I think the problem for Treliving (and, to be fair, most GM's) is that he (still? Maybe now, I hope) hasn't figured out that you don't pay spares. You pay stars and there are always enough replacement level players kicking around in bargain basement UFA, waivers and Europe to fill out a roster. When Stone was signed, there was no compelling reason to give him that contract. The Oilers, yes, had a reason to do it because their D sucks; the Flames had enough better D-men that he would never be top 4, so why pay him AND give him term???
The rosters are top heavy - you fill out the bottom with entry-level contracts and bargains. Signing this Stone keeps you from signing the other Stone because you paid an extra $2.5M for a spare. When you have several of those, you are really in trouble. The Flames are very fortunate that their top end is relatively cheap (which is a credit to Treliving), but we shall see how Tkachuk impacts that...
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