Please do absolutely nothing.

[Phanuthier]

Few thoughts (not sure where to put it, this thread seemed like the most obvious) :

- Hudler : like many others, I think it makes sense to accumulate assets for a pending UFA who likely wont be here the year after. Making use of the short window of cap space for this year only, trading both players at 50% retained could significantly boost both their value for teams that looking for a Cup push and their window is closing.

- Wideman : see above. In addition, I don't see him nearly as effective playing half the minutes, and there just aren't enough minutes to go around. Players talk about it all the time, its hard to get into the game when you are playing the occational shift, and (Gio, Hamilton, Brodie and Rusell) will probably see 22-24 minutes, leaving about 15 minutes left for Wideman.

- Smid - square peg in round hole right now. Teams can only afford to have 1 stay-at-home defenseman these days, and thats Engelland right now. With a defenseman shortage, I have to think he will be shopped. Also trade him at 50% retained.

- Mason Raymond - also square peg in round hole right now... just doesn't fit. If any team has a fit for him, I'd let him go for future considerations.

- Sign : Schlemko. Obvious reasons, he's our #6.

- Fill #7 position : My easy guess is this is Diaz's position, but could be Smid's if you can't move Smid.

- Need to 3 spots for #8-10... I think Wotherspoon, Nakladal, Ramage are the 3 here, but we might want to see 1 more guy signed here to push. Again that spot might have already been filled if we keep Smid, Diaz and Schlemko.

- The RWer : Stafford? Stewart? I have no idea, I don't think it'll get filled but I think they'll try. Can't see them committing more than 2 years.

- The David Jones decision : a lot of people think he will be gone, but I'm not so sure. I think he's a huge part of this team... I think he will be extended, not sure how long though.

- Matt Stajan : A recent fan favorite, but besides the high dollars that we might need, I think is eating up a position that is better off going to Jooris and Granlund. I think he'll be around for training camp, but I don't think he lasts the season in Calgary. Too many guys pushing.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

And replace him with whom?
Flames are looking to get better. Raymond will be off the books before his cap hit space will be necessary. There is no value in moving him at this point.

Bennett maybe? With him as a roster player next season and with Poirier likely to be the first call up with a good chance of sticking, there simply isn't room for him on the team anymore. Even without Poirier in the lineup he was still a healthy scratch in the playoffs

[Freeway]

I'd wager the first handful of call-ups are Emile Poirier, Bill Arnold, Ryan Culkin and Kenney Morrison. (And Wotherspoon, if he doesn't start in Calgary.)

[Crumpy-Gunt]

Originally Posted by bax

None of those points matter if you don't think the guy will be able to contribute at the NHL level, which I don't.

Detroit ripping a first year pro in the media is unheard of and pretty telling. He has a great shot and can finish, but I'm not willing to give up much for him. If he falls into our lap sure, give him a shot, but I'm not trading a top 4 d man for him

Lol the guy broke his leg In preseason

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by King Theo

I can't believe that people are still wanting us to sign Schlemko. I did not think we would sign him before we traded for Hamilton.

Yep, exactly. It's like that old saying goes; You don't want too much NHL ready defensive depth, because then if you get a couple of injuries it would be too easy to slot guys in, which would eliminate the fun of trying to grab some other team's scraps on short notice.

Or something like that, I can't remember the exact saying. I know another one you hear a lot is "You can never have enough defensive depth", but those NHL experts are probably on crack or something.

[DJones]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

And replace him with whom?
Flames are looking to get better. Raymond will be off the books before his cap hit space will be necessary. There is no value in moving him at this point.

Feels like we have a bunch of players I'd rather see play than Raymond.

On the LW, Johnny, Bennett(?), Bouma, Ferland for sure. Then Jooris, Granlund, Byron, Shore as centers to move to the wing that I would rather see than Raymond.

Get a 3rd for him and I'd be happy

[FBI]

Get a 7th for him and I'll be happy.

[Bandwagon In Flames]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

Few thoughts (not sure where to put it, this thread seemed like the most obvious) :

- Need to 3 spots for #8-10... I think Wotherspoon, Nakladal, Ramage are the 3 here, but we might want to see 1 more guy signed here to push. Again that spot might have already been filled if we keep Smid, Diaz and Schlemko.

Not sure why you think Ramage is so high up the depth chart. Will be hard for him to play without a qualifying offer.

I also respectfully disagree with pretty much every other recommendation you listed. The Flames don't need to make moves and aren't in a position to trade someone on LTIR or a bad contract.

[Poe969]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Yep, exactly. It's like that old saying goes; You don't want too much NHL ready defensive depth, because then if you get a couple of injuries it would be too easy to slot guys in, which would eliminate the fun of trying to grab some other team's scraps on short notice.

Or something like that, I can't remember the exact saying. I know another one you hear a lot is "You can never have enough defensive depth", but those NHL experts are probably on crack or something.

There's also that new saying going around that you really only need 4 D to win the cup.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Bandwagon In Flames

Not sure why you think Ramage is so high up the depth chart. Will be hard for him to play without a qualifying offer..

check the time the post was made, it was before the news that he wasnt offered a contract.

I just had him in that slot cause he was one of the black aces, and besides Wotherspoon, he was the oldest. Also guessed it cause in a interview with Brad Pascal I believe it was, it was him and Wotherspoon that the 2 best defenseman to finish the year in the AHL.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by poe969

there's also that new saying going around that you really only need 4 d to win the cup.

