Down Goes Brown hands out trade grades for 2016

[dash_pinched]

Western Conference first (he'll be back in a couple of days with his Eastern Conference grades) - Gives the Flames a B-

Best deal: Kris Russell to Dallas for two prospects and a second. At the risk of setting off yet another round of the Great Kris Russell Debate, let's just say that this was a solid deadline-day haul for a player the Flames weren't bringing back.

Worst deal: A second and a conditional third to St. Louis for Brian Elliott. It looked like a steal at the time, but Elliott had a rough start in Calgary. He's been better recently, so maybe there's still time to salvage this, but sometimes smart gambles just don't pay off.

To be determined: Hunter Shinkaruk to Vancouver for Markus Granlund. The rare prospect-for-prospect deal has favoured the Canucks so far, which you'd expect given Granlund is a little bit older.

Total trades: Six

Overall grade: B-. Solid work, but the Elliott deal brings the grade down, at least for now.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/g...e-grades-2016/

[sa226]

Good puff piece.

The most hilarious part is the first sentence of his fourth paragraph....and then the comments section. Mainly made up of Oilers fans seeking attention.

[Locke]

Meh, decent enough. I mean, as long as you're above the mean then you're doing well.

Trades are generally more or less even, even if they dont always look it at face value.

I honestly think we won the Granlund/Shinkaruk trade and hanging Elliot out as a stinker is a bit premature, but overall? Meh.

[MarkGio]

You take that Elliott gamble all day long. A second round pick for a potential starter on a decent contract? Even though Elliott flopped, that's a good trade.

[TheScorpion]

It's an expiring deal. We'll be able to get someone else a la Bishop this summer.

[CalgaryFan1988]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

You take that Elliott gamble all day long. A second round pick for a potential starter on a decent contract? Even though Elliott flopped, that's a good trade.

Yeah, I'm not even an Elliott fan, but I'd still do that trade 10 times out of 10. Still lots of time for him to turn it around too.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

It's an expiring deal. We'll be able to get someone else a la Bishop this summer.

True, but not getting Bishop this past summer is looking like the larger dodged bullet at the moment.

[N-E-B]

Elliott hasn't even been that bad, Johnson has just outperformed him.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

Elliott hasn't even been that bad, Johnson has just outperformed him.

No, thats objectively untrue. Elliott has been terrible.

I dont know why. Perhaps hes forgotten how to goalie. But whatever it is, I hope he figures it out soon.

You just never can tell when a goalie is going to forget how to goalie.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Locke

You just never can tell when a goalie is going to forget how to goalie.

I think it's because the position is so on an island, it's such a cerebral game. Like pitchers or golfers, sometimes they just get a case of the yips (usually confidence-based to some extent). And in some cases, it never goes away.

I feel bad for Elliott, really hoping he find his game and can run with it for a bit. He's been better lately, but needs to stop letting in the odd Osgood special.

[mrdonkey]

Meh, hard to be upset about the Elliott trade. Whether Elliott was simply a product of Hitchcock was the big question coming into the season, given his history in Ottawa and Colorado. And while it's still early, it's starting to look like that's exactly the case. That's why the price was so low. It was an average trade that had the potential to pay off big, but hasn't so far.

Hoping he can still turn it around, but not holding my breath. It's not the first time a player has struggled to find a fit outside of a very specific environment.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

I think it's because the position is so on an island, it's such a cerebral game. Like pitchers or golfers, sometimes they just get a case of the yips (usually confidence-based to some extent). And in some cases, it never goes away.

I feel bad for Elliott, really hoping he find his game and can run with it for a bit. He's been better lately, but needs to stop letting in the odd Osgood special.

I think he will, hockey is harder but like they say for soccer, eventually quality will shine through. Hes a good goalie and I agree, you make that trade every day and twice on Sundays.

The problem is it isnt 'the odd' Osgood special. The dude lets a muffin slip past every single game. You cant have that.

A 'Good' Goaltender is one who is steady and consistently makes the saves hes expected to make.

