Keep in mind this means a bad contract is coming off the books first.
I think this is key. For it to happen that contract has to come off the books. Since he is holding out for that to happen it means that he has been told by the Flames management that they having something in the works that has to be close or he wouldn't be sitting on the side line this long.
I think this is key. For it to happen that contract has to come off the books. Since he is holding out for that to happen it means that he has been told by the Flames management that they having something in the works that has to be close or he wouldn't be sitting on the side line this long.
They put Schlemko in the same situation last offseason. He said himself, he thought they wanted to move a bad contract/open up space for him on the blue line, but he got tired of waiting and signed elsewhere.
Lots of things really close fall through and just dumping bad money is one of the tougher things to do as a GM. Maybe they should stop leading players on
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Originally Posted by JobHopper
The thing is, my posts, thoughts and insights may be my opinions but they're also quite factual.
Seems to big an awfully big risk for Russell to take imo...if the deal that is being suggested goes south he might be screwed. I really wonder if this is just media types looking for the clicks, reads, etc?
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Originally Posted by ResAlien
Let us not befoul this glorious day with talk of the anal gland drippings that are HERO charts.
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I don't think it is a case of them leading a player on - just telling them where things are at. If they choose to sign elsewhere than I don't think either party would be upset with that.
By "Moving bad money" could that also mean Smid to LTIR?
I realize that he can't go on LTIR until the season starts...but I also understand teams can be over the cap (by 10% I think?) right up until season starts.
So could they:
- Sign Russell on August 30th
- Go through all the regular motions of training camp through Sept / Oct
- Put Smid on LTIR opening day
- Satisfy the NHL's salary cap on opening day
We also have $3M in bonus cushion and will likely have $1M of true Cap Space after JG signs. Hell -> maybe Johnny doesn't sign until after the season starts and Smid is IR'd ! (Let's hope not!)
It just seems weird then. On one hand Russell is waiting to sign with the Flames, but we need to move a contract? On the other hand he is willing to risk waiting it out or he hasn't had an offer yet from another team? Things are not really adding up. Maybe he is looking for too much and he ends up with no contract? I personally think he hasn't had an offer he wants to sign yet as the most likely. Again this is just odd for how this is playing out.
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Let us not befoul this glorious day with talk of the anal gland drippings that are HERO charts.
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The longer Russell goes without a team the more it's looking like he's going to come back to the Flames. Treliving likely trying to sort out the Gaudreau, Smid situations as well as maybe a possible trade here or there.
Even if Russell is on the team's radar, I'm nearly positive that they won't sign him until they sign Gaudreau. Johnny's cap hit will likely dictate how much more they can spend and whether they would be willing to meet Russell's demands.
I'm betting you won't hear anything about Kris until Johnny's situation is resolved.
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"You know, that's kinda why I came here, to show that I don't suck that much" ~ Devin Cooley, Professional Goaltender
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I've thought for a while that Wideman can't be moved until Russell is signed by someone. Once Russell signs, teams start looking at the other options such as Wideman. Now that Russell maybe wants to sign with Calgary but we can't sign him until Wideman is gone puts the whole mess in a spiral. We'll see if Treliving can pull this off with the rider that I'm not anxious to have Russell back in the first place.
I don't think it is a case of them leading a player on - just telling them where things are at. If they choose to sign elsewhere than I don't think either party would be upset with that.
If this is the case it also shows the Flames management the strong desire Russell has in wanting to be in Calgary.
I personally think the Flames have some things in the queue and are waiting closer to the season to see if a better offer emerges or if any injuries/signings happen in the early days of camp which may change a teams current position.
Just need the first domino to fall. Realistically, it isn't until the eve of camp that this has to be hashed out.
Lets assume you can't move Wideman (not sure that's true), do you move Engellend? Engellend and eat some salary? Or is it someone like Bollig? Stajan?
Part of me is leery as I don't want to upset the apple cart on what I think would be a solid top four.
Giordano - Brodie
Jokkipakka - Hamilton
is so interesting to me.
could they demote the old 2nd pairing to a third pairing and go with Russell/Wideman again?
Russell Hamilton didn't seem to be a feasible pair.
What we saw from the Flames last season was that if either Wideman or Russell are spending extended time in your top 4 you are going to bleed chances. If you don't have good goal tending, those chances will be hemorrhaging goals because of the quality of them.
