[News] Jan 3 UPD: Frolik's agent complains about his ice time

[killer_carlson]

The Oilers could really use a pro who delivers what he is supposed to.

Frolik fits that bill.

Plus a Frolik RNH combo makes sense for them as well.

[woolymammoth]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

The Oilers could really use a pro who delivers what he is supposed to.

Frolik fits that bill.

Plus a Frolik RNH combo makes sense for them as well.

a Rittich/Talbot one two punch makes sense for the flames too. I'm picturing how much better Talbot would look behind an actual NHL defense. Guessing it would turn into another Dubnyk scenario.

Flames see how that pans out over the remainder of the season and then have the option to re-sign this summer. Smith fired into the sun.... i like it.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by Iggy Snipe

Frolik's agent isn't tweeting about all his defensive zone turnovers that cost the Flames goals too does he?

Frolik is getting exactly the ice time he needs to be getting. There is a reason the Flames are better this season. The Flames are a deeper team, so they don't have guys like Frolik playing top 6 minutes, which translates into more wins. Frolik is a bottom 6 player from here on out in his career. There are way too many better options on the Flames than Frolik.

If Froliks agent was smart, he would embrace Froliks new role, hoping the Flames want him to play in the bottom six in the future.

That seems to be the problem in itself. Frolik and his agent see him as an effective player who has statistically outperformed everyone else outside the top 5 forwards and he’s just not getting a fair shake.

I understand what Walsh is getting at minus the grimey nature of how he’s going about it because based on what I’ve seen, he seems to have been the best fit on the 2nd line compared to anyone else, probably deserves more PK time which I don’t disagree with either and he’s been productive enough to not finish so low in ice time or be healthy scratched.

If I was an NHL hockey player in his position, where my next contract is dependent on my coach, I certainly would be feeling a bit cheated. But obviously as fans, we don’t really care because we’re winning anyway and it’s easy to dismiss this all as whining. But I get where he’s coming from because I’ve been at a job before where I’ve carried a bigger load and never received the recognition or compensation that matched.

[dino7c]

Frolik had a nice setup yesterday





For the Flyers

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Frolik had a nice setup yesterday

For the Flyers

My. This is getting silly.

Two goals against and Frolik isn’t at fault for either.

[rooster]

Trade Frolik to Ottawa, Philly, St. Louis or Chicago. Then he will be lucky to ever see the playoffs again. Zero tolerance for selfish *&&%$.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

My. This is getting silly.

Two goals against and Frolik isn’t at fault for either.

He made some terrible plays yesterday...a brutal pass back turnover into his own zone. Rittich bailed him out.

If the agent is gonna tweet every time he has a decent game we need to call a spade a spade. Guy was terrible against the Flyers.

If Walsh feels like cherry picking stats how about the fact that the Flames have a better record without him...Bill could shut it down by saying that alone but he has more class than that.

[Steveyoto]

Originally Posted by rooster

Trade Frolik to Ottawa, Philly, St. Louis or Chicago. Then he will be lucky to ever see the playoffs again. Zero tolerance for selfish *&&%$.

Kind of how I feel. Either stay here with what seems to be a contender. Or get traded at the deadline to a team that is selling. I really like him as a player, but as a defensive minded forward he hasn’t exactly had much shine this year. I hope the 3M line starts rolling again, but I could see teammates not liking the selfish media stunts.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Steveyoto

Kind of how I feel. Either stay here with what seems to be a contender. Or get traded at the deadline to a team that is selling.

But why would a team that is selling want an expensive 30-year-old winger with declining offensive production? Presumably they'd be looking for picks, prospects, or young roster players with upside.

[Steveyoto]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

But why would a team that is selling want an expensive 30-year-old winger with declining offensive production? Presumably they'd be looking for picks, prospects, or young roster players with upside.

I agree, but I don’t think they trade him to a contender. He will be great for our playoff run. Why trade him to another contender. Wait till the offseason and make a proper trade.

[The Original FFIV]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

But why would a team that is selling want an expensive 30-year-old winger with declining offensive production? Presumably they'd be looking for picks, prospects, or young roster players with upside.

Cap hit of $4.3m and salary of $3m

Allows bottom feeders to hit floor while paying out less money.

Budget teams like Ottawa/Arizona/Carolina would like his contract for this financial reason.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by The Original FFIV

Cap hit of $4.3m and salary of $3m

Allows bottom feeders to hit floor while paying out less money.

Budget teams like Ottawa/Arizona/Carolina would like his contract for this financial reason.

I keep hearing that, but I never see it happening. The rare exception is a case like Pronger, where Arizona got to count his full cap hit while paying him virtually nothing. (The trade also let them get out of paying Sam Gagner $5 million in actual cash.) A saving of $1.3 million doesn't seem to have much trade value.

