Who should Treliving target as a potential replacement for Mike Smith?

[Itse]

The upside of Smith being as bad as he is, almost any goalie could be an upgrade.

I think our long term starter option is still Parsons, but he's not ready so all we need is someone to hold the fort. And I do t think we can afford to throw a lot of resources at this problem. We're already going to be short on cheap young guys to fill the bottom of the roster in the very near future.

I'd love Jimmie Howard. He's not great, but he's about as consistently decent as goalies can be. This team has already shown it can do some damage even with bad goaltending. Smith can be their tank commander. It's a win win.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

Jesus, how many more bandaids need to be put on this festering tumour?

Howard is not the answer. The time for spending assets on stop gaps is over.

OK so who would you acquire?

Who is available?

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I agree. And if I am the owner of the team my priority would be to ensuring that the team is more likely successful in the long run and not just in this season.

Simply put, the Flames and Treliving are in a jam, and I think it is unlikely that this is an issue which gets resolved before the end of the season. Is ownership brave enough and committed enough to a longer-term goal to see this through?

And first round picks are your best bet for player additions on entry level deals to keep cap space for a team that wants to be in a window.

Deal them all and you're free agent shopping to fill in the holes.

Keep the pick. The only way I do it is for a late 20s goaltender that adds to the core. No UFAs, not maybes, and no older goaltenders.

[Swayze11]

Linus Ullmark seems like a legit target BT should look at. Maybe a 2nd + 3rd?

[Toonage]

I think Buffalo sees Ullmark as their Saros. Bringing him along slowly with intentions of being the guy there.

[Machiavelli]

Garrett Sparks?
Malcolm Subban?

[Fuzz]

Is this guy taken? Might be an upgrade.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

OK so who would you acquire?

Who is available?

I'd be looking into Robin Lehner hard if I were Treliving. Here's a guy with all the talent in the world, finally looking to be back on track this year. Send Smith back with Salary retained along with some obvious asset like a moderate pick or prospect or both. They are probably not looking to move him at this point but almost everyone can be had for the right price.

I can't see the cost being astronomical considering his situation and that Griess is the starter. Could be a chance for Tre to correct his errors and give this team a goalie with significant upside compared to finding another 30 something year old has been or never was.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

OK so who would you acquire?

Who is available?

If you want my honest opinion, barring someone unexpected becoming available I think the goalie ship has sailed on this core. Treliving missed his chance when guys like Andersen, Raanta, Bishop and Jones were being moved around.

When the history books have been written we’ll remember this problem in the same way as the #1 centre problem of the Iginla/Kiprusoff years: a consistent plague on an otherwise solid core, eventually ending with a rebuild after years of underperforming.

So sure, go after Jimmy Howard if you think that’s the big solution here. If it were me I’d stop burning assets on mediocre stopgaps and start thinking about the long term health of the franchise.

[Strange Brew]

Is there anyone out there willing to pay big for a defenseman?

Brodie or Hamonic are worth something. Even if picks that you could use for a goalie.

Then hope that Andersson or Valimaki can step up next year, and replace on bottom pair with Stone and/or a lower priced free agent.

[Flamenspiel]

A goalie is easier to resolve then a centre because in many cases its such a surprise. 1st line centres do not pop up out of nowhere but goalies do.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

If you want my honest opinion, barring someone unexpected becoming available I think the goalie ship has sailed on this core. Treliving missed his chance when guys like Andersen, Raanta, Bishop and Jones were being moved around.

When the history books have been written we’ll remember this problem in the same way as the #1 centre problem of the Iginla/Kiprusoff years: a consistent plague on an otherwise solid core, eventually ending with a rebuild after years of underperforming.

So sure, go after Jimmy Howard if you think that’s the big solution here. If it were me I’d stop burning assets on mediocre stopgaps and start thinking about the long term health of the franchise.

So your answer is to give up and do nothing?
Tre was in on all those guys

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

If you want my honest opinion, barring someone unexpected becoming available I think the goalie ship has sailed on this core. Treliving missed his chance when guys like Andersen, Raanta, Bishop and Jones were being moved around.

Each of those scenarios was a tough beat for the Flames.

Bishop: We supposedly had deals for him on two occasions that fell through due to ownership/other issues.

Fleury: I think it's stated that even Fleury thought he was going to be a Flames player, but then the Pens decided to go with the agreed upon deal with Vegas.

