I am in the 'rebuild crowd', and I 100% feel it would be wrong to just throw Suniev in the deep tank. That's just poor development AND sends a poor message to the rest of the team who have battled hard to get to this spot in the standings this late into the season. Rooney, Klapka and Lomberg have played very hard and had a lot of success lately - it would be criminal to take any of them out of the lineup after their performances lately. Sharangovich has only recently started looking like himself again, so you don't want to pull him out. Pospisil? Such a useful utilitarian player. How some people view Backlund now just makes me shake my head.
Suniev signed. He is going to play 'x' amount of games depending on how he does in practice and where the Flames are in the standings, and what players are trying to play through what injuries at the moment. Let him catch his breath and get a bit comfortable with the room first. I am just glad that the "signing watch" is over. I remember when Treliving announced that the Flames are going to sign Brandon Hickey in a short time.. and then crickets... Or Tim Erixon.. or Adam Fox. He signed here, he is going to play here soon enough. I am just relieved for it. I am very excited to see him play, and I think there is a strong chance he will become a very important piece - a real difference maker - in the lineup regularly. I think he is going to be one of the MANY pieces - a huge change-over of players - in the next few seasons. Let's just celebrate the signing for now.
I love the fact that he is burning a year too. I think the Flames saved money on the Gaudreau extension because he burned a year too. Had he waited, his extension probably would have been at least 1 million more - perhaps as much as 2 million per - as there was an uptick in salaries starting later in that off-season and continuing into the next. WIth the cap rising, the sooner the Flames extend him, the potentially better team-friendly deal he signs. I am hoping for the same with Parekh as well. They may not produce at a high enough level to to be in a position to demand more money as they may be in the third. Either way, I don't think burning a year is bad at all, especially given the structure and competition arc that the Flames are in. Burning a year is tougher when you have a championship-caliber contending team and you really need more ELCs. Now it is about trying to get past these 2 years, and extend them to a long-term lower dollar deal that potentially that extra 3rd year may help them demand. If I am an agent, I actually wouldn't want my player to burn a deal, at least not in a period where there seems to be significant cap growth.
This is exciting. Once Sharangovich returns to form (and I think he will) that Toffoli trade will look even better. Coronato - Sharangovich and Suniev are all elite-level shooters (and Sharangovich NEEDS to start shooting more again). Flames need guys who are dangerous with the puck on their stick.
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