Quote:
Originally Posted by AC
Hard to be too upset or disappointed.
Johnny and Chucky were 2 of my favourite Flames of all time, but I think we've all feared they weren't going to get us a Cup. Johnny had a good playoffs this year for the most part, but we know he really doesn't seem to have what it takes to perform over a grueling run. Every playoff loss has been followed by extensive questioning whether these are the players we should be committing all our money towards instead of trying to pivot. Well, the decision was made for us and it might be a good thing in the long run.
Chucky should be a playoff warrior. Feels like every time we make the playoffs I've had the belief that surely this is the year Tkachuk just dominates in the playoffs like he should. Instead, he's had a few individual good games in his playoff career, but has mostly disappointed. Not sure why, I still expect him to figure it out eventually.
Either way, glad we made a big trade while we could here because it's suddenly made this season really interesting. Whether we keep Huberdeau and Weegar long term, or are able to trade them in turn for assets, we should have a lot of exciting possibilities.
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This hits the nail on the head for me. I love both players, but have long been concerned that the Flames would have no choice but to pay a combined $20+ mil per season for the two of them despite the concerns that you lay out.
It would be virtually unheard of to make the decision to move on from that core in their peak, but the players made the decision for them which I think will put the team in a better position.
The problems aren't solved just yet and Treliving has a lot of heavy lifting ahead of him, but he's put himself in a position to make the ultimate re-tool or get way more assets/draft picks then he could have in a Tkachuk fire sale should the team end up having to re-build, which is what everyone assumed to happen only a week ago.