It appears that most bottom-feeders would rather have cheap players who can actually outperform their salary. There's not a lot of appetite for declining veterans who still need to be paid large sums of cash.

[thymebalm]

Allan Walsh is annoying, but he's saying what many other critics are: Other RWs (ie James Neal) are being given too many minutes over others who deserve them more and contribute more.

Frolik is the 2nd best RW on the team. He should be treated as such and given an elevated special teams (PP2) role and permanent spot on the 3M line.

Frolik is a far better trading asset on the 2019 draft floor or at the 2020 deadline, he's too valuable to the organizational depth to consider trading right now if the Flames want to have some playoff success.

I think Frolik has a lot of pride- He wants a chance to contribute, he's not trying to get traded off the team.

[Manhattanboy]

Don’t like what the agent did. There are better ways to make your point without resorting to social media. Am sure Tre would pick up the phone or sit down and chat over coffee.

I like Frolik. Don’t think he has been well served.

Story needs to fade away and get back to hockey.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by thymebalm

I think Frolik has a lot of pride- He wants a chance to contribute, he's not trying to get traded off the team.

Come on dude. He obviously sat down with his agent complaining about the best coach the Flames have had since Darryl and discussed possible trade options during the best season the Flames have had in over a decade. I know people like Frolik but this is not my definition of team guy at all. He clearly was more upset about his role on the team rather than be happy he was part of a team that is having a special season. I hope he gets moved in the offseason as I can just see more whining from his agent in his contract year next season if he isn't given a top 6 role.

[FranksandBean]

It seems everyone is in agreement that this was not a great way to deal with the situation. I agree that this is the agents job and he would not have done this if his client was happy or didn’t talk to him about the situation. There is a chance, and I believe this is likely, that Frolik didn’t know this was how his agent was going to deal with the situation.

I believe he is a very useful middle 6 winger on most teams, apart from his contract he is a top 9 on a contender and top 6 on a bubble team with or without his contract. With that said I would only trade him if it made our team better and I do not believe we should be adding picks to sweeten a deal. I say this because I believe picks are best used to grab prospects to help increase a teams window and those prospects are best used to improve the team (by sweetening a deal) at the deadline (just my management style).

So with my 2 cents added and the fact that we are split on whether to trade him or keep him, so I propose a question. What are your trade targets to give him what he wants or what do you think his value is?

I believe our greatest need would be to add secondary scoring and depth, so either we need to find a player who can get our players going (Neal) or just add the scoring himself when he comes in. I like Bennett but he would be a beast on a 3rd line that is fast and hard to play against, I like Jankowski and think he fits the same bill but he would be a fantastic 4th liner on a cup team, Backlund on the 3rd line would definable make us a contender. My two Ideal candidates would be Simmonds or Schenn but am open to other 2nd/3rd Line C/RW’s who help the team. I just don’t know what to add to get there as I am not sure Frolik is best suited for either team, but is better for Philadelphia than StLouis.

Guadreau-Monahan-Lindholm
Tkachuck-Schenn-Neal
Bennett-Backlund-Czarnik*
AHL-Ryan*-Hathaway

Or

Guadreau-Monahan-Lindholm
Tkachuck-Backlund-Simmonds
Bennett-Jankowski-Neal
AHL-Ryan-Hathaway

Thoughts?

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by The Original FFIV

Cap hit of $4.3m and salary of $3m

Allows bottom feeders to hit floor while paying out less money.

Budget teams like Ottawa/Arizona/Carolina would like his contract for this financial reason.

If it happens that is an offseason move. Not a deadline move.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Don’t like what the agent did. There are better ways to make your point without resorting to social media. Am sure Tre would pick up the phone or sit down and chat over coffee.

I like Frolik. Don’t think he has been well served.

Story needs to fade away and get back to hockey.

I can't remember where I read about it (probably this thread) but I'm pretty sure Brad and Allen would have had talks before it got to this.

[GioforPM]

Whether Frolik gave instructions expressly or implicitly, he's a guy with limited education and experience in this kind of stuff. Frolik's agent has caused him to go from a guy who was universally liked by fans to being called selfish or trade bait. Over the difference between second and third line minutes on a team where the coach routinely blenders things.

If Walsh and Treliving had talks before and they didn't resolve anything, maybe try again. What I find reprehensible is the public insinuation that Peters is not merely coaching to win (whether you agree or not with his decisions), but instead is making decisions to target Frolik.

[TheIronMaiden]

Frolik's agent said what we were all thinking. There is no way he should sit over Czarnik. It's time to move on. Frolik has been solid all season, playing multiple different roles. I am glad he is on the team, and I look forward to him potting a couple empty netters, and short handers when the post season comes around.