TSN Video: Treliving on Flames' plans for 16th pick, expansion draft, and goaltending

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Dumb question which has probably been answered already, but if the Flames are planning to protect a goalie then they will have to decide prior to the draft correct? They have one to expose in McCollum but if the plan is to protect one, they can't really wait for Vegas.

I'm likely missing something obvious, so apologies in advance.

Unless they trade for one before the e-draft, there's no one that needs protection.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Unless they trade for one before the e-draft, there's no one that needs protection.

Gotcha. So they aren't forced to protect one, they just leave the spot blank.

[3rd Degree]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

Also, I'm surprised his slip comment of a trade coming soon hasn't blown up. He basically said he expects a trade happening in the next few days.

Right, he then caught himself and said something to the effect of " not necessarily by us". If it wasn't the Flames then wouldn't he have said not by us? Love reading between the lines. This is a really fun time of year.

[HitterD]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

If I were to guess, Johnson will be back on a PTO fighting Rittich for the back-up job.

I think you are really selling Johnsons value around the league short here. There is almost zero chance that Johnson will need to take a PTO to get a job in the NHL this season. He is at worst a very good backup goaltender and he will absolutely have several teams interested even if the Flames are not one of them (though I think they will be)

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Dumb question which has probably been answered already, but if the Flames are planning to protect a goalie then they will have to decide prior to the draft correct? They have one to expose in McCollum but if the plan is to protect one, they can't really wait for Vegas.

I'm likely missing something obvious, so apologies in advance.

The nice thing is that since the Flames don't have a goalie to protect, we can trade for a goalie from a team that has too many goalies to protect.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Geeoff

The nice thing is that since the Flames don't have a goalie to protect, we can trade for a goalie from a team that has too many goalies to protect.

It will be such a huge failure if the management of this team cannot use this leverage to acquire a goalie for cheap.

Is there a trade freeze once teams release their protected list? Or can the Flames wait and see who is left unprotected to see who they should target?

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Geeoff

The nice thing is that since the Flames don't have a goalie to protect, we can trade for a goalie from a team that has too many goalies to protect.

That list I imagine would be quite short. I believe Getback posted it a week or two ago.

Not many teams have 3 goalies:
1) One they are protecting
2) One they are making available, is signed for at least next year, and has played the required number of games.
3) One they are making available, is signed for at least next year, and has played the required number of games.

There are a few teams in the NHL (Trying to remember them off the top of my head, but I am drawing a blank) that have the above situation, but really a small handful.

If a team trades their only expansion eligible goalie before the expansion draft, they will need an expansion eligible goalie in return to expose in the draft and fulfill their expansion draft obligations.

For instance, if we trade for Grubauer before the expansion draft, Washington will probably ask for McCollum to be included in the trade so that he can satisfy the expansion draft obligations. Calgary would then need to sign another goalie or find another one somewhere in trade, or they will have to make Grubauer available to Vegas.

It gets a bit tricky when we are looking at trades before the expansion draft. I get the sense that Trelving is waiting for Vegas to select the goalie(s) that they want in a predetermined deal, or he and his team of pro scouts have been doing a series of mock drafts and have come to realize that if Vegas is going to draft simply the best assets possible, they will end up drafting more goalies than they need.

[MarkGio]

Originally Posted by HitterD

I think you are really selling Johnsons value around the league short here. There is almost zero chance that Johnson will need to take a PTO to get a job in the NHL this season. He is at worst a very good backup goaltender and he will absolutely have several teams interested even if the Flames are not one of them (though I think they will be)

It's just a lot of mid-range guys are getting squeezed out of the NHL these days. Good players with some game left in the tank like Versteeg and Glencross are retiring or signing PTOs.

It's no knock on Johnson. There's just a ton of goalies to choose from.

[Rick M.]

Is there a trade freeze once teams release their protected list? Or can the Flames wait and see who is left unprotected to see who they should target?[/QUOTE]

That's an excellent question. I hope someone has the answer!

[PugnaciousIntern]

The biggest information I got from the interview was the comment about Vegas likely having an abundance of goalies, and depending on the waiver rules, the likelihood of a good goalie being available on the wire. Seems a little callous to pick up a starter off the wire as Vegas' unwanted after camp, but perhaps that will be the approach for a quality backup? If nothing else, potential of a free quality goalie can be a position that can be used as leverage when negotiating a trade.

[Roof-Daddy]

I imagine there will be a trade freeze once the protected lists are submitted. That's when Vegas is supposed to be making their selections, and how can they do that if players are being traded at the same time?

[getbak]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

It will be such a huge failure if the management of this team cannot use this leverage to acquire a goalie for cheap.

Is there a trade freeze once teams release their protected list? Or can the Flames wait and see who is left unprotected to see who they should target?

It's not that simple.

The problem is that every team has to leave a qualifying goalie unprotected. If a team doesn't have a goalie that they can leave unprotected, they'll have to acquire one before the expansion draft. Also, if a team trades a goalie before the expansion draft, they'll lose a different player to Vegas instead.

Those factors have to be taken into account too.



Take Pittsburgh, for example. Let's assume that Fleury has agreed to waive his NMC to be exposed in the expansion draft.

If they leave him unprotected and Vegas takes him, they lose Fleury for nothing, but it also costs them nothing else.

If they trade Fleury before the expansion draft, they have to acquire a different goalie to expose. They could do it by trading for another team's excess goalie or a qualified AHL goalie. They may not want to do that because they already have a couple of goalies in the AHL who they're likely looking to use next season (like the Flames, both their AHL goalies from this season are exempt from the expansion draft due to a lack of pro experience).

As it stands, there are only 11 teams that currently have more than one goalie that meets the exposure requirements. It likely wouldn't cost much to get a goalie to expose, but because teams would know the Pens need to get one, it might bump the price a bit. I could see it costing them a fifth round pick (they have both their own and Ottawa's this year, but they'll both be late in the round).

Also, if they trade Fleury before the expansion draft, they'd also lose a different player to Vegas. For the Pens, that's probably Brian Dumoulin (heck, if I were McPhee, I'd consider taking Dumoulin over Fleury anyway).


If you're the Flames, that means the price for acquiring Fleury before the expansion draft has to be worth more to the Pens than a fifth round pick and Brian Dumoulin. Plus, any player(s) the Flames send to Pittsburgh in the deal have to either be exempt from the expansion draft, or someone the Pens are willing to protect ahead of one of their other players. It could create a bit of a game of musical chairs as acquiring one player bumps another player off the protected list.


All of that is true for any team who might lose a good backup to Vegas. If they trade that goalie, the return has to be better than the player they're likely to lose in the expansion draft if they trade the goalie. As such, the idea that the Flames can acquire a new starter cheaply before the expansion draft probably isn't realistic.

In fact, waiting to make a deal with Vegas for a goalie they pick in the expansion draft might make more sense for the Flames.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

That's an excellent question. I hope someone has the answer!

Yes, rosters are frozen from the time the protected lists are submitted until Vegas submits their selections.

[activeStick]

After you watch this video find the one Lebrun does with Benning. It's hilarious to see the contrast between the two lol

[iloveicedhockey]

Sounds like Benning had a meeting with Mr Green before he met Pierre.

[Mike F]

In a related video, Jim Benning sweats it out through a grilling from Lebrun; comes close to breaking, but manages to eke through.

[Mister Yamoto]

Originally Posted by getbak

Yes, rosters are frozen from the time the protected lists are submitted until Vegas submits their selections.

And during those three days Vegas can negotiate exclusively with every pending pending UFA in the league?