The Flames still have a full slot of picks for the 2020 draft (might even pick in every round if Neal scores twice)
No pressure to play Valimaki, which would force the Flames to protect him in the expansion draft
No need to play AHL scrubs like Yelleshin or Davidson down the stretch
Cons
No large improvment for roster
No asset recouperation on expiring contracts
The Flames didn't have much to work with, their position of strength coming into the season, was slowly widdled to a position of weakness due to a series of injuries including Valiamki, Brodie, Giordano, and the likely season ending Hamonic injury. Another issue was the aparent lack of tradeable prospects. The Flames drought of prospects, this season, has componded into another issue - draft picks are now increasingly important to this team ( the 1st and 2nd IMO are untradeable this year). As such, the Flames were not able to adress their long term issue of consistent scoring.
The Flames D- will be playoff push ready, as they wont have to rely on AHL level talent to fill in the roster, likewise, they will have a little insurence is another injury were to occur.
That being said, it is difficult to be happy with with a team sitting on the fence, during what has been a very frustrating season. The Flames are a bubble team at best, and without a serious change in team culture, or the addition of a top 6 forward, the Flames are trending to be a 1st round elimination if they make it at all. Over and above that, expiring contracts such as Brodie and Hamonic will likely result in no compensation for the Flames, consolidating the Flames in a luke warm position.
Was there a chance for the Flames to imporve their roster today? Maybe a little, but at what cost? There were lots of overpays for buyers, which should only work to frustrate the Flames should sell crowd. This fanbase, like this team, it seems, is caught in the middle.
Overall grade C+
Last edited by TheIronMaiden; 02-24-2020 at 02:31 PM.
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We didn't sell the farm or bet the farm. I am okay with that.
My gripe with the GM will continue to be his coaching hires. The best thing Treliving could have done today would have been hiring a coach with actual NHL success. Heck, I'd consider a head coach that has made the playoffs 2 years in a row at the NHL level as a successful NHL coach at this point. I get the feeling that this will be the hill that BT's tenure as the Calgary Flames's GM will die on.
Well here's hoping that Gustafsson and Forbort are two positive presences on the blueline. I'm a little bit skeptical but these sorts of under-the-radar moves have panned out before. If these two players can regain their past form, I think the Flames have made big strides on the backend today.
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By no means is everything on the coach. But IMO, the coach is a big problem.
There are several problems, to be sure, and the team is far from perfect. But we know from last year, and some recent stretches this year, that these forwards can generate offense.
Issues that I think are at least in part based on coaching:
1) their passive shell that they play in their own zone, allowing too much possession time for the opposition
2) breakout
3) the horrific way they always turn backwards in their own zone, and pass it D to D, when they do get the puck
4) (resulting from 3) absolutely no transition game, and no speed through the neutral zone
5) (resulting from 4) chipping it in, when this team is not built for that type of game
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Flames go into the deadline needing to move a defenceman and add a forward.
Flames add two defencemen and zero forwards.
I would say your analysis of the team's need given our current situation are off. Flames need a stop gap on the back end given injuries if they still view making the playoffs as a priority. The could have used both for sure...........but the more pressing need is D right now given the Gio and Hammonic injuries.
Very lame deadline. I’ve been a big Tre supporter over the years but I wouldn’t care if he got the axe now. It boggles my mind how he could trade for 2 d-men and not deal another for help up front. Can’t see this team going anywhere this year unfortunately. Man this season has been a giant letdown.
I was hoping for the Flames to sell some of the UFAs or junk. I'm glad we kept Brodie and hope that means we can re-sign him somehow. Was hoping for Hamonic to be gone, but I'm certain his injury played a roll in keeping him around. I'm meh with both D acquisitions. Good to have a PP specialist. But I don't see the point of Fartberg or whatever his name is. I guess he's Swedish so might actually end up working out. Still, it's gonna suck in the summer losing most of those UFAs and getting nothing back.
This season for sure has been a big let down, especially after the last one. This was supposed to be the start of the ''sprint'' phase as Burke likes to say. Instead it seems like we're hoping to not trip ''walking'' so we can start to ''run'' again. Still, once you get in the frame of mind that this has essentially been the identity of the Flames since the run in the 80s and early 90s ended, you don't feel so bad. This is just how it is around here I guess. Every league gets to have teams that dwell in mediocrity for seemingly forever, and I guess we're "lucky" that we're one of those teams .
I wasn't expecting a big splash or anything. This team isn't anywhere close to contending and IMO a big splash on the forward group would have meant losing greater assets. I'm cool with saving the retool during the off-season. But I disappointed BT didn't sell more.
Like yourself I've been a big supporter of him since day 1. But I feel disappointed in him today.
