Drew LeBlanc, the guy who won the Hobey Baker in 2012/2013 over Gaudreau, signed in Germany this past week after putting 0.24PPG on Chicago's AHL affiliate these past two years.
The Blackhawks elected not to give him a qualifying offer.
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To be fair though if you are a millionaire hockey player in a city you did not grow up in you likely have very little to no friends around.
It's tough to go out and meet new people (that are not of the opposite sex) I would imagine.
Serious? I meet new people all the time and I'm broke as hell. If anything the hockey players want to be left alone.
Sure for the first few weeks at a new place it's awkward but a millionaire hockey player in Calgary will have no trouble making friends. I make friends being broke and not saying much, hockey players must be shrugging off dude bros left and right.
I hope this is the last season with Stajan on the team. To me that 4th line center spot could be filled by many of our younger players particularly Arnold
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I hope this is the last season with Stajan on the team. To me that 4th line center spot could be filled by many of our younger players particularly Arnold
That's a serious underestimate of a guy who kills penalties, plays up and down the lineup depending on who is out, and is probably the best face off man on the team.
With Monahan and Backlund cemented at centre, I suspect that Arnold is behind Shore, Colborne, Jooris, Granlund and Bennett in addition to Stajan. He may be behind Jankowski soon.
That's a serious underestimate of a guy who kills penalties, plays up and down the lineup depending on who is out, and is probably the best face off man on the team.
With Monahan and Backlund cemented at centre, I suspect that Arnold is behind Shore, Colborne, Jooris, Granlund and Bennett in addition to Stajan. He may be behind Jankowski soon.
Monahan will quickly become a $6-$7M player and at that point we will have our 4th line centre Stajan making $3.1M for another 2 years. Stajan is a fine utility player but in a year or 2 he is not going to be necessary as the Flamea are loaded up the middle and guys like Monahan and Backlund can and will be much better at doing the heavy lifting.
Next summer his cap hit should be something the Flamea should consider getting rid of. Especially if they want to keep Hudler and Russell in addition to the raises for Monahan, Gaudreau, and Giordano
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Monahan will quickly become a $6-$7M player and at that point we will have our 4th line centre Stajan making $3.1M for another 2 years. Stajan is a fine utility player but in a year or 2 he is not going to be necessary as the Flamea are loaded up the middle and guys like Monahan and Backlund can and will be much better at doing the heavy lifting.
Next summer his cap hit should be something the Flamea should consider getting rid of. Especially if they want to keep Hudler and Russell in addition to the raises for Monahan, Gaudreau, and Giordano
Sure in a year or two. I thought you were talking next year.
But at the moment Stajan is the best option they have at centre.
That's a serious underestimate of a guy who kills penalties, plays up and down the lineup depending on who is out, and is probably the best face off man on the team.
Funny, but that is the description of Billy Arnold to a tee. Once this guy gets a shot, he's not going back down. He's got speed, size, a great hockey IQ, and is very coachable. Stajan is one injury away from losing his job to this kid.
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With Monahan and Backlund cemented at centre, I suspect that Arnold is behind Shore, Colborne, Jooris, Granlund and Bennett in addition to Stajan. He may be behind Jankowski soon.
Arnold is a better player than Shore. Given the chance I think he'll make people forget about Jooris too. Colborne and Granlund play completely different roles, and will likely play more wing than center, so I don't see them coming into the conversation. The only thing holding Arnold back is Stajan, and has been said in this thread, Stajan's salary is way too big to be sitting on the 4th line. I suspect he gets moved when the Flames are settled on the roster and comfortably over the cap floor. Backlund better start looking over his shoulder as well. Not this year, but in a couple of years. If Jankowski continues his development and continues to impress, he'll be stealing Backlund's spot in the lineup. The Flames have some very good young talent in the middle that could give them the flexibility they need with budget and keeping the draft picks rolling in to keep the cupboards full.
Sure in a year or two. I thought you were talking next year.
But at the moment Stajan is the best option they have at centre.
I think Stajan is fine going into next year but I think he only has 1 more year here before his contract becomes a problem and others will more than be able to fill his role.
