From what I can see, there really isn't any way we don't lose a good player, unless Kylington has a decent enough season that a 2nd or 3rd would be enough to convince Seattle to take him. But realistically the way I see it there are four players battling for three spots. Backlund, Mangiapane, Dube, Bennett. Now, I think Dube is probably the least likely to be exposed out of these four but still we are probably losing one of them.
Which brings me to my main point. For years I have been wanting the Flames to give more opportunities to our young guys. This year I think they NEED to. We need to see if Hanifin, Andersson and Valimaki can handle playing top three minutes. We need to see if Bennett and Dube can build on their playoff success. There is no more time to see how things shake out because if we are passive and patient about that, like we have been in the past, we risk losing a guy who is primed for a breakout.
However, if those guys can take the next step and handle more minutes, then that leaves the option to keep all the young guys, expose Gio and Backlund (one of whom would get picked) and move forward with either a new captain and leadership group and a young capable blue line or have a middle six replacement already ready to take Backlunds place.
So we need to see what Bennett, Dube, Mangiapane, Andersson, Hanifin, Valimaki and Kylington can do with a bigger role.
P.S. before anyone comments saying Valimaki is exempt. I know. He is included here because he would be a huge component in the decision to potentially expose Gio.
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