[ComixZone]

The more I think of it, the more the centre position really is a problem for the Flames.

Cap-wise, they're not in a bad spot as Backlund's deal expires at the same time Lindholm needs a (significant) raise, and I'd expect to see Lindholm get a massive payday next summer as they extend him a year prior to hitting free agency.

Monahan's money comes off the books after this season...but how do they improve the group? They need to push Backlund down from the 2 spot to the 3 spot, and it's hard to find play driving centres (which is also why Kadri is about to get $7M+ until he's 38/39).

Notable centres with expiring contracts in the coming year:

Nazem Kadri (UFA today)
Jonathan Toews (UFA 2023)
Ryan O'Reilly (UFA 2023)
Mathew Barzal (RFA 2023)
Sean Monahan (UFA 2023)
Nathan Mackinnon (UFA 2023)
Dylan Larkin (UFA 2023)
Pierre-Luc Dubois (RFA 2023)
Jordan Staal (UFA 2023)
Bo Horvat (UFA 2023)
DYlan Strome (RFA 2023)
Roope Hintz (RFA 2023)
Tage Thompson (RFA 2023)
Ivan Barbashev (UFA 2023)
Dylan Cozes (RFA 2023)

We know most of these players will end up extending with their current teams, so how do the Flames address the centre position in a meaningful way?

Toews would be a cool target as I think he has some game left and he doesn't want to be part of Chicago's rebuild. Perhaps he's a reasonable trade target for a short term fix, but other than that...the Flames need to swing a trade of pretty significant size to improve that position.

I expect they'll bet on Monahan coming back to some level of offensively relevancy for this season...but I just don't know if that's going to pay off. It'd be really cool if it did though