Quote:
Originally Posted by redforever
I don't think that equates to the present situation. The Flames could not afford to keep MacInnis or many of the other Stanley Cup Flames as at that time, there was a huge discrepancy between Canadian and US salaries..in fact, Calgary almost lost the Flames.
I think Fleury was traded because of his off ice problems.
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IIRC, the Flames realized that the rising contract costs meant they'd have to lose one of Suter or MacInnis when their contracts came up for renewal. They traded Suter because they knew they'd have to pay a lot to keep MacInnis, who was the better player. But when the MacInnis camp asked for around $3M/yr, the Flames chose not to pay that, and traded him. Within a year it became obvious that amount would have been a bargain. They should have stuck to the original plan and instead they lost both, even though Phil Housley played well for the Flames.