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So The Athletic did a "who says no" piece with their readers the last week or so

Flames content,

Travis Konecny for Johnny Gaudreau

Who says no? Flyers, maybe?

Charlie’s take: This is the kind of trade you make if you’re really serious about a shakeup in Philly. It’s no surprise that lots of fans brought up the Gaudreau possibility — he’s a local guy, he plays a flashy style, and Calgary appears to be open to making big changes to a stagnant club. Plus, it’s easy to imagine Gaudreau wanting to re-sign with Philadelphia (his contract expires in 2022), so the Flyers have an inherent advantage over the rest of the market here. I do suspect that if the Flyers went down this road, they’d want more than just Gaudreau. Konecny is younger with comparable production to Johnny Hockey over the past two seasons, and he’s under contract at a reasonable cap hit for the next four seasons. But I get why people keep bringing up this idea.

Flames reporter Hailey Salvian: I could see this being plausible if the Flames decided to retool the core, which I believe they should. Konecny is 24 and a natural right-shot right winger, which is a big hole in Calgary he could fill. Konecny has scored 24 goals three seasons in a row (2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20) and has scored at least 45 points three times, with a career-high 61 points in 66 games last year. He hasn’t hit a 99-point season like Gaudreau and probably doesn’t have the same elite skill set in terms of vision and playmaking ability, but he’s a good player and could be a nice fit. This could be a good shakeup trade.

Jakub Voracek, Morgan Frost and a 2021 first-round pick for Johnny Gaudreau

Who says no? Flames

Charlie’s take: I’m skeptical that the Flyers could find a way to move Voracek’s contract and still acquire the best player in the deal, but maybe Calgary is desperate enough to shake things up to give this a go. Losing Frost and a probable lottery pick would hurt, but Voracek is the logical player to move — due to his age, contract and lack of no-trade protection — if one of the offseason goals is to jolt the veteran core. This would certainly do that, while also upgrading the talent level.

Salvian: This is a bit of a tough one. Voracek would certainly fill a hole on the wing and bring some veteran leadership to the room. But he’s also four years older than Gaudreau and has three seasons remaining with an $8.25 million cap hit. The Flames are tight to the cap this season with some flexibility coming, but that’s a lot to take on. Frost only has 22 NHL games under his belt, but the additional first-rounder is a nice bonus. I’m torn on this one. I think that’s good value from the Flyers, especially when the Flames need a shakeup. But the cap hit may prove to be a sticking point.

Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim for Johnny Gaudreau and Rasmus Andersson

Who says no? Everyone

Charlie’s take: I guess if I squint I can see how this trade makes sense — there’s the “hockey trade” swap of Konecny for Gaudreau, and then Andersson becomes the team’s top right-handed defenseman and maybe even slides in next to Provorov. But the Flyers like Sanheim a lot, as do the Flames with Andersson. This just strikes me as a trade where both sides would rather just stick with the players they developed.

Salvian: Again, I like Konecny’s fit for the Flames but I don’t think they have plans to move Rasmus Andersson. He’s been part of the succession plan for Mark Giordano, playing top pair minutes and on the top PP unit. Sanheim would likely need to be a legitimate upgrade on Andersson for that part to work.

https://theathletic.com/2504520/2021...rce=dailyemail