Quote:
Originally Posted by N-E-B
The team might be better in the long run, but there is absolutely no way they are better today than they were on Saturday morning. We gave up the best defenseman and arguably the best forward in the deal for possibly the best defenseman and probably will become the best forward.
|
I will argue that point on the basis that the Flames definitely did not give up the best forward in the deal. Lindholm is a better player than Ferland today, and will be for many more years to come. But moreover, I think the balance this trade provides to the whole lineup improves the entire team overall. Lindholm provides a tonne of options in the top-six that simply did not work with Ferland. Moving Brodie back with Giordano, and adding a better skating big defenseman like Hanifin to the second pairing removes some of the effectiveness of the first pair, but I think solidifies the top four overall. Besides, I also think that the Giordano-Brodie pair will also see a slight return in Giordano's own offensive production. We will see how it all pans out, but simply displacing goal- and point-totals from last season between outgoing and incoming players is totally artificial, and does not really tell us a lot about what has changed through this deal.
Quote:
|
It's really impossible to judge a true winner right now, because as you said this was a hockey deal and the Flames gambled on potential, but I don't think for a second the team is now better at this point in time.
|
The thing I don't get is why people are so fixated on declaring a "winner" in this deal. Maybe down the road a team will look to have come out ahead in this, but I think right now both teams made a hell of a trade: Carolina gets the best player with three years left on a good contract. Calgary gets younger, faster, more balanced and has added long-term core pieces. I think the trade was really fair, and the diversity of reactions serves to illustrate this.