The only big contract with term left Id eat money on right now is Markstrom because Wolf is bashing the door down and I think Vladar/Wolf is a cheeper and more flexible duo to run with than a Markstrom/Wolf combo. I think you have to give Huby and Kadri another year at the very least before you start to consider eating salary to flip them to another team and likely taking back a bloated contract player.
2 of Lindholm, Hanafin, Backlund, Tanev and Toffoli at the very least should be traded in the offseason as well so as to recoup some assets on pending UFAs for once and help kickstart a proper retool. The flames should also be looking to graduate Pelletier, Coronato, Zary and Ruzicka to full time duties and not waste roster spots on Lewis and Ritchie type signings.
I’m really hoping the young, progressive thinking GM Maloney is calling for is found and is allowed to make some decisions on the pending ufa group which is incredibly substantial. I’m not going to get into the Headcoach debate because unfortunately I think Sutter is here for at least half of next year before a decision is made with him but I hope at the very least we look at replacing some of the other coaches on the team especially the goaltending coaches.
I really want them to find the GM sooner than later as well, this is a huge draft for this club and we can’t have another Valimaki type blunder at 16th overall, we need it to be a contributing pick to help with the next 3 years as the team goes into a reshuffle.
My last out there suggestion is to give Blake Coleman the C as well, dude is a two time cup winner, he plays a team game and seems like he could be a solid voice in the locker room for the young talent coming up.
|