Then you have guys like Kipper who made saves he had absolutely no right to make. And thats what made him great.

[REDVAN]

Johnson has outperformed a lot of Flames goalies of late. Also Elliott has been pretty weak.

[Huntingwhale]

I don't see how Treliving can be faulted for the Elliott trade. The GMs job is to play the game on paper. Treliving did exactly what literally every single Flames' fan wanted. He went out and got a starting goalie, who had the best save % last season, and got him on a cheap contract for a bargain price. On paper, it looks great. If someone told me at the start of summer the Flames were going to get the goalie with the best save % in the entire league, who comes from a winning organization who has a cheap cap hit, and it will only cost a 2nd and 3rd rounder, you'd better believe most fans would take that.

But after the trade is made, it's 100% up to the player to perform to expectations. The GM did his part. It's not like Treliving acquired some programmable robot. He got a living breathing human being, and it's up to that person to put it together.

BT could have gone out and traded for Carey Price, and Price could have the same record as Elliott right now and it still would have been the right move. At some point, it's all on the player to live up to expectations.

[FlamesAddiction]

I was OK with the trade because the acquisition was low and the contract OK, but I was never sold on him being more than a 1B kind of goalie or a really good back-up. I felt his stats were inflated from playing on St. Louis. Like Turek 2.0.

Out of all the goalies rumoured to be available, he was last on my list if I recall correctly.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

You take that Elliott gamble all day long. A second round pick for a potential starter on a decent contract? Even though Elliott flopped, that's a good trade.

Agree 100% although Elliott has bombed (and make no mistake that PHX game featured 2 stinkers, he still is awful) you take that trade. Plus it is low risk, you let him go if he Hillers out the rest of the year. Now if the Flames signed him this summer....but they didn't so it isn't even be that big of a deal.

[TheScorpion]

By the way, the comments section of this article is quite the read.

[MarkGio]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

I don't see how Treliving can be faulted for the Elliott trade. The GMs job is to play the game on paper. Treliving did exactly what literally every single Flames' fan wanted. He went out and got a starting goalie, who had the best save % last season, and got him on a cheap contract for a bargain price. On paper, it looks great. If someone told me at the start of summer the Flames were going to get the goalie with the best save % in the entire league, who comes from a winning organization who has a cheap cap hit, and it will only cost a 2nd and 3rd rounder, you'd better believe most fans would take that.

But after the trade is made, it's 100% up to the player to perform to expectations. The GM did his part. It's not like Treliving acquired some programmable robot. He got a living breathing human being, and it's up to that person to put it together.

BT could have gone out and traded for Carey Price, and Price could have the same record as Elliott right now and it still would have been the right move. At some point, it's all on the player to live up to expectations.

Yup, well said. On the flip side they're praising the Russell trade and really, who knows how that plays out. Draft picks are statistical gambles and we lost a good defensemen, but Trevy goes out and pulls a miracle by solving the Flames' biggest weakness for cheap, and thats a negative on Trevy because of what Elliott did? I honestly think Elliot was a smarter play than Russell. Hell, Russell could've gave us a 3rd and a long shot and that's still something, but the Flames going into this year with nobody in goal?!? That would've caused a riot.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I was OK with the trade because the acquisition was low and the contract OK, but I was never sold on him being more than a 1B kind of goalie or a really good back-up. I felt his stats were inflated from playing on St. Louis. Like Turek 2.0.

Out of all the goalies rumoured to be available, he was last on my list if I recall correctly.

I fully agree with this post. I was not that excited when the Wlliott trade was announced but the low cost to acquire, and low cap hit sold me on the move quite easily. I was worried why he never seemed to be able to lock down that number 1 spot and recall his mediocre play for the Avs and Sens.

I am glad the Flames didn't rush a contract extension with him and there is still
Time for Elliott to find his game

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Toonage

True, but not getting Bishop this past summer is looking like the larger dodged bullet at the moment.

That, coupled with his apparent proneness to injury, makes me leary of pursuing him this off-season.