Poll Request: Retool or Rebuild?

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by dino7c

sound like a retool

I think it depends what you trade for.

If you trade Gaudreau, Monahan, Lindholm and Gio for lateral roster players, it’s a retool.

If it is for a boatload or picks and prospects, it’s a rebuild because the remaining group will be a bottom dweller for at least a couple years (enabling hopefully a franchise player draft pick).

[Gaskal]

Proven coach for sure (if he doesn't get someone with experience winning playoff rounds then F off), trade Gaudreau and Monahan, actually get a proper #1 goalie for once. Run with Bennett/Lindholm/Backlund as your centers maybe because I don't see that true #1 growing on a tree or being offered for Gaudreau.

God I hope Columbus and Torts are ready to part ways, lol. At least with Torts we'd get entertainment value and excellent sound bites!

[SportsJunky]

Ward was behind the bench for the worst loss in team history. They completely fell apart. For that reason I dont think he can be back next season as head coach. How do you look each other in the eye after this.

I believe Boudreau is the right guy for Calgary. Laviolette possibly.

[devo22]

I want Laviolette. Always been a fan of him.

as for the roster ... blow it up.

[Finger Cookin]

I'm personally not ready to gut the roster in these circumstances. It's a flawed roster to be sure that needs improvement. And I think the coaching needs to be addressed. But if it were my choice, I don't blow up this group just yet.

[kyuss275]

A heavy re-tool. I’m not convinced that Tkachuk sticks around in 2 years for a full rebuild. If it was me , gone this off season would be Johnny and Gio. I would wait to trade mony. You need centers and ideally somehow we find a #1 center in a couple of years and knock mony down to 2nd line. That said if you can get a great return on him at anytime you trade him.

[bubbsy]

If the team is looking to move 2 of their top line forwards and perhaps their top dman and captain, that's a rebuild. You're not going to get players parallel in nhl level contribution back when you trade a gaudreau/monahan. The only way you get equal or better value is in futures (picks/prospects). That means that this summer should be the start of a change that materializes to nhl level change 2-3 years from now. In which case, it only makes sense to start dumping any older players on the roster. Maybe you keep a guy like backlund around, heck, maybe Giordano, for some veteran leadership for the youth.

Most mediocre rosters that attempt to re-tool falter and end up jyst delaying the inevitable. Contenders re-tool after a disappointing season. A middle of the pack franchise like the flames