Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashasx
You can count the number of players that had the number of goals and hits Ferland had last season on one hand. He is a rare player.
I don't understand how this forum can be so receptive to the idea of signing somebody like Reaves but act like Ferland wasn't a physical asset to this team.
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Ferland was an important player, and I don't think anyone is dismissing his abilities.
The problem is, he's 1 year away from UFA. He has concussion issues. He hasn't played like Ferland in a while. He is streaky in a bad way. All of those combine together to make him an expendable asset. If he repeated his performance this upcoming season, he'd probably get 3.5-4 million on the open market. He isn't worth that. Anything more than 2.25 frankly is nuts for what he brings, but some team would sign him to something that starts with a 3.
So you've basically got a 1 year asset. In exchange for that one year, the Flames are getting 5-6 years or more of a Mikael Backlund type two way player who has further upside potentially. To me that's a pretty good deal, especially considering the fact that Hanifin in a lot of ways is already equal to Hamilton and is better in some areas (Not taking lazy stick infractions repeatedly).
If you remove the personal attachment to the players as people, this deal is a great one in terms of value going to the Flames. They get an additional 3-4 years out of their young defender and an overall upgrade up front, and shed a good # of years off the ages of both players.
Adding Reaves also makes sense due to the fact that Ferland was a good player for adding that toughness and him leaving creates a hole in that regard. Replacing that aspect is now a need, and having the ability to get Reaves would help replace that aspect.