Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinny01
Exactly. If we are talking strictly hockey reasons Hamilton would be one of the least likely players moved. It was pretty clear to me something was off with him and I was definitely of the belief he should be the core piece moved out. Much of that also had to do with the lack of trade value I think Brodie has.
When you break the trade down it makes a ton of sense to me.
1. There were some issues the team had with Hamilton off the ice. Be it his brother, attitude, etc
2. Ferland’s contract situation and lack of consistency made him expendable.
3. Fox told the Flames he was not going to sign.
In return the Flames get
1. 0.5 ppg 23 year old C/RW who was the 5th overall pick in 2013. Swedes have been known to take longer to hit their offensive ceiling and the Flames desperately need a right shot in the top 6. Flames lock him up for 6 years T $4.85M per
2. 21 year old Dman who was the 5th pick in 2015 (the same draft the Flames traded their first rounder for Hamilton). Hanifin has 10 goals, 32pts, and great analytics, he will not turn 22 until roughly halfway into next season. We still wait on his contract terms.
To me this is a great hockey trade where the Flames get a little younger, add a position of need, and not gut another position to do it. I was a person that liked the trade initially but love it now.
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The coolest part of this trade for me is the fact that Hanafin is going into the season where almost all dmen have a jump in production. The fourth season of a career sees production spikes for almost every dman in the league.
So if the Flames can sign him to a reasonable long term contract we might be looking at a massive value contract in a few years, especially if you consider what, imo, his best comparable did in his career so far, seth jones.
Both jones and Hanifin were ranked top three in their draft years and fell slightly, jones 1 fell to 4, Hanifin 3 fell to five. Both players are 6'3"+ and over 200 lbs. Both were traded in their third season with their draft team. And both players had almost identical production over their first three seasons. Jones: .32ppg, .33ppg, .38ppg. Hanifin: .29ppg, .36ppg, .40ppg.
Jones next season saw his production jump to .56ppg followed the next year by another increase to .73ppg.
Even if Hanifin doesn't follow jones exactly over the next two seasons and remains at the low-end of the fourth-year production spike he should hit 40 points. But I think there is a very good chance we see a breakout season for hanifin. Same coach, so doesn't have to get used to a new system, better production than Jones in 2nd and 3rd season and really good possession numbers to back it up.
needless to say, I'm excited about this trade and will be over the moon if the flames sign him long-term to a reasonable contract.