Arnold is a better player than Shore. Given the chance I think he'll make people forget about Jooris too. Colborne and Granlund play completely different roles, and will likely play more wing than center, so I don't see them coming into the conversation. The only thing holding Arnold back is Stajan, and has been said in this thread, Stajan's salary is way too big to be sitting on the 4th line. I suspect he gets moved when the Flames are settled on the roster and comfortably over the cap floor. Backlund better start looking over his shoulder as well. Not this year, but in a couple of years. If Jankowski continues his development and continues to impress, he'll be stealing Backlund's spot in the lineup. The Flames have some very good young talent in the middle that could give them the flexibility they need with budget and keeping the draft picks rolling in to keep the cupboards full.
The Flames are already comfortably over the cap floor. After the RFAs are signed they are going right up against the cap. I agree Stajan does need to be moved before the start of next season, but that's pretty much impossible without eating at least $1 million of his salary.
Funny, but that is the description of Billy Arnold to a tee. Once this guy gets a shot, he's not going back down. He's got speed, size, a great hockey IQ, and is very coachable. Stajan is one injury away from losing his job to this kid.
Arnold is a better player than Shore. Given the chance I think he'll make people forget about Jooris too. Colborne and Granlund play completely different roles, and will likely play more wing than center, so I don't see them coming into the conversation. The only thing holding Arnold back is Stajan, and has been said in this thread, Stajan's salary is way too big to be sitting on the 4th line. I suspect he gets moved when the Flames are settled on the roster and comfortably over the cap floor. Backlund better start looking over his shoulder as well. Not this year, but in a couple of years. If Jankowski continues his development and continues to impress, he'll be stealing Backlund's spot in the lineup. The Flames have some very good young talent in the middle that could give them the flexibility they need with budget and keeping the draft picks rolling in to keep the cupboards full.
I agree (who wouldn't) that a younger and cheaper version of Stajan is better. Of course he won't bring the leadership, but there will still be a few of the current guys and some of the younger ones will be working their way into that role.
I'm not sure that moving Stajan requires eating salary, especially in a couple years. $3.1M isn't huge these days - try and and get a guy like Stajan for that as a UFA and you'll pay the same IMO. After next year it's only a year's worth of salary. Lots of teams need a guy like him in the POs (look at what he did this year - he was one of the better Flames in the POs IMO).
As for Backlund, if Jankowski outplays him, fine. I said in another topic, I don't think he deserves or is effective in 4th line minutes (unlike Stajan). so it's either second or third line for him or he gets moved. You could try and squeeze him in on wing, but he's probably more valuable to move.
Funny, but that is the description of Billy Arnold to a tee. Once this guy gets a shot, he's not going back down. He's got speed, size, a great hockey IQ, and is very coachable. Stajan is one injury away from losing his job to this kid.
Arnold is a better player than Shore. Given the chance I think he'll make people forget about Jooris too. Colborne and Granlund play completely different roles, and will likely play more wing than center, so I don't see them coming into the conversation. The only thing holding Arnold back is Stajan, and has been said in this thread, Stajan's salary is way too big to be sitting on the 4th line. I suspect he gets moved when the Flames are settled on the roster and comfortably over the cap floor. Backlund better start looking over his shoulder as well. Not this year, but in a couple of years. If Jankowski continues his development and continues to impress, he'll be stealing Backlund's spot in the lineup. The Flames have some very good young talent in the middle that could give them the flexibility they need with budget and keeping the draft picks rolling in to keep the cupboards full.
If Arnold is better at his job than Stajan, he will take Stajan's job. If he's not, he wont. It really is that simple.
I too think it would be nice if one of the younger guys made one of our more relatively speaking expensive vets expendable, that's really the goal. Guy's got to prove he deserves it though, and until then, all this talk about what time of game he plays, and whether or not it's comparable to Stajan's, and all this talk about how he's better than a couple of guys that have already played a decent amount of games in the big leagues means very little.
So, what you're saying is Johnny Gaudreau is good at hockey?
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Originally Posted by HotHotHeat
THIS is why people make fun of Edmonton. When will this stupid city figure it out? They continue to kick their own ass every day, it's impossible not to make fun of them.
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