due to the new system and the rumored free agent/trade talk. I think there are pluses and minuses on either side of the equation, and it is impossible to definitively state a winner or a loser at this point.



One thing that I hope doesn't happen is the Flames reaching on picks again to shore-up on the toughness/physicality. Smith, Kanzig, Carrol, etc. - all players that the Flames chose in the attempt to get bigger - Feaster stated that the team needs to get bigger, and of course Burke felt the same way. Ferland was a bona fide power-forward who was able to play on the top line and produce - that's not easy to find. Complimentary? Maybe. Driving force at times? Maybe. Either way, he was the best player that the Flames had on that top line in years since Hudler went into God-mode that one season. Either way, in playoff drives, you need a Ferland, but at least we have a Tkachuk, a Bennett, a Hamonic.. all talented players that show better in the playoffs. Just hoping the Flames don't start reaching.


One guy I would love to get to replace Ferland would be Lowry from Winnipeg. Not sure what their cap situation is like, but I would love him in Calgary, though he doesn't have the hands that Ferland had.


Either way, I am eager to see how this team responds to the new personnel and coaching staff this upcoming season. Change was absolutely necessary, and there is without a doubt some fresh air on this team. This will not be a painfully boring team to watch like they were last season. Change is good, even if it means good players leaving the team. It is all about chemistry.



One thing that Lindholm will bring this team is a bit more versatility. I mean, Ferland I found to be extremely versatile - he can play a 4th line role well, he can play a top line role well. Lindholm will bring positional versatility. For instance:


Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm
or
Bennett - Linholm - Jankowski (or keep rotating all three into the center spot)
or
Frolik - Backlund - Lindholm


Good cases can be made for all three lines, and that's valuable. Ferland was solid in all three zones (seriously, I have seen him make a handful of mistakes all season, and he RARELY ever took a minor penalty), but Lindholm is supposedly a very strong defensive player. Will fit in nicely on the Backlund line, allowing for Tkachuk to get a much needed and EARNED shot at a scoring line role. Throw Tkachuk on the top line, or throw him with Bennett and Jankowski to help bring that line up in scoring.


Either way, it allows for some versatility, and that's such an underrated aspect to a player. It is what makes players like Ferland valuable, and why to this day some people still lament over the loss of Byron.


We just have to watch the games and see. By no means did we trade good pieces for pipe-dreams or a hail marry. As I said, 4 strong players got moved. Sometimes players blossom on new teams, sometimes they regress. Until we see it happen, we just don't know, and this trade might have 2 losers, 2 winners, or one of each. Way too early to call, but the return without question brought in two good players.