Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - [Trade] CHI trades Saad ($1m ret) and Denis Gilbert to COL for Zadorov for Anton Lindholm

thefoss1957 · 10-12-2020, 02:30 AM

Saad is a hard working, useful winger, if his hands could match his speed, he'd be a superstar,, but, with this move, even retaining $1M of Saad's salary, the 'Hawks clear $5M in cap space, before re-signing Zadorov. I have little confidence in Bowman, and fear that he will overpay.

Gilbert was not going to get a look, as the 'Hawks are fairly deep at Forward, even after dumping some other young forwards, like Dylan Sikura.

But, the 'Hawk D corps is a mess, and Zadorov will slot in as a top 4 D-Man, and I believe pressure will be on him to get off to a good start. Even though Panarin was well accepted by 'Hawk fans,many of those fans are notoriously impatient with Russian players on this roster, with Zhamnov never getting the respect he deserved, after the Roenick for Zhamnov trade, Mironov and Karpotsev being absolute disasters in their 'Hawk tenures. And Khabibulin not living up to inflated hopes.

For myself, I am not a fan of "grit" for 'grit's" sake, and hope the new guy brings more than just a physical presence. He has got to actually be able to improve our defense. He was a 1st round pick, although he hasn't performed consistently to those expectations.

Moving Saad leaves some holes on the 'Hawk special teams. He was 2nd rotation on the PK, and was the net front guy on the 2nd PP. Some 'Hawk fans expected better stats, but, IMO, Saad was brought in for one purpose, to free up Toews on that line, from having to do all the mucking on the boards, as well as play shut down D as a Center.. and given Toews' improved stats, last season, I credit some of that to playing with Saad. Again, a hole opens up that the 'Hawks had trouble filling before reacquiring Saad.

10-12-2020, 02:30 AM	#23
thefoss1957 Franchise Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Chicago Native relocated to the stinking desert of Utah Exp:	Saad is a hard working, useful winger, if his hands could match his speed, he'd be a superstar,, but, with this move, even retaining $1M of Saad's salary, the 'Hawks clear $5M in cap space, before re-signing Zadorov. I have little confidence in Bowman, and fear that he will overpay. Gilbert was not going to get a look, as the 'Hawks are fairly deep at Forward, even after dumping some other young forwards, like Dylan Sikura. But, the 'Hawk D corps is a mess, and Zadorov will slot in as a top 4 D-Man, and I believe pressure will be on him to get off to a good start. Even though Panarin was well accepted by 'Hawk fans,many of those fans are notoriously impatient with Russian players on this roster, with Zhamnov never getting the respect he deserved, after the Roenick for Zhamnov trade, Mironov and Karpotsev being absolute disasters in their 'Hawk tenures. And Khabibulin not living up to inflated hopes. For myself, I am not a fan of "grit" for 'grit's" sake, and hope the new guy brings more than just a physical presence. He has got to actually be able to improve our defense. He was a 1st round pick, although he hasn't performed consistently to those expectations. Moving Saad leaves some holes on the 'Hawk special teams. He was 2nd rotation on the PK, and was the net front guy on the 2nd PP. Some 'Hawk fans expected better stats, but, IMO, Saad was brought in for one purpose, to free up Toews on that line, from having to do all the mucking on the boards, as well as play shut down D as a Center.. and given Toews' improved stats, last season, I credit some of that to playing with Saad. Again, a hole opens up that the 'Hawks had trouble filling before reacquiring Saad. __________________ "If the wine's not good enough for the cook, the wine's not good enough for the dish!" - Julia Child (goddess of the kitchen) Last edited by thefoss1957; 10-12-2020 at 02:35 AM.