Russell spent more time going down last year than Fotze's mom which is as sure a sign as any of either being out of position or behind the play.
Russell is by no means awful, but he's an undersized defender who looks like he's losing his skating legs. That's a downright awful combination to have.
Two years ago he looked like he had success by being .2 steps ahead of the opposition. Last year he looked like he was .2 steps behind the opposition and it was ugly for Calgary.
The worst possible scenario for Calgary next year is Wideman and Russell on the bottom pairing together. Scotty Bowman couldn't coach that pairing to decent defensive play.
I agree about having faith in your goalie but having faith in your goalie doesn't make wideman and russell faster or bigger. Flames need a big improvement from #4D on down if they want to make noise next season.
For me, if it's true the Flames and Russell are waiting on dropping some bad salary, it has me somewhat concerned.
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Russell and Wideman were bad as a pair last year, no question.
But I think the fact that the forwards were typically 100 ft up the ice most of the time contributed to that.
I would prefer we move on, but if Russell is signed at a decent price, that's fine. He is a serviceable NHL defenseman.
And I think one of his biggest shortcomings is gap control, which is interesting because Gulutzan talks extensively about that and I am hoping that gap control is going to be a big focus and a source of improvement this year.
Russell for Jokipakka, Pollock, and a 2nd was fantastic value before.
But Russell for Jokipakka, Pollock, a 2nd, and Russell?
Treliving is a sorcerer.
Reminds me of the time in WCW when Rick Steiner was attacked by a guy in a bumblebee costume (seriously) and then the next week, the guy in the costume was revealed to be...
RICK STEINER!!!
Man, I've wasted my life.
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Russell and Wideman were bad as a pair last year, no question.
But I think the fact that the forwards were typically 100 ft up the ice most of the time contributed to that.
I would prefer we move on, but if Russell is signed at a decent price, that's fine. He is a serviceable NHL defenseman.
And I think one of his biggest shortcomings is gap control, which is interesting because Gulutzan talks extensively about that and I am hoping that gap control is going to be a big focus and a source of improvement this year.
A lot of the reason that Russell Wideman pairing was so bad was because Wideman was BRUTAL with in zone coverage. But like you said, they also didn't get a ton of support from the forward group that they got to play with.
The guy is pretty underrated around these parts IMO. I think the trade value we got for him shows that.
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Russell and Wideman were bad as a pair last year, no question.
But I think the fact that the forwards were typically 100 ft up the ice most of the time contributed to that.
I would prefer we move on, but if Russell is signed at a decent price, that's fine. He is a serviceable NHL defenseman.
And I think one of his biggest shortcomings is gap control, which is interesting because Gulutzan talks extensively about that and I am hoping that gap control is going to be a big focus and a source of improvement this year.
Russell and Wideman were bad last year, yes. It started early when they were put in a position playing roles they were not suited for due to Brodie's injury, Giordano still bouncing back from his injury and Hamilton becoming acclimated with the team. By the time they were put back into normal roles the goalies had lost confidence in the team in front of them and in turn the team in front of them had lost confident in the goaltending and everything had snowballed.
I point this out because every bit as bad as Russell & Wideman had been last year, they were every bit as good together the year before and were a huge reason we made the playoffs after Giordano's injury. They were also not nearly as bad as last season when they played together in 2013-14 either, so it leads me to believe that they are not as bad as they showed this past season and also probably not as good as they showed in 2014-15.
Now we enter a new era of coaching and goaltending. As you pointed out gap control is a big thing Gulutzan preaches and if the team as a whole buys into that system it will make both our defense and goaltending look better and with who I believe is a legitimate #1 goaltender in Elliott I think he will make the defense feel more confident which will make them and the system look even better.
That said, I am not sure Gulutzan will keep our defense pairings what they were before. Hell for all we know he will dress 7 defensemen and use Wideman exclusively on the PP and when trailing, or play Engelland as the #4 RW. There is also the matter of Jokipakka's off-season procedure, his hip IIRC. Will he skate as well when he returns? Will he even be ready for opening day? There is also the matter of the expansion draft, a 2+ year deal from Russell will absolutely guarantee that one (or both) of he or Jokipakka will be back for the 2017-18 season. The fact he could have a back-up plan for both Jokipakka's injury and the expansion draft in a single player is nothing but a good thing if you ask me.
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