*3½

[Red Menace]

I love what Treliving has done lately, but he didn't show the best judgement in UFA season last year, with the Engelland, Raymond, and Setoguchi moves all on the poor side to varying degrees. The Hiller singing was good.
I have more faith in BT than I did last year, but am a little worried when we continue to hear chirpings from Burke about getting bigger, which often time leads to signing or trading for terrible hockey players ( like Bollig for example)

[wireframe]

Originally Posted by Red Menace

I love what Treliving has done lately, but he didn't show the best judgement in UFA season last year, with the Engelland, Raymond, and Setoguchi moves all on the poor side to varying degrees. The Hiller singing was good.
I have more faith in BT than I did last year, but am a little worried when we continue to hear chirpings from Burke about getting bigger, which often time leads to signing or trading for terrible hockey players ( like Bollig for example)

I think that all teams want to get bigger. Treliving knows that Anaheim pushed the Flames around without Burke having to tell him.

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Red Menace

I love what Treliving has done lately, but he didn't show the best judgement in UFA season last year, with the Engelland, Raymond, and Setoguchi moves all on the poor side to varying degrees. The Hiller singing was good.
I have more faith in BT than I did last year, but am a little worried when we continue to hear chirpings from Burke about getting bigger, which often time leads to signing or trading for terrible hockey players ( like Bollig for example)

Ill give you Raymond was a poor choice but Engelland earned every dollar he was paid last year. After Gio went down he elevated his game to max potential. With out his improved play i don't think flames make playoffs last year. That also goes for the other d-men that stepped up. Setoguchi was not a bad signing. He was paid near league minimum and was sent down when it was obvious he couldnt hack it. If your going to say Setoguchi was a bad singing, then you have to give Treliving praise for grabbing Schlemko off waivers. Burke is not the only person in the NHL saying that you got to get bigger. More than likely Treliving thinks the same thing, along with 25-30 other GM's.

[Anduril]

Originally Posted by Red Menace

I love what Treliving has done lately, but he didn't show the best judgement in UFA season last year, with the Engelland, Raymond, and Setoguchi moves all on the poor side to varying degrees. The Hiller singing was good.
I have more faith in BT than I did last year, but am a little worried when we continue to hear chirpings from Burke about getting bigger, which often time leads to signing or trading for terrible hockey players ( like Bollig for example)

Engelland? Others have addressed on it but he showed he can be a reliable cog in the backend when asked to step up.

Raymond? We had little proven depth on the team. It was only natural to find a veteran and one with speed who might be able to thrive in Hartley's offense. Other than Bouma who remained purely bottom 6, the inconsistent Glencross, there wasn't much else in the way of NHL bodies. Not until the likes of Gaudreau proved everybody wrong and then some. Not until Ferland came onto the scene showing flashes in the beginning and carrying that energy in at the end. A 3x3 given the pedigree of a middle 6 offensive guy who was gave us an edge in speed? Don't think you could say it was a horrible deal given that perspective. On a fortunate sense, I'm glad it didn't work out since the youth movement is covering up for it.
To be fair though, you could only expect so much from a perimeter player.

Setoguchi? A GM gave a reclamation project near minimum 1 year salary and the player busted? Terrible judgement by Treliving.


I also still don't get this incessant and irrational fear by a lot of posters who continue to harbor the thought that Burke's repeatedly misconstrued words of "getting bigger" and "truculence" means he would want to win with a team of cavemen on skates. Not only is that not true, Treliving has frequently pointed out the need for size, skill and especially speed in today's game. It's a major factor, but not necessarily a requisite.

However, if Bollig is one example of a blind need for size, I present Colborne, Shore, and Hamilton as others of skilled players with size.


My post sounds a lot of like rah rah that the new management can do no wrong, but it's more so taking the context of the moves rather than looking at it all after hindsight.

[Red Menace]

Size can be useful, but Burkie always fails to mention that the 2 Cup finalists were smaller skill based teams. I agree we could use some bigger players, but they have to have skill first. I have faith in Treliving, but do have some concerns when our Preseident is a guy who was spouting how McGrattan and Westgarth were the key to our 2013-2014 late season success.

[Caged Great]

The problem is that Treliving did not see the team's prospects play before signing most of the UFA's. Would he have signed Raymond, Engelland, Setoguchi, and acquired Bollig? maybe, maybe not. At the development camp last year, he remarked on how he was surprised by the amount of talented players that the Flames had.

The thing is that three of those guys are very usable NHL players for all 30 teams and none of their contracts are a burden. Engelland and Raymond are actually paid less than the average player (70/23 = 3+ mil). After this season, a lot of teams would want a quality depth player on a 1 year deal, especially those teams that are where the Flames were when we signed them initially.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Red Menace

Size can be useful, but Burkie always fails to mention that the 2 Cup finalists were smaller skill based teams. I agree we could use some bigger players, but they have to have skill first. I have faith in Treliving, but do have some concerns when our Preseident is a guy who was spouting how McGrattan and Westgarth were the key to our 2013-2014 late season success.

I didn't agree with those comments, but you should sleep better considering how unceremoniously they dumped those two.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by Red Menace

Size can be useful, but Burkie always fails to mention that the 2 Cup finalists were smaller skill based teams.

This is not based in fact.

[saillias]

Originally Posted by heep223

This is not based in fact.

Yup, Burke and Treliving pointed out in a recent STH meeting that TB has the biggest defense in the league.