Quote:
Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden
With the cap going up the Flames are projected to have something like 17 million in space. Even if Tkachuk holds out for Eichel money ( 10M) the Flames will have 7M in cap space for two goalies and Bennett. So that is a tight budget but not impossible.
This to me is all the more reason to keep the first. The Flames will need a healthy stock of ELCs to keep the cost of the bottom six low moving forward.
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They can also do that through signings, later picks, and college signings. They are not going to need top end talent coming in if they acquire a guy like Stone for at least a few years.
Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm
Tkachuk-Backlund-Stone
Bennett-Jankowski-Neal
???-Ryan-???
That is a young top-six with Backlund and Neal being the only two older guys. In 5 years when these players are hitting 30, the Flames should look at at a re-tool or re-build at that point.
Every year you have players that just want an opportunity to play and prove themselves. Those last two spots should be reserved for those type of players. Players who are feisty like Bouma and Hathaway who hit everything and bring energy but generally drop-off after a few years. Neither players were first round players but were solid bottom 6 players.