I am also in the group that believes in Brodie being an integral part of this team this season, and should be re-signed for the seasons to come. There are simply not many defencemen in the entire NHL that move the puck as well as Brodie does, while playing defence at a high level.
The Hamonic injury is unfortunate. The smart move would be to involve him in a hockey trade. I don't think that the optics would look great for the team in selling Hamonic for picks, but in a trade for a legitimate prospect that could play right now, or a two-piece deal involving a pick and a depth defencemen at least.
Andersson is better than Hamonic and deserves top 4 minutes. Hamonic is NOT going to re-sign for an equal to or less than his current contract. He is going to want a raise, thus the difficult contract talks that apparently have been put on hold. Hamonic should be playing bottom-pairing minutes, and with his current deal, it sucks but it isn't crippling. With a new deal? It starts to become a crippling deal.
You can let Hamonic walk away in the off-season, but the Flames should really be recouping some assets on him as he was an expensive acquisition. I also think he has had a rough playoffs last season - arguably the worst defencemen in the playoffs, but most definitely half of the worst pairing that got eaten alive. I actually don't want him back for the playoffs, and outside of short stretches, I don't see him as being a reliable defencemen. I do think he probably adds quite a lot in the locker room, which is a key ingredient to a team, but I just don't think the Flames should retain him. I would rather him walk than re-sign him. He is injured right now, so perhaps there isn't a team that would give up anything for Hamonic right now anyway, making this conversation completely irrelevant anyway.
Other than that, I just think that if the opportunity presents itself, a hockey trade can be had with teams that are adjusting or balancing their rosters. If Treliving can upgrade somewhere with another team having an excess of players in one position and a sudden rash of injuries in another, for example. This is a great draft apparently, but selling now would strike a major blow to this team.
With that said, maybe a major blow is exactly what this team needs. They remain persistently inconsistent, if that makes sense. We never know which version of the Flames are going to show up in a game, or even if that version that shows up remains for the entire game. Maybe a kick in the pants by unloading a couple of players that Treliving feels are not in the plans for next season for pure futures will be the kick in the pants that this team needs... but it may end up being the kick in the crotch instead.
I will be a bit disappointed if Treliving does nothing right now, as I feel this is a good opportunity for the Flames to improve for next season (and beyond) with how the market is shaping out to be. I just see Brodie as a core piece, and shouldn't be used in any trade unless the return is very impressive.
Will be interesting to see how the Flames finish off the season and if they will qualify for playoffs. I think they will, actually, but with their continual inconsistent efforts/executions, nobody can be sure.
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