With 26 games left to go and the Flames 9 points out of a Wildcard pot and 12 points out of a divisional spot and at least 4 teams to pass the only thing that can be said about the Flames is
The rest of the season is now really about three things
1) Pride - I don't have any doubts that this team is going to try to find its pride and its will to fight and work on building up the culture for next year. At this point no matter what the Flames are in the lottery and with the way that things are going will probably be picking top 5 or 6th.
2) Maybe starting to audition players for next year - Look Hiller was given the ball since Ramo went down and sadly he not only dropped it, but did that stumble kick thing that we all do when we try to pick stuff up and sent that ball careening into the middle of a busy highway where it was crushed by a semi.
So now you if you're Bob Hartley and Brad Treliving with the goaltending and with Russell being shut down for a while and with Smid out have an opportunity to do some try outs.
3) Look to next year's roster.
So first
I'm sitting in Brad's office, I'm wearing one of his fine Saville Row suits and he's tied up in the basement, that's right, I'm running the team.
First of all with the trade deadline coming up, I'm going to be looking at making changes to the bottom of the team. Now you'll notice I didn't say goaltending.
Goaltending trades aren't part of my priority list, if something reasonable comes up where I can get what I see as a long term solution or even intermediate solution I'll make that move. But this season is lost, and I'm not going to grab a guy like Bernier for example.
In fact I'm going to make a call to Bob and in my best Brad Treliving voice say "Bob, we need to ride Ortio, Hiller is done you can see it in his play, and since I have no intention of resigning him, he can sit on the bench". We need to know if Ortio is part of the future or not. If he loses the next 26 games and has a 9.00 gaa and a .210 svpct at least we know that he's done here.
In terms of the trade deadline, my main goal is shedding salary for next year, because I have a long summer of negotiations ahead of me when Money, Johnny come to the table.
I also know that teams cannot have enough depth defensemen for playoff runs so I know that my low value moves are based around Engellend and Smid. The way I figure it, both of those guys are going to get you low value draft picks back and you're going to have to eat salary to increase their value.
So I'm looking at the real contenders and telling them that I'm willing to move these guys and eat 25% of their salary in exchange for 4th round picks. Frankly I think Engellend has value for a playoff team. I doubt that Smid does mainly due to injury issues.
I know I'm not going to be able to move Wideman anymore.
I definitely move Russell and Huder. My starting point with Hudler is a 1st round pick, I doubt I'll get that, so I'll be willing to sail him for a 2nd round pick and a average prospect. I do believe that Hudler has increased his deadline trade value and right now he's the best forward available.
Since GM's have been calling about Russell, I move him, I think that if he's demanding 5 million or more per year its too much for a second pairing guy with his skill set. But I hold fast in a bidding war with him and try to get a 1st round pick or a 2nd round pick with a average prospect.
Wideman is untradable this year. I might be tempted to push him to the farm and try to move him this summer for very little and taking back some salary.
Ok, I can no longer trade a goalie this year because of the injury to Ramo.
Raymond is untradable and I don't want to absorb his salary long term. But I try to move him for a club sandwich.
If I can move Stajan for a 3rd and a shorter but poor contract back, I do it. I love Stajan but its time to move on from his. I think that some teams might want to bring him in to mentor their young kids and he's a stabilizing person in your bottom 6, he's just not a good fit for our bottom 6
I think that a guy like Bouma also has value in the league, I just think that he needs a change of scenery. If I can move him and get a second or a decent prospect, I'm all over that, otherwise I keep him.
David Jones needs to go as well, he's an upcoming UFA, and I bet I can send him to a playoff team for a 3rd
BecauseI need a top 6 rw and and 2 defensemen. I bring up Kulak and Wotherspoon and Grant and Kenny Agostino and let them treat this as a training camp enticement. I also bring up Freddie Hamilton, cause why not. Poirier has to come up and start proving that he's developing.
So right now after the deadline hopefully my lineup is going to be
I try to deal Jooris if I can, but he's not getting qualified, he's terrible.
I qualify Colborne and try to sign him to a 2 year deal without much of a raise.
I qualify Granlund as well and try to sign him to a one or two year prove me deal
Now chances are this team is going to plummet, but at least I'm going to see what this team is made up of, and we go into the off season with some play space depending on what Mony and JH are going to get.
My priority in the summer.
Depending on what we draft.
Shore up the bottom 6 with guys from the farm.
Take a run at Reimer goaltending wise, because there's not much free agency wise outside of him.
Find a bottom 6 agitator physical presence
Then I hang up Treliving's suit and place the tape recorder and hacksaw in the closet with him.
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
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1. Keep Wideman and play him - you need to rehabilitate his value or you will be left holding the bag next year. Use the end of the season to try to re-establish value to find a trade at the draft. Burying him is counter-productive.
2. Keep Stajan, even if it means rotating him in/out if you want to give youth a shot. He is a reliable veteran, good team man, and his value on the roster is better than you would find in a trade. Especially if you want to play Bennett at centre, you need a guy like Stajan to roll out there for the tougher assignments, sheltering Bennett as he adjusts. If you can move Smid and don't re-sign Russell, that saves a lot of money on D, and Wideman's contract becomes a placeholder for any future bolstering on D. Up front, Stajan and Backlund provide centre depth which is affordable for at least 1 more year (Bennett's last of ELC) so any move there can be delayed until value/next trade deadline. If both Jones and Hudler leave, as is expected, there is money to give there as well.