Andersen: Flames simply were beat by a better offer from the Leafs. Leafs had the better pick in the range we wanted to spend, and the division rival Ducks were asking for much more from us. In retrospect maybe the Flames should have moved Bennett but I think we all would have been furious if they did that at the time (and Bennett probably becomes an elite pest in Anaheim).

Jones: Again a division rival wanted to trade him out of division and then San Jose gave up a lot to get him. I'm pretty happy we didnt't trade our 2016 1st round pick for him like San Jose did - I much prefer Tkachuk.

Raanta: This one was the one that was tough to gauge just how involved the Flames were in talks but the rumor was the Rangers wanted our 1st. Phoenix ended up paying 7th overall and a top prospect to get him and Stepan - once again the Flames just got outbid.

So easy to look at in retrospect and say the Flames should have gotten one of those guys, but each time they were involved and in the end the Flames were either just outbid or were getting asked for more.

[CalgaryFan1988]

Originally Posted by Jiggy

Trading at 1st round pick for a goalie is madness. That would be terrible asset management. When was the last time a GM did that?

Trading for a goalie with a 1st rounder is fine, madness begins when you draft goalies in the 1st round.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

So your answer is to give up and do nothing?

Spend assets if an actual solution presents itself, otherwise stop wasting picks to get a year or two of bad to mediocre goaltending. There’s plenty of that available in free agency.

I have my doubts that the goaltending ever gets solved given that Calgary is a “have not” trade destination, and from what I’ve seen of Parsons and Gillies that solution doesn’t exist internally either.

Tre was in on all those guys

Cool. But he didn’t get it done and that’s why we’re still having this discussion. Horseshoes and hand grenades.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

So easy to look at in retrospect and say the Flames should have gotten one of those guys, but each time they were involved and in the end the Flames were either just outbid or were getting asked for more.

Maybe they should have offered more so they wouldn't have been in this goalie mess now.

Successful teams aren't afraid to pay the price required to get the guy they need.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

So your answer is to give up and do nothing?
Tre was in on all those guys

We are supposed to believe that the super aggressive and trade happy GM swung and missed 5 or 6 times on good, young goalies, but is somehow able to nail big trades for forwards and defenders with regularity? I don't buy that for a second.

For me, the body of work indicates a lack of value towards the position on his part. This equates to a possible attitude of why pay the higher price for more touted guys when we can get Hiller, Elliott, Smith for pennies on the dollar. You get what you pay for and now his team is going to be severely handcuffed by incompetent net minding again except he finally has the right mix upfront to have a top seeded team with even adequate net minding.

How he has not learned from this by now is beyond me and bordering on insanity if he does not address this within the next number of games. You simply have to step up and pay a high price at this point to upgrade or it will be a pretty strong signal to the team that you aren't giving them what they need to win. Given the historical fragility of this group, I certainly wouldn't want to go too far down that road this season.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Even if they are willing to pay a high price, which goalie do you think is available that would command such a price?

[Red]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

We are supposed to believe that the super aggressive and trade happy GM swung and missed 5 or 6 times on good, young goalies, but is somehow able to nail big trades for forwards and defenders with regularity? I don't buy that for a second.

For me, the body of work indicates a lack of value towards the position on his part. This equates to a possible attitude of why pay the higher price for more touted guys when we can get Hiller, Elliott, Smith for pennies on the dollar. You get what you pay for and now his team is going to be severely handcuffed by incompetent net minding again except he finally has the right mix upfront to have a top seeded team with even adequate net minding.

How he has not learned from this by now is beyond me and bordering on insanity if he does not address this within the next number of games. You simply have to step up and pay a high price at this point to upgrade or it will be a pretty strong signal to the team that you aren't giving them what they need to win. Given the historical fragility of this group, I certainly wouldn't want to go too far down that road this season.

A lot easier to trade for forwards and D. Hundreds of them there. There are only 31 starting goalies in the NHL.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

Maybe they should have offered more so they wouldn't have been in this goalie mess now.

Successful teams aren't afraid to pay the price required to get the guy they need.

What successful team paid a big price to get an established goalie they needed? The recent cup winners all drafted their goalies. The recent finalists too, IIRC, except the Sharks, who did spent a (very late) first for Jones. But he was an expiring RFA. And of course Vegas, who got pretty fortunate with Pittsburgh's situation and the expansion draft.