Quote:
Originally Posted by Hackey
Tkachuk wanted a longer deal. They had to bridge him because of their cap situation. It was a bad gamble. Now you either gotta pay big or lose him.
Mangiapane is another guy that is going to get paid big and then will no longer be a value contract.
The Flames are slowly falling apart.
|
I don't think it was a bad gamble. It was at the end of a season where your team finished 2nd in the NHL. Tkachuk had 77pts in 82games. Similar contracts signed in that same off-season:
- Rantanen - 21 y.o - 1.18PPG - 6 x 9.25M
- Point - 22 y.o - 1.16PPG - 3 x 6.75M
- Marner - 21 y.o - 1.15PPG - 6 x 10.9M
- Matthews - 20 y.o - 1.07PPG - 5 x 11.6M
- Aho - 20 y.o - 1.01PPG - 5 x 8.46M
- Teravainen - 23 y.o - .93PPG - 5 x 5.4M
- Guentzel - 23 y.o - .93PPG - 5 x 6M
Anyways the market for Tkachuk on a long term deal would've been similar to Aho's 8.5M x 5 years. Instead you get Tkachuk for 3 x 7 and one more year where you have to pay him at least $7.65M(not $9M). I remember the Flames looking for options, and considering moving Frolik, but they had no takers. Hindsight 20/20 Hamonic could've been dealt after a great season.
My point is that the Flames didn't gamble on Tkachuk, they gambled on a contender, and it wasn't much of a gamble at that. I was fooled just as much as management, thinking finally we got ourselves something special. The loss to the Avs seemed more like inexperience than anything else.