Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
Imagine getting the cake and eat it too?
Flames are 2nd in their division at the trade deadline and say ... 8 points up on a playoff spot.
Flames show stones and sell off three assets for futures.
Hang on to make the playoffs and get ownership three games of gate receipts.
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I think 2nd in the division is a stretch for becoming a seller.
But I'm on a similar page. I absolutely have thought all summer with the 3 big contracts issued last offseason, this team is not in a position to do a full scale rebuild for 3-4 years at minimum. If you tank now and get top 5 picks for 2-3 years, those 3 will still be taking up big cap space as the young guys come off their ECLs. In 3-4 years their contracts might be short enough to trade, or they can ride those high salaries through some top pick ELCs. So the reality is, like it or not the Flames are looking at re-tool mode, and they are looking at Huberdeau, Kadri, Weeger and Andersson as their core.
For me that means.
Best case scenario, walk into the season with a bunch of UFAs, everyone rebounds, the Flames win the cup, last years stink washes off this team, they can sign some nice deals in the offseason cause this looks like a team going places again, and if the mid level player walk after a cup win, thats OK other teams will probably overpay them anyways. Capsapce has become a zero sum game, the more bad contracts other teams have, they easier it is for you to hit a home run in a trade.
Second Best, walk into the season with a bunch of UFAs, hit the trade deadline on the right side of the playoff bubble, because players have had a decent season sell off any/all off Mangipane, Backlund, Coleman, Dube, Hanifin, Tanev, Zadorov, for picks / slight NHL downgrades. Flames stock the prospect cupboard earlier with longer development players that match our cores timeline better, and hopefully maintain a respectable enough team to hang on for some playoff action. (don't sell Lindholm, because you don't trade your #1 center while holding a playoff spot, contract situation be damned).
Second worst scenario, they panic and sell off Backlund, Lindholm, Hanifin during training camp below market value, because they don't want to relive 2022. The team is neither good enough to compete, nor ready for a full rebuild, because of the big contracts at the core.
Worst scenario, they resign guys like Dube, Tanev, Zadorov right now to avoid the shear number of expiring contracts, and we still don't know if this group can wash away the stink of last year, but we are stuck with a smaller level of player turnover than another stinky season would demand.