I understand the concern with signing Rantanen this offseason. The flames have a long history of spending big in free agency and regretting the signing in the seasons that follow. We often like to say it’s a good sign because it means players want to sign here but, quite often, it’s just that the GM is willing to overpay. Neal, Brouwer, Coleman, Markstrom, Kadri…the flames always had to offer that much more money and extra years to get it done. More than others were willing to pay in most cases. It’s the nature of free agency. Not saying all of those players were bad signings. Just that I think Rantanen would take a large number and max term to get him here. I think Calgary would have to make him the highest paid player in the league to get it done.
And it’s not that crazy to think he could turn out like Huberdeau. People can say Rantanen is elite - he absolutely has been. But so was Huberdeau. Huberdeau was easily one of the top 5 wingers in the league for years before coming here. Rantanen has been as well. His struggles in Carolina so far are a very small sample size but, if it continues, I would worry about signing him to the kind of deal it would likely take.
People will likely attribute his struggles to the shock of being traded, new team, new system, etc… but what makes a truly elite player? I think it’s someone that can play in any system and still be a dominant player in the league.
I’m sure I’ll be excited if Rantanen does sign with Calgary but, right now, my preference would be to keep building from within (draft and develop) rather than through big free agent signings of vets.
|