Quote:
Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague
So, first of all, I don't agree with that. The last city that had this stigma of being "the team that can't get its stars to stay" was Columbus, and that seems to have gone away. But more importantly than that, we know exactly what it would take to change the image of the team in terms of its ability to attract talent: new facilities. The facilities suck. Calgary isn't Winnipeg, it's not Buffalo, it's not Arizona. It's not Vancouver or Toronto either, as far as that goes, but I think the pendulum of "no one wants to come here" has swung a little bit towards the doom and gloom. If Huberdeau walked next summer but at the same time they broke ground on the new home for the Flames, I don't even think it would make an impact.
It would, however, be devastating to Treliving. That would be the end of him, for sure... and I don't think having a GM fighting for his job is a good place to be in the NHL.
I get the sentiment that, well, the Flames will be bad for the last 4 years of his deal anyway, so who cares. My counterpoint is, first of all, no one can really predict where any team in the NHL will be in 4 years, and second, if the plan is to suffer through 4 years of darkness and pain, that's... I just don't think that's a good thing to be ready to accept. I don't EVER want to be the current San Jose Sharks.
|
Huberdeau was never going to sign for a cheaper and shorter-term deal, we can't delude ourselves with that (we're not the New York Rangers where everyone seems to want to play). We had to pay more. It's the reality of being a small-market Canadian team.
We'll cross that bridge in 5-6 years time if this deal does not age well. But I'm going to be a glass half-full person here and believe that Huberdeau will still be an impact player into his mid 30s. Sure, statistically, it's unlikely, but he's also been in the running for the Hart these past 4 years. He's undeniably a star. You have to pay to keep your stars, period.
The good news about how the Flames have managed their contracts is that in 2 years time, they will have a lot of UFAs. I doubt all of them will get retained. Toffoli will likely be leaving, perhaps Zadorov and Hanifin as well. This will free up some salary that could allow them to re-sign Lindholm to a higher salary. The cap is also rumoured to increase by then. They also don't have any other players locked up long-term on a high AAV, besides Markstrom. The Flames haven't at all managed their cap like the Sharks or the Blackhawks paying very high salaries for multiple players.
This is the Flames' first long-term contract with a high AAV signed in like the past 6 years (besides Monahan's contract). We'll be fine. IMO the Flames window for contention was always going to be the next 2 years, regardless of Huberdeau's extension. What this extension does is potentially keep the Flames' window for contention open for a few more years, while Huberdeau is still performing at an elite level and elevating the play of his teammates. In this salary cap era of the NHL, the teams that do the best are the ones with favourable short-term cap situations. In 2 years time Flames management will be able to re-assess their cap situation, and decide in which direction they will be heading.