I sympathize with those hoping for a rebuild. Cup teams start on the draft floor, and the Flames have very few drafted players left on the roster. But realistically this team wasn't going to rebuild. No team in the NHL is rebuilding after winning a division and making it to the second round.
Outside of "this isn't a rebuild type trade" there is zero reason not to love this trade. Huberdeau replaces Gaudreau, and this opens the door to signing Kadri or trading a D to replace Tkachuk. All while saving cap space, adding a strong top 4 D, and a couple of futures. It also mixes up a core that couldn't get it done in the playoffs.
Getting older and having two pending UFAs isn't ideal, but no ether was the situation. This is a massive home run for Treliving, and frankly is much better then most were expecting. At a minimum he bought the Flames another legitimate swing next season.
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