Quote:
Originally Posted by getbak
The Flames could have used a compliance buyout and not have the contract count against the cap and been completely within the rules of the CBA. There was no reason to attempt to do anything shady.
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Turek agreeing to the restructure was a super class act from that guy. For those saying Calgary wasn’t up against the cap, you’re technically correct as there was no cap at the time (the cap came in after the 2004-05 lockout, and Turek restructured the summer before the lockout), but Calgary had a budget and there was the expectation from owners that the NHL was going to draw a hardline and negotiate a cap under the next labour agreement, which teams would need to manage.
Calgary had to also sign Kipper and Iginla (Iginla was going to be very expensive and Kipper was going to get a big payday for a goalie) and the team wanted to get better and build off the successful playoff run so they approached Turek to restructure.
That also gave them a bit more room to trade for Langkow (just after the Turek restructuring), and sign Hamrlik, as well as all of their top FAs.
It’s funny, because I remember at the time, after the cup run, Flames fans were expecting the team to get sold off for parts… but instead they really leaned into their success.