3. Hiller can be traded - it would need to be the right fit, a team looking for short term veteran insurance sending back a backup goalie/AHL goalie e.g. San Jose trades Stalock + 4th round pick for Hiller (50% retained).
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Now chances are this team is going to plummet, but at least I'm going to see what this team is made up of, and we go into the off season with some play space depending on what Mony and JH are going to get.
Here is the 1 issue, and the issue I have with everyone's proposals/solutions.
The Flames need PLAYERS for this team next year. Sure it would be nice to trade Stajan, Wideman, Russell, Hudler, Bouma, Joens all for picks, but that means we need 5 NHL players next year of the same quality just to get the team back to where they are this year.
I guess you can try and trade all the picks for players at the draft ala Hamilton, but there is a serious risk the team gets into Oilers territory where you have 5 good players and 12 AHL quality guys.
I hope we actually get young players for Russel and Hudler who can make the team next year and contribute instead of more pics.
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Look Hiller was given the ball since Ramo went down and sadly he not only dropped it, but did that stumble kick thing that we all do when we try to pick stuff up and sent that ball careening into the middle of a busy highway where it was crushed by a semi.
Hiller after being given the ball:
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I agree with everything you said except for the qualify Colborne.
He is terribad. This idea that he's going to be anything more than a soft big player with bad decision making and that is easy to strip the puck from is crazy talk.
I agree with everything you said except for the qualify Colborne.
He is terribad. This idea that he's going to be anything more than a soft big player with bad decision making and that is easy to strip the puck from is crazy talk.
If he is willing to play for a mil or so, I got nothing against him playing bottom 6. He does have very soft hands that can come in handy.
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I actually agree with a lot but you're being unrealistic for the return on Raymond. A clubhouse is a pretty good quality sandwich and I doubt teams are going to put the time and effort into making something that good. I think if a PB&J was offered you take it, you could hold out for a grilled cheese but I'd accept a PB&J.
I do agree that we should keep Wideman instead of giving him away or giving up assets to get rid of him. Hope he rebounds next year and becomes trade bait then, if he regains his form then teams will actually give up assets for a potential PP QB like he was last year.
I think the returns on Russell and Hudler will actually be really good though and I"m thinking the flames will have at least one more first rounder by the draft.
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Fan of the Flames, where being OK has become OK.
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I agree with everything you said except for the qualify Colborne.
He is terribad. This idea that he's going to be anything more than a soft big player with bad decision making and that is easy to strip the puck from is crazy talk.
I don't get the Colborne hate. They guy makes $1.25 million and has one less point than Frolik in nearly the same games played. If you are grading him as a top 6 forward then you can grade him as a fail but as a bottom 6 player he's very good value. He's put up more points than any of Jones, Stajan, Granlund, Jooris, Ferland, etc. Let him go for nothing and who in the bottom 6 is going to pick up the slack? Outside of Granlund I don't see a player in that group being able to match his numbers. The Flames issue isn't their bottom 6 it's the lack of top 6 wingers.
Last edited by Erick Estrada; 02-18-2016 at 12:26 PM.
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I don't get the Colborne hate. They guy makes $1.25 million and has one less point than Frolik. If you are grading him as a top 6 forward then you can grade him as a fail but as a bottom 6 player he's very good value. He's put up double the points of an untouchable player to some like Ferland.
Frolik doesn't make nearly as many detrimental or frustrating plays as Colborne.
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This is what I would like to see happen for the remainder of the season:
- Put Bennett in the #1 RW spot with Gaudreau and Monahan.
- Sit Hiller and don't put him in regardless of the circumstances.
- Lock the top four D as Giordano, Brodie, Hamilton and Nakladal. Mix and match as needed, but leave those four together until the final whistle in April.
Right now, there are things we know, and things we don't know:
Know
- Hiller is done.
- We need a legit #1 RW as part of our (young) core. (We have C, LW and LD/RD already.)
- Russel is not a top-four D anymore.
Don't know
- Do we already have a #1 RW in Bennett? He's got the skill, desire and energy to be an impact player on the top line, and his idol (Gilmour) played C/RW. Can he do the same?
- Do we have a G in our system that is NHL ready?
- Is Nakladal a top-four NHL D?
So here's the deal. The season is done. Even if we get hot enough to miraculously make it in, we're not going anywhere special once we get there. Let's do the smart thing for once. Let's start inventorying our cupboards. Go with the young goalies in our system that are healthy enough to play. Put Bennett up front with the big two and let it play out. Commit to Nakladal in the top-four and see what happens.
Imagine going into the off-season and not having to wonder about if we need a #1RW, or a top-for D or a G that can backup Ramo next year. Imagine actually knowing the answers to these questions because we allowed the only players in our organization who are close enough to fill those roles try out for them over almost a quarter of a season.
"We think Nakladal can move into the top-four" vs "Nakladal is/isn't a top-four D"
"We're gonna try Sam out on the wing next year" vs "Bennett is/isn't(yet?) able to be a #1 RW"
"We have a couple options for the G position" vs "Player x can play in this league, and he'll challenge Ramo next year for #1 status" or "We need an NHL goalie next season. Period."
Possible outcomes
- Everything bombs and we finish close to last overall and pick top-three in the draft.
- We get some pretty good answers and finish near the bottom and pick top-six in the draft.
- Everything works incredibly and we go on a huge exciting run to finish out the season, and suddenly we're in very good shape for next year. Screw the Oilers and their tanking ways!
I imagine there are holes all throughout my ideas, but these are my thoughts at the moment, regardless.
26 games to go and there's nothing to see here
