No reason not to keep a third goalie up right now -- keeps everyone fresh for the last week of camp. Unless Lack completely craps the bed (or gets injured), I would be shocked if Gillies doesn't get sent down. We want him playing, not holding the gate for Smith.
I always feel like once a player gets waived you can end your evalutation of them as a draft pick. They're not stuck at replacement level forever, but the pick failed to produce anything that wasn't made available to the whole league for free.
I believe that thinking is a bit flawed. A player being on waivers means they are available for free ONLY if you keep them on your roster all year. In the case of prospects who aren't fully developed this condition basically keeps any team from claiming them. So you can usually sneak prospects down through waivers that aren't NHL ready yet because no team is going to waste a precious 23 man roster spot to claim a kid that isn't NHL ready yet. There are the occasional exceptions (Corrado being claimed by TOR and then never played) but overall kids who are still developing but aren't NHL ready can pass through waivers.
So Poirier for example still has good NHL upside and may not be a wasted pick. He isn't NHL ready which means no team will claim him off waivers but he may prove to be a very valuable NHLer within a year or two if he develops this season.
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Here's hoping that Kulak, Andersson make the cut for the 6th and 7th defensemen (Bartkowski sent to farm to tutor younger prospects). Also hope the two PTO retreads and Gazdic are gone very soon, and we go with our home grown goalie as our second string. Unfortunately Gully likes the old PTOs - see Grossman in 2016 and for that matter Grossmans bro Wideman. Hopefully we won't hurt our team with Gazdic in lineup for first game against Edmonton like Grossman and Wideman hurt us in the first game against Edmonton last year.
I think Gillies is around to save Smith a return trip to backup in Vancouver. If Gillies is going to usurp Lack, it will take a quarter season. Not 2 preseason games.
I am a bit disappointed Wotherspoon failed yet again to stick. That said I doubt Anderson is going to be a number 7, and I can't see them starting game 1 with a righty righty 3rd pair. It may be as simply as having 4 perfect pairs for the last few days of practice. Anderson is obviously #4 on the righty d chart. Deserves to be here still but I don't think he's starting the team in Calgary.
Jankowski is automatic
If Gazdic Glass or Cramarossa makes the team over Hathaway I will be annoyed. None has bigger upside. None are that much better. 2 are much older.
I think Gillies is around to save Smith a return trip to backup in Vancouver. If Gillies is going to usurp Lack, it will take a quarter season. Not 2 preseason games.
I am a bit disappointed Wotherspoon failed yet again to stick. That said I doubt Anderson is going to be a number 7, and I can't see them starting game 1 with a righty righty 3rd pair. It may be as simply as having 4 perfect pairs for the last few days of practice. Anderson is obviously #4 on the righty d chart. Deserves to be here still but I don't think he's starting the team in Calgary.
Jankowski is automatic
If Gazdic Glass or Cramarossa makes the team over Hathaway I will be annoyed. None has bigger upside. None are that much better. 2 are much older.
I wonder how moveable Stone is going to be? If the Flames commit to this L-R handedness on each pair is there going to be room from Andersson and eventually Fox to make it in the next couple years?
I wonder how moveable Stone is going to be? If the Flames commit to this L-R handedness on each pair is there going to be room from Andersson and eventually Fox to make it in the next couple years?
27 year old, right shot, big body, making less than $4M with a 3 year deal. I think he will be very movable
I think Stone and Frolik will be 2 players moved before their contracts expire so the Flames have the cap space to keep Bennett, Tkachuk, and replace Smith in 2 years.
I would like to add Brouwer to that list but so far the only way his contract moves is if it is a buyout
Last edited by Vinny01; 09-27-2017 at 08:14 AM.
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