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Originally Posted by gvitaly
^ Good write-up. I agree for the most part.
I'm actually warming up to the idea of trading Andersson for a king's ransom if we're extending Hanifin to a long term deal.
The only way to lower Dube's next contract would be to not give him a qualifying offer, and essentially signing him as a UFA. That's why I think this is Dube's last year in CGY.
Not sure if we should re-sign Ruzicka. I like the player, and especially the flashes he showed higher in the lineup, but I think Huska sees him as a 4th liner at best.
I really want to see a Kylington - Weegar pairing next year, assuming OK is back to playing hockey and re-signs.
Kadri has been one of our best offensive forwards, and I thought he played a huge part in Zary's early success. You can try to trade him, but then things look really bad at center.
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Andersson becomes tricky for me. I think that teams that are overly aggressive in the 'burn it down' stage are the teams that end up with 10 year rebuilds. If the overpay is significant enough, then I would trade him (as I would trade anyone of course - there are no untouchable players after all).
Dube - Flames don't have to wait for the QO. They can negotiate an extension right now. I wouldn't want him back for more than 1.5 million (and that's being generous given the season he is having - most nights he is noticeably the worst player on the ice). However, had had back to back 18 goal seasons. Can he rebound? My preference:
1) Sign him to a one year, 1.5 miNo player is untouchable - heck, even Zary isn't untouchable to me if a team wants to overbid for him, which sounds counterintuitive. Point is, everyone is available if a team wants to overpay, but that overpay has to be considerable for me to have an appetite to move Andersson (and of course, Zary! lol). I don't believe in having 'untouchable' players, but the level of overpay has to be enormous. For instance, nobody would want to trade Lindros, but Colorado probably doesn't win a cup without it. Maybe they win with him, but those pieces allowed them to win a cup. Calgary didn't win without trading Hull either. That's an extreme example, as I don't want any prospect traded, and Andersson isn't a prospect, but the logic is therellion MAX extension
2) Trade him for anything right now
3) Let him walk as a UFA by not qualifying him this off-season
4) Give him his QO, and see what happens.
Flames won't be worried about cap room next season, but cap room is still valuable to take advantage of the market. They could theoretically pay Dube up to whatever 18 goals is worth. I wouldn't be a fan of it, but they could do it and see if he bounces back as a worst-case scenario with him. To be clear, there is a huge gap for me between option 2 and 3, and even a bigger gap between 3 and 4.
Kylington I am tempering my expectations on. My hope is that he comes in and gets reps with Tanev before Tanev gets traded. That's where he played his best hockey and probably would feel his most comfortable again, and I would try and shelter them until Tanev gets traded. Then who knows? Weegar might be a good fit. I just would love to see him return to the NHL and be a healthy and happy guy again.
Ruzicka - skill, size, skating are all tantalizing. Plus, with Lindholm gone, it is insurance for depth at centre. I just think that his knock has always been consistency of effort since his junior days. He has top 6 talent, not 4th line talent. It is his consistency that places him on the 4th liner, and in and out of the lineup. Flames aren't competing, so I think they can afford to show some more patience with him, because if he suddenly is able to put in consistent efforts, he will become an incredibly valuable piece to a contending team. That's how I see him. Nobody is untouchable, so what do you think he is worth? A 3rd? Maybe I would rather have the third and start over, rather than gamble on Ruzicka finding consistency. I am not sure. I would rather just re-sign him and see how he continues to develop.
Kadri - he is playing like a superstar now. However, will he quit on the team again after the trade deadline when this team is rebuilding? Then you are completely stuck with that deal for another 5 seasons. Even if he doesn't quit like he did last year, will he be a capable player at age 34? 35? 36? At some point, he will decline and decline rapidly, and it will coincide with the Flames improving and coming out of the rebuild/retool. Just solve the problem today.
Lindholm and Kadri out: Backlund is #1 centre, Zary is #2. Then you have Dube and Ruzicka. Yes, that's awful depth, I agree, but what is the goal? To win games, or to set yourself better to win games later? Will Zary develop better on Kadri's wing, or will he develop better playing centre and having Huberdeau and Sharangovich on either wing? Plus, we don't know the returns on future trades - a young centre may be part of the return, or even a capable vet who can fill-in at shouldering the load as part of the cap dump to make salaries work. Even if nobody was coming, I would give the duties over to Zary, see how he responds, and then if needed, sign a journeyman in the off-season to help. This may be moot anyway - Kadri may get zero offers, and I expect him not to get traded. My point is simply that if there is any way to move Kadri now without giving up assets, that I would jump at the chance to get out of that deal.