If you listen to what Treliving says, he feels it is critical to build from the defence and centre positions. He has often called these a 'premium position'.
Keeping that in mind, any moves related to Monahan or Backlund has to have an eye to improving these positions. I would anticipate that this off-season will include:
1) Signing/trading for a goalie
2) Signing/trading for defencemen
3) Probably not much to do on centres - Flames don't have excess defencemen to trade away.
Flames do have extra wingers to trade for 'premium position' players I guess. However, I think Treliving concentrates on defencemen and goalies this off-season. If Taylor Hall wants to sign here, Flames basically have to sign him - high value acquisition for the team that costs nothing.
I am fine with the Flames rolling:
Giordano - X
Hanifin - Andersson
Valimaki - Kylington
Flames need to get a competent defencemen to play with Giordano either through trade or through the UFA market.
That bottom pairing is a huge question mark. I thought Kylington outside of a poor 2 game stretch last season was good enough there, and one can expect him to grow his game with more experience. He isn't going to get better sitting on the bench, and I don't think he gets through waivers (cheap, young and upside). Kylington is a LS defencemen, but he is more comfortable playing the right side apparently. Valimaki was also good whenever he played, but a bigger question mark at the moment simply because he hasn't played in a very long time.
If the Flames manage to secure a decent top 4 defencemen somehow that also makes a strong first pass, then they will have 6 defencemen all capable of moving the puck well. Hopefully it will force Ward to see this team as a fast-transition type of team and implement a system making use of it.
I don't see Gaudreau being shopped for futures - at least not for futures that Calgary will use to 'restock'. This is a team that is trying to win and has a few holes. I would rather keep Gaudreau and 'go for it' with the changes, or I would use him as a trade-chip to get something else 'good' for the roster.
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