Quote:
Originally Posted by dissentowner
2. The Flyers have no cap space, their best players have injury issues, they are trending downward, and they are trying to stall the rebuild by bringing in a coach who rubs skill guys the wrong way.
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If Gaudreau signs they move JVR. They likely try to move JVR anyways, but that's the cap room (4M salary, 7M cap hit). As for trending downward, I'm not sure I would agree. Look at their players under 30:
Couturier (29)
Laughton (28)
Ristolainen (27)
Sanheim (26)
Konecny (25)
Provorov (25)
Lindblom (25)
Hart (23)
Farabee (22)
Atkinson is getting up there at 33, but Ellis is only 31, Hayes just turned 30. This isn't a team that's completely aging out, it's one that nearly perfectly fits for a 29 year old.
It was a bad team last season, but that was without Couturier and Ellis. It's a team not far removed from finishing 6th in the league pre-COVID where they were firing on all cylinders. They lost Giroux, a big but not monumental loss, but otherwise they traded Voracek for Atkinson and kept most of the team, it was just injuries that killed them.
Adding Couturier, Ellis and Gaudreau to any team in the league would instantly move them up a weight class or two. Imagine the 2022 Flames without Lindholm (Couturier), Andersson (Ellis) and Gaudreau, it's a lottery team instead of winning the division.
And then in 4 years when the core is getting old, they may get a second wind when the 5th overall they select this year is still on an ELC making sub 1 million. York (22) and NCHC player of the year Brink (20) are going to solidify their spot on the roster next season. Plus they have a lot of players that were suppose to have high potential but haven't quite reached it that could still break out a bit (Tippett from Florida, Frost, etc.). And if not, well they still have multiple 1st round picks in the coming year thanks to the Giroux trade.
They have some contracts that could be of some concern, but it's hard to really judge Hayes given his brother's death and injuries. Still paying Ristolainen 5M is questionable but it's not even Gosthibere later time in Philly years bad. And with Ellis pushing everyone down the depth chart, Ristolainen as the fourth defenseman behind Ellis, Provorov and Sanheim looks reasonable.
Fair play to injuries, especially if Ellis' pelvic injury isn't rehabilitated, but alternatively if Couturier's back surgery gets rid of the nagging injury, he could come back with a vengeance.