This is the last run for this group barring winning rounds of the playoffs. Basically Treliving built a team in the summer of 2018 making a big trade and signing Ryan and Neal. Those moves proved positive but he painted himself into a corner cap wise. While the Neal signing was addressing a need that remains today it was a poor fit. Signing that deal made it impossible to acquire Mark Stone and sign him to an extension while also signing Tkachuk in the summer.
Treliving then at the 11th hour is able to flip Frolik and a 1st for Jason Zucker. The day seemed saved and the Flames added a long term top 6’winger but the trade fell through at the last minute.
Needing to sign Tkachuk, Bennett, Rittich, Mangipane with little to no space they sat on the sidelines this summer. Right before the draft Treliving appeared to address the top 6 need again by acquiring Kadri for Brodie and Jankowski except Kadri doesn’t waive his NMC. The Flames are able to get a player to waive his NMC last summer though adding Lucic for Neal. A complete dud for dud but Lucic had been a dud longer.
So Neal, Hathaway, Fattenburg, Smith leave Valimaki gets hurt. Lucic, Talbot, Reider, Rinaldo are inn Dube and Kylington make the team. The same group continues their poor play from the last 1/4 of the 18/19 season and Frolik is moved out for Forbort basically and a 3rd got us Gustafsson but we might get another 3rd if Neal scores 2 goals.
So basically 2 full seasons with this group and they have been trending down since the bye week in 2019. The way this core is trending it is going to be a potentially frustrating 6 weeks left in the season and possibly first round of the playoffs if they are lucky. What we can absolutely expect this summer if that is the case is major changes. New coach almost guaranteed. Major core piece or pieces will certainly be traded. There is even a small chance the GM is let go.
He hasn’t been able to make moves for 2 years and by all accounts this team is simply not good enough!!!’
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Flames go into the deadline needing to move a defenceman and add a forward.
Flames add two defencemen and zero forwards.
You misread the situation I guess. Don’t think we were looking to subtract dmen at any point. After losing Gio and Hamonic to injury adding a defensemen was always going to be more realistic than dealing one.
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- They were in no position to be making the moves that their peers are, they aren't a above average team... so that's good
- They are in the thick of a WC spot, so they can't realistically throw in the towel and expect to remain in the hunt. We all know how important 2 home games are for this franchise every year. So can't be disappointed in letting brodie/hamonic walk for nothing this offseason.
- No big hockey deals get done this time of year anymore, so can't get too upset with that.
So based on that, the deadline is not bad, not good, just average.
I will say this. My anger/frustration at the lack of any improvement in this team in a whole calendar year has left me done with this GM. I like Treliving the guy, but he's not a good NHL hockey GM. We are no closer to winning a cup, heck building a contender than the day he joined this franchise.
I think the flames realistically have a 50/50 shot at getting into the playoffs. They have one of the hardest schedules over the next month and a half, and it starts immediately in Boston tomorrow. If they do make it, they are facing a Vegas team that owns them or the cup champs who are kind of built for hard/heavy playoff hockey.
If they aren't going to make it, I'd appreciate the wheels falling off real quick and let's try to fall into a top 10 pick.
Regardless, I would prefer a new GM at the helm to decide the fate of this core this offseason. I have no real faith in him to take this franchise farther than he has in his half a decade or whatever its been.
I really don't get why people are so upset that we didn't make big moves.
Why should Treliving have made big moves? The core of this team is horribly broken this year. That is something to be fixed in the off season. Not now. Why mortgage valuable picks to add to the team to make them better? It won't work. The best players need to be the best players night in and night out, shift in and shift out, but they aren't. That is something to be addressed in the off season.
We have been clearly bad at defense since losing Giordano and Hamonic to injuries. So we got defensive depth. Treliving's moves have essentially told the guys that big changes aren't happening right now but here is some depth, now go out and play better and prove to me why I shouldn't trade you in the off season.
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...I think the flames realistically have a 50/50 shot at getting into the playoffs. They have one of the hardest schedules over the next month and a half, and it starts immediately in Boston tomorrow. If they do make it, they are facing a Vegas team that owns them or the cup champs who are kind of built for hard/heavy playoff hockey...
Just for clarification, VGK does not "own" the Calgary Flames. It only feels like that because the last two games played have been in Vegas, where the Flames have never won. But on the other side of this series Vegas struggles just as much playing in Calgary as Calgary does in Vegas. The next two games will be played at the Saddledome.
On paper it sure looks like a home-ice, seven gamer.
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So Tre moved out Frolik for cap space which he ..... forgot about?
After saying he was going to use it?
Oh, I guess saving Murry (expat) Edwards some cash is good enough then. For sure that improves the team and helps them win a Cup. So tired of Mr Almost now.
My Take
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