Quote:
Originally Posted by BigThief
He's Vezina calibre this year, wasn't last year, might not be next year when he turns 35 and is still owed 12 million dollars over his last two seasons. Players, especially goalies can go from valuable to dump territory at that age fast. MA Fluery won the Vezina and was promptly traded for Mikael Hakkarainen who hadn't played an an NHL game and didn't (since retired due to heart condition).
Trying to predict goalie value is a fool's game. It's entirely possible Markstrom's value won't ever come close to what New Jersey was offering again
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That's possible. It's also possible I'm hit by a bus when I leave my house tomorrow morning. Or maybe I'll win a million bucks? Like, anything is possible so lets dwell on the negatives and demand desperation deals.
Even if Markstrom takes steps back next season he has value to this organization as someone who can help bring Wolf along and help him develop and help shelter him as he develops. That's worth more than a 2nd and Holtz I'd imagine.
Everyone always wants to ship everyone out for picks and prospects when it comes time to blow it up but Conroy has to be extremely mindful of how he's going to develop the next generation and how he's going to put them in a position to succeed. You can't just move all your vets for picks, slap a bunch of rando's around your young players and hope the develop into top tier NHL players. You can do that with a generational guy like Crosby, Bedard, or McDavid but even then the teams brought in older vets to show them how to be pro's and help protect these guys to a degree.
It's very possible Markstrom gets traded in the offseason. If someone offered Conroy fair value before the trade deadline, Markstrom would have been gone already and they'd be running a Wolf / Vladar tandem and personally I don't think that's a bad way to go if that's the direction this team ends up going in.
It's also entirely possible Markstrom stays and acts as a mentor to bridge Wolf into the starter role. I also think if that's the direction they go then that is a good direction too. The Flames are in a great position, they have wealth at the goaltending position. I feel like unless they trade Wolf, there's not really a bad option to take. It's just about what direction has the biggest return on investment. Conroy's done a great job so far so, even if he ends up doing something I don't understand (like trade Wolf for some reason) he gets the benefit of the doubt for now.
There's no sense in the Flames giving up their advantageous position just cause they can get a 2nd and some guy the other team GM literally called out. Some teams don't even have 1 good goalie, the Flames should be in no hurry to move one of theirs.
Even if Holtz does become a good player, the Flames already have young wingers with top 6 potential. Pelts, Coronato, Zary, Honzek (trying to convert to C but we will see), Pospisil. The team needs guys who project to be top 6 centers and top 4 defenders. Adding Holtz, even if he does turn into a good player, doesn't really do it for me here because he ends up falling down the depth chart now, and possibly falling right off it in the near future when some of the unestablished guys establish themselves.
Conroy added some depth organizationally to the D before the TDL. Miromanov, Okhotyuk, and Pachal are all stop gaps with untapped potential and Hanley is just a steady, professional 7 who is apparently great in the room. All these guys will be around for next year, allowing the younger guys to turn pro and spend time in the A, but it doesn't really block them from making the team if they earn it as all 4 of those guys are on dirt cheap deals. He also added a mixture of defensive minded guys, offensive minded guys, guys who are more physical, guys who are more stick work. It's a nice mix, you can see the thought process and how the pieces might fit together.
Conroy's going to have to do that for the Center's next.