In a recent interview with Pierre Lebrun, Brad Treliving remarked, "We got a lot of left shots."
In the forward ranks, it's actually 10 of them. The only two right handed shots in the forward group are Lindholm and Ryan.
After 6 years on the job, that kind of discrepancy is pretty bad.
By my count, top 10 teams in the league shake out like this
Right Handed Shooting forwards:
Washington - 6
St. Louis - 6
Pittsburgh - 4
Boston - 6
Tampa - 4
New York Islanders - 3
Colorado - 3
Florida - 6
Dallas - 4
Carolina - 2 (currently on the bubble)
This is a problem, and a factor in why the flames struggle to score goals and why according to Lebrun, the flames are specifically looking for a Right-shooting top 6 RW.
The 5 worst goal scoring teams in the league this year have the following number of Right Handed shots
Detroit - 1
Anaheim - 5
Los Angeles - 6
San Jose - 4
Dallas - 4
So while it's not a definitive statement to say right shots will translate to high octane offense, it is a significant factor. Having a bunch of lefties definitely doesn't help.
The Top 10 Scoring teams this season have the following makeup:
1. Florida - 6
2. Colorado - 3
3. Tampa - 4
4. Toronto - 5
5. Washington - 6
6. New York Rangers - 4
7. Pittsburgh - 4
8. Boston - 6
9. Nashville - 9
10. Vancouver - 7
The rest of the league shakes out like this:
New Jersey - 6
Columbus - 6
Ottawa - 6
Arizona - 6
NYI - 3
Buffalo - 6
Chicago - 5
Winnipeg - 9
Montreal - 6
Vegas - 5
Philly - 5
Minnesota - 2
Edmonton - 7
Carolina - 2
Vancouver - 7
Nashville - 10
NYR - 4
Toronto - 5
Florida - 6
As you can see, such an imbalance is uncommon in the NHL, and while having 4+ right handed shots doesn't guarantee you a top 5 or 10 nhl team for goals, it's exceptionally difficult to be one of those teams with an imbalanced roster.
How a roster could be this imbalanced after a 6 year GM tenure is a major problem and explains their desperation to grab that kind of player.
If I'm holding onto a top 6 right shooting RW, the price to the Flames is at a premium.