Let's not kid ourselves, we are definitely welcome to be dissapointed Stone didn't come here. I get excited about rumours of talent coming to Calgary all the time, but Stone's fit would have developed the most defensively responsible lines in the NHL... that you'd still hate having in your own end.
Tkachuk - Backlund - Stone
Tkachuk - Lindholm - Stone
It would have been lethal, and teams would have fits trying to get offensive time. That line out against teams' top lines would have been something we appreciated over and over.
However, it just boiled down to affording it. I think Treliving sees Stone more in the $8M range and likely believed a deal like that could be made in a vacuum. The noise around him and the $10.5M offer from the Sens muddied the waters, but from here to the summer I'm sure that the deal Treliving wanted could have been worked out.
But, with Valimaki as the piece... it was too much of a risk to get things done. With Tkachuk in the mix as well, the possibility everything blew up was there and Valimaki would be a long-term reminder of price-too-high.
But I wouldn't be surprised if Tre is very disappointed too. This would have been an amazing piece for this team.
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