Maybe I'm too much of a Valimaki fan boy but I'm really glad Treliving didn't part with him. The Flames have 4 very good young d-men and I think Valimaki will be the best of the bunch. He'll eventually be a top 2 d-man who will play PP, PK, and may not put up as many points as Gio but will be the closest thing to Gio this team has for the future.
I'd love to see the Flames pick up Stone today, but his contract would have screwed up the Flames cap like crazy. So the trade would be Stone, a big contract, cap problems in the near future for Valimaki + other assets. I get some would want to see a stud winger who would pay immediate dividends on the roster today, but I have no problem keeping a cornerstone young d-man who will be a Flame for probably the next 10-15 years.
This isn't an old team. This isn't the last year of a team 'going for it'. There are still a few years ahead for this contending team. I have no problem, like Treliving, sticking with this group and seeing what they have. If things don't work out you tinker in the off-season. The future is bright and exciting, including this season.
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