The Flames were dealing from a position of strength. Stone would have been an amazing add, and if you can get him at a tolerable price, you find a way to make the cap work. That would have been difficult, and would have caused some sacrificing in other areas, but they would have figured it out.
But you can't get too wrapped up in the want, and end up overpaying for it. Valimaki is a huge piece to give up. And you're probably still trading Brodie to make the cap work. Suddenly Andersson and Kylington are both in your top 5, and you can't afford to add.
I was excited at the idea of Stone, or even a Hayes type acquisition, but I am glad they didn't overpay. For those that think yesterday was a failure, I strongly disagree. There are a few benefits of (essentially) standing pat:
1) we still have all our prospects and young D
2) we still have our first for this draft
3) we have very little playoff experience, and letting these guys go to battle is going to tell us a lot about them.
4) we have great chemistry, and that wasn't tinkered with
5) of all the contending teams, the Flames have the youngest core. We'll be back for the next few years. And when we are, we'll have a better idea of what our holes are, and we'll still have some assets with which to use to go fill them.
Considering where the Flames are in their growth cycle, standing pat is not a bad strategy at all. We have retained a lot of trading chips for the future. And there is still a lot of future with this core.
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