[Rumour] LeBrun: Treliving's primary need is a left handed 3rd pair d-man, preferably a rental

[Matty81]

Seems like a waste with Valimaki and Kylington both seeming like above average 3rd pairing LDs but it doesn't hurt to add depth I guess.


If I'm dreaming I'd like to see them add some toughness that can play, a 1B goalie and in a perfect world, bonafide 2nd line scoring to play with the big 4 up front in the way the Hawks added Hossa to go over the top. A 3rd pairing depth defenceman with two adequate guys there already seems pretty far down the list but am sure Treliving is not only working on one thing.



McQuaid fits the bill but he has negative value with that contract... even though it's just a year 2.75 mil for a depth defenceman pretty much negates any trade value he'd otherwise have.

[Samonadreau]

Isn't Mcquaid a right shot?

[Northendzone]

Do you mean like the stampede parade Marshall?

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Treliving’s primary need is a parade planner.

Too soon?

[Heavy Jack]

Kronwall on a young rebuilding Detroit team in his twilight years is still averaging 19+ mins a night and what I like about adding him is his familiarity with Peters, he’s also got playoff experience that is invaluable for a blue line corps that doesn’t boast much playoff experience at all. 12 pts too this year which isn’t too shabby.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Marc Staal?
EDIT: Oops didn’t read the rental part.

[Azure]

Injuries will always happen, and if anyone from our current D gets injured Prout is the next guy in and we all don't think that is a good idea.

In a few weeks or at least come playoff time we might have both Valamaki and Stone ready to go, but again, injuries happen.

[Classic_Sniper]

Wasn’t Treliving scouting the Blues recently? Unless he was scouting Chris Butler or a very expensive Jay Bouwmeester, I wonder if he was looking at UFA forwards like a Patrick Maroon instead.

[Caged Great]

We need depth and that's #1. The Flames have a ton of viable players thankfully in stockton that can fill out if a bottom 6 forward goes out, but nothing much in the line of anything else.

Right now, if Rittich goes down, the Flames frankly are in a pickle. Calgary needs three things in my opinion moving to the deadline.

A playmaking left winger. It doesn't need to be a high end guy. Think of when the Flames dealt Hudler or the Oilers when they moved Hemsky. Doesn't have to be a high end guy, just someone who's decent at making a pass. His main objective would be to feed Neal some pucks. Part of why he's struggled so much is that his linemates aren't consistent at making good plays. Neal is a finisher, not a setup guy. He needs a decent set up guy.

A depth D-man. LHD would be better. If any of the LHD get hurt down the stretch, the Flames will have a hard time as we have nothing in the prospect pool or anything at all really.

Smith is still unreliable. If an upgrade can be found while dealing for either of the other two, do so.

[Jore]

If BT is looking for a veteran depth LHD who can slot in seamlessly and not hurt the team then I have to believe that they made Kulak trade (for what exactly again?) mainly to give him a better opportunity. Depth there would be nice but it doesn't seem like their biggest need.

The relative weaknesses as far as i can tell right now seem to be another top 6 scorer and an upgrade to Smith. I'd also like to get Ferland back, I don't know what Carolina would want but I'd love him playing for the Flames in the playoffs again.

[djsFlames]

Kevin Hayes or Ryan Dzingle is the rental you are looking for.

Aka getting stronger down the middle. Things weren't pretty when Backlund was out, and so that means you're one tweak away from that again.

We literally have 9 good NHL d-men.

[TheScorpion]

I'd hate to get Dzingel because nobody would be able to spell his name properly, and we already have Hanifin, Neal, and Tkachuk for people to mess up

[Roof-Daddy]

Stone or Duchene as pending UFAs with the end game being re-signing them long term to be a part of the core.

Duchene slots in as the 2nd line C
Stone would slot in as the top line RW with Lindholm then moving into the 2C role

Either move would strengthen the center core, especially with Backlund as the 3C.

