[Trade] Flames acquire Mike Smith (25% retained) for Chad Johnson, Brandon Hickey, & cond 3rd

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Par

What Hickey's potential.

4th year college player that will be a UFA.

[Fan in Exile]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

That is false. You don't know why Hickey declined to sign. Flames tried to sign him this spring. And we didn't lose him for nothing, we just traded him for our new starting goalie

I can't establish direct cause and effect but I think we can draw a reasonable inference. It's not like Hickey is Justin Schultz and will have a huge payday when he's signed as a UFA. I think he's calculating his odds on his two-way deal. Riding the bus on less than 10% of your NHL salary for two years while the club signs PTO defensemen every year isn't so enticing. Especially when you look above you and see that the system is logged with other top defensive prospects who are also struggling just to get playing time in the AHL. The best thing we can say about it is it's a positive reflection of the depth of our defensive prospect pool.

[PugnaciousIntern]

If he wins in the Honda Center, this will be regarded as one of the best trades in franchise history.

[the_only_turek_fan]

I think it's not fair to judge this deal without knowing what the acquisition cost of Raanta was.

[Stay Golden]

Treliving did not in any way win this trade. So what if the Flames do make the playoffs this season. Are the expectations not to make the playoffs? Is that not their expectations i know it's mine. Mike Smith is not an upgrade and we just threw away a 2nd round pick our back up and a real nice prospect that Treliving could not get to sign.
This is the kind of crap deal we would mock the Greasers making in the past.
The Flames expectations should be keeping up with the Greasers. This trade did nothing to improve the current situation.

[tvp2003]

Looking forward to some exciting Flames masks: http://www.davidarrigo.com/mike-smith

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

Treliving did not in any way win this trade. So what the Flames if make the playoffs this season. Are the expectations not to make the playoffs? Mike Smith is not an upgrade and we just threw away a 2nd round pick our back up and a real nice prospect that Treliving could not get to sign.
This is the kind of crap deal we would mock the Greasers making in the past.
The Flames expectations should be keeping up with the Greasers. This trade did nothing to improve the current situation.

Yeah, well that's just, like, your opinion, man.

[djsFlames]

The Coyotes stopped playing their frustrating stingy defensive system post-2014. I don't know why they still have that reputation now. They might have the same system in place but they are no longer good at executing it.

[stemit14]

Less concerned with his age of cap hit but more concerned with his style/temperament. Tired of having goalies who get visibly upset/rattled. Putting their heads down, shrugging, shaking their heads... hate those responses from goalies and we saw it from Elliott too. Smith does that too.

I always loved how cool and unphased kipper was in net. He responded the same way every whistle whether they scored or not... helmet up, takes a drink. Always feel like teammates feel better/more confident when that have a calm goaltender in net.


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[iloveicedhockey]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

Treliving did not in any way win this trade. So what if the Flames do make the playoffs this season. Are the expectations not to make the playoffs? Is that not their expectations i know it's mine. Mike Smith is not an upgrade and we just threw away a 2nd round pick our back up and a real nice prospect that Treliving could not get to sign.
This is the kind of crap deal we would mock the Greasers making in the past.
The Flames expectations should be keeping up with the Greasers. This trade did nothing to improve the current situation.

And we also didn't 'throw away our backup', jeez.

[StrykerSteve]

Originally Posted by PugnaciousIntern

If he wins in the Honda Center, this will be regarded as one of the best trades in franchise history.

Smith is 12-8-3 vs the Ducks. .917 and 2.55.
15-3-1 vs the Oilers. .924 and 2.32.

He's managed this despite playing for the Coyotes.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

Treliving did not in any way win this trade. So what the Flames if make the playoffs this season. Are the expectations not to make the playoffs? Mike Smith is not an upgrade and we just threw away a 2nd round pick our back up and a real nice prospect that Treliving could not get to sign.
This is the kind of crap deal we would mock the Greasers making in the past.
The Flames expectations should be keeping up with the Greasers. This trade did nothing to improve the current situation.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Racki

I have a bold prediction. Mike smith won't allow two of the first three shots he sees as a Flame to get by him. That set the tone for the first two months of the season.

While also allowing the Oilers to be more successful than they should have been.

[burnitdown]

I was much more excited when we traded a 2nd for Elliott last season. Was proven wrong then...hopefully it happens again. Learning a new system, at age 35, on a hefty contract is a risky gamble. I'll feel much more comfortable if we're able to pick up another decent G option like Pickard in case the wheels fall off.

[shadowlord]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Pat Steinberg @Fan960Steinberg
now
Interesting Smith splits:

Career vs. Edm: 15-3-1, 0.924 SV%
Career vs. SJ: 12-8-3, 0.942 SV%
Career vs. LA: 15-8-1, 0.931 SV%

What's Smith's record against ANA? That's one I streak really want to see end.

[ResAlien]

This is definitely going to require a poll

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Disturbing trade. Mike Smith arguably had his numbers propped up by playing for one of the better defensive coaches in the NHL. I imagine he will struggle in a different system.

Mike Smith faced the most shots per game of any goaltenders in the league. If anything, he had the worst defense in front of him and stole a ton of games for the Coyotes. He even managed to steal a point despite facing 60 shots in a game this year.

The Flames will play considerably better defense and hopefully he doesn't give up as many softies as Elliott allowed this season. Smith's numbers were better than Elliott's even though he played on a clearly inferior team.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by PugnaciousIntern

If he wins in the Honda Center, this will be regarded as one of the best trades in franchise history.

Considering beating Anaheim (in their building) looks to be a requirement to the Flames advancing past the first two rounds any time soon, you could very well be right.

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by Fan in Exile

Treliving on the balance has done a good job but why has he earned your trust on goaltending? Name one good move so far. His moves have been defensible at best. He has missed out on several better options for the team which would have cost less as a sum total. I can tolerate Smith on this deal but nothing to do cartwheels over. I will be disappointed if Johnson is back because one of the silver lings here is Rittich or Gillies emerging as a back-up. Our over-ripening philosophy just caused us to basically lose Hickey for nothing.

He's earned my trust by making more good moves (IMO) than bad. AND he knows the incoming guy well. I wouldn't say that Elliott/Johnson was a bad combo, but both happened to struggle at points in the year. Having said that, the Flames struggled as a team for the first couple of months under GG. Until the famous beer trip indeed.

I don't see even a Smith/Johnson tandem as bad for Rittich or Gillies. Both need time and development yet IMO, so a second stopgap year where either or both get to play "some" is fine by me (likely due to injury).

[StrykerSteve]

Originally Posted by shadowlord

what's smith's record against ana? That's one i streak really want to see end.

12-8-3
.917
2.55