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Lifetime Suspension
Join Date: Apr 2017
Exp: 
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At this point in time, the Flames are going all in, as they should. However, as good as Toffoli and Jarnkrok are for our team in terms of depth scoring, to truly compete and win in a 7-game series against Colorado and other Western Conference teams with solid depth such as Vegas (I believe they’ll make the playoffs and play well considering their depth when healthy) and St. Louis (their top 9 depth is unreal), I think we have to make another major splash, and in order to do so, we need to unload Monahan. At this point in time, he brings nothing advantageous to this team. He’s slow, a defensive liability, and his offensive abilities have completely diminished. Trading him won’t hurt the team in terms of morale (due to his friendships with others on the team) as players know this is a business, and this is their best chance to win a cup this year, or at least make the finals, with how weak the West is compared to the East. Due to his 10-team no trade list, Treliving needs to be working the phones to the 20 other teams who may be willing to take on Monahan with his expiring contract after next year. If a 1st or 2nd round pick need to be included, so be it, if some salary needs to be retained, so be it. In the latter case, we’ll need to trade for another player whose current team also retains salary, since we’ll be on the hook for some of Monahan’s if we retain in his case.
Obviously, the perfect target would have been Hertl, but since he’s locked up now, who’s available that will put us over the top and allow us to truly compete and beat those aforementioned teams above? Giroux? It’s unclear if he wants to come to Canada, but with restrictions now being lifted across all provinces, he may be willing to, because if Colorado gets him, I think the Avs come out of the West. If they do indeed get him, that makes the case for us needing to make another trade even more significant.
Miller? I highly doubt Vancouver trades him at this point, especially to a division rival.
Aside from those two, the only other trade candidate I can think of is Domi. I think he’s a solid player who can slot in between Toffoli and Mangiapane on the second line. He may not be the biggest or the toughest, but he has heart and is a passionate player who’ll be rejuvenated playing on a far better team.
If not any of those, I like the way Crouse plays for Arizona. He’s got size and skill and finally seems to be putting it all together and turning into a solid top 6 forward. He’s definitely the type of big body, heavy hitting presence that we can use in the playoffs, and once Lucic’s contract is up, he’ll essentially be a replacement for Lucic, with far more youth, skill, and upside. If we can somehow get a package for Crouse AND Chychrun, I think that’ll put us over the top, if not for Giroux. Maybe something along the lines of one of Zary/Coronato/Pelletier, Valimaki, Dube, a 1st, 2nd, and a 3rd/4th/lesser prospect. Yes giving away those picks, along with the ones we've already given away for Toffoli and Jarnkork hurts and is a hit to our future, but the time is now. This is it, this is our best chance since 2004. I can literally feel it.
Of course, this all hinges on if Monahan can be moved, but I truly believe he needs to be with us going all in. We have proven we can compete with the teams mentioned above, but the playoffs are a different animal, especially when considering a long, gruelling 7-game series, and not to mention the fact that if we can get out of the West, we’re going to be running into a complete monster from the East. And at this time, I want the ####ING cup, not just a finals appearance.
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