Also would be ecstatic with ROR or Schenn.

One more really good C makes this team sooper dooper good as long as they keep getting league average or better goaltending.

[activeStick]

I hope it's not the case, but I'm wondering if Valimaki might be out longer than anticipated. In his recent interview Treliving did confirm that there aren't any timelines on his return and mentioned that high ankle sprains take time in some cases.

[Matty81]

Yeah McQuaid is a right shot, count him out. I understand the need for a left shot... unless they are sure Stone is done for the year the Flames have 9 NHL defencemen once Valimaki and Stone are back in the mix but only 4 of the 9 are LHD.

I think they hoped Nielsen might become the #10 guy with a left shot but I think Ollas-Mattsson has still looked better than him. Upgrade is worthwhile but keeping in mind this is already a group of 9 guys who can play an NHL shift and this would be the #6-10 guy, only as long as the cost is extremely low.

Agree that Kronwall would be great but they won't move him unless they get a pretty high pick, otherwise why bother, they'll keep him a single club guy and let him retire in motown. Flames are already down two picks in this draft after having a bare cupboard last year... seems like a reach to me to see the Flames paying a 2nd the following year or a 3rd for him.

[Knut]

Originally Posted by activeStick

I hope it's not the case, but I'm wondering if Valimaki might be out longer than anticipated. In his recent interview Treliving did confirm that there aren't any timelines on his return and mentioned that high ankle sprains take time in some cases.

It’s a High Ankle Sprain. Which are notorious for being hard to recover from. Even if back it will affect him all season.

[drewtastic]

https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showpo...&postcount=306

Like I mentioned in this PGT post, I really do hope the Flames do something to bolster that bottom pairing.

While it is remarkable that three rookies (Valimaki, Andersson, Kylington) have done admirably on that pairing, the reality is that only Andersson has demonstrated consistent enough play to merit a solidified spot. Valimaki is going to be a stud and Kylington will also be a great asset, but they are still boys, physically, and get bumped off the puck easily. Against the Sharks, Kylington also was out of position several times, resulting in scrambly play in our own zone. This isn't an indictment, it's just the reality of growing pains with young DMen.

Andersson isn't physical, but he's solid enough.

I like Stone as a warrior, but I worry that his foot speed isn't good enough for today's NHL. I'd rather they add a more mobile yet physical depth defender.

Of course, this all depends on what management expects from the team THIS year. If they think we are capable of a long playoff run, then get the rental. If they are building for next year or beyond, then maybe not, depending on cost of said rental.

My opinion? I think we should take a shot as a darkhorse this year. Get a cheap rental on the back-end, let the young D continue to develop and then deal with Tkachuk's extension and whatever else in the off-season. I think we have a window of 3-4 years at this point, so, why not take the early shot while the team is going so well? The core will remain going forward in our window, so, may as well load the gun for as many shots as possible!

[oldschoolcalgary]

personally, i feel pretty good with the Flames D depth... you have Stone and Vilimaki and Prout (who obviously is at the very bottom or the chart) injured and a solid top four of gio/brodie and hamonic/hanifin...

I'd be a bit more concerned with depth scoring in the playoffs if teams focus on shutting down Gaudreau's line... maybe the 3M like recaptures its previous success, but if it doesn't, then there's some concern there imo.

that's why Neal is so important as it gives that 3rd line some legitimate scoring teeth. Janko and Bennett are good players, but haven't shown any consistency or history as being scorers...

a third goalie for the playoff run is also something i think needs to be considered above another DMan... imo...

[Phagoof]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

I'd hate to get Dzingel because nobody would be able to spell his name properly, and we already have Hanifin, Neal, and Tkachuk for people to mess up

It would also be fun to here Ball say "he Dzingels the goalie and scores!"

[savardandjokinen]

I like the Kronwall, Howard for Smith, Eat Bread, Foo idea.

[TheScorpion]

I don't want to trade Foo. I'd like to see him in the league at some point this year.