Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken
I can't envision a trade the Flames would necessarily win.
I just don't think people are effectively weighing the contributions from this guy in both tangible offense and every other intangible quality you want from a guy who drags his teammates into games they aren't otherwise emotionally invested in.
If he played 20 minutes a night with top line linemates he'd be a 100 point player. His goal scoring qualities are legit, and it's the hardest thing to do in the league.
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I think that is extremely presumptuous. There were six 100-point players in the NHL last year, and Calgary's own top offensive player fell just short with 99 points. I expect Tkachuk does better with more minutes and consistent top-line deployment, but the difference between 85 points and 100 is vast. He already plays on the top powerplay, so he won't get a boost in production there. Even if he somehow managed to equal Gaudreau's 72 ESPts (which I think is extremely doubtful), that would only get him to 96.
Tkachuk is a terrific player, but you have a regular tendency of significantly over-rating him. I expect that if you swapped him with Rantanen the result would be about the same.