Quote:
Originally Posted by Hackey
The gamble was that the team would be good and Tkachuk would want to stay after his bridge. Now the team is sinking fast and the worst case scenario could possibly happen. Tkachuk could take the qualifying offer and leave. That is the absolute worst case scenario but the Flames gambled when they made that deal. Now Tkachuk holds all the leverage and the Flames are basically at his mercy if they want to sign him. The way they structured his deal hurts his trade value as well. I think it was a pretty big blunder.
This team is now in a position where they lost Brodie for nothing, lost Gio for nothing, could potentially lose Johnny and Tkachuk for nothing or next to nothing.
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If Brad would’ve sold all of Tkachuk/Gaudreau/Giordano/Brodie after 2018/19, he would’ve been a genius! He would also likely have been fired. The Flames were actively looking to make moves before this season. The problem was that nobody had cap space! There weren’t very many Blockbuster deals over the summer, and there was a reason for that. As for Brodie he was shopped, see Kadri.
You play it as though the player doesn’t have a choice as to what contract he signs. Would the Flames have been better off playing hard ball with Tkachuk? have him miss half a season? all season? so they can sign him long term? The bottom line is that a team only has control of a drafted player for 7 pro seasons(or until the player turns 27), then the player decides where to play. If a player doesn’t want to stay there’s nothing you can do. Now you have to pay young players, and their agents are the ones fighting for every UFA year.
I think it’s irrational to hold losing a player to free agency as this management’s pit fall. If they think they won’t be able to re-sign Gaudreau or Tkachuk long term they will be traded, that’s simple enough. This management made bad moves with the likes of Neal/Brouwer/Stone/Hamonic etc. The names you mentioned don’t count among them as blunders. If we’re using your strategy we’re probably better off selling every player that has a career year, then we would certainly maximize return.