Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
If Lindholm isn't staying and say one other UFA (lets say Toffoli for arguments sake), and they're traded for futures.
Does that make the Flames likely to miss the playoffs so you can carry the other 4-5 into the deadline and make out like bandits?
That's the issue.
Running them back with expiring contracts could be a huge turning point for the franchise, but if they're good enough to be a bubble team they may end up walking them to free agency.
Have to think Lindholm is the key in all of this (obvious I know)
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Lindholm and Hanifin are the ones in line for big money extensions.
They are one toe-pick or stray elbow away from costing themselves tens of millions of dollars - Hanifin in particular should only look at John Klingberg (who is also UFA again this year) to see what can happen to D who overplay their hands, and Hanifin has never been as dynamic as Klingberg.
The draft is the 28th - make your best offer before then. If either guy hasn’t signed on the line which is dotted it by the morning of the 28th, they aren’t signing.
At that point, Conroy’s job is to maximize the return. A sign and trade + 50% retained on both would return a monumental package that could accelerate this team’s fortunes by a couple years.
Backlund, Toffoli, Tanev and Zadorov are all on good contracts and will be useful to teams at the deadline, and then Calgary can walk into the 2024 draft with potentially an extra 1st or two, certainly two extra 2nds ++ in addition to whatever they get for Hanifin and Lindholm (which should be at least two more 1sts, two good prospects and some reasonably good cap dumps.
They’re not gonna go full Oiler and Ram the ship into the iceberg, but seizing this moment to add a plethora of young assets is what a good organization would do.
They’re not going to win a championship with Huberdeau, Lindholm and Kadri as their best players.
But they might win one with Huberdeau and Kadri at some point, if their best players aren’t yet in the organization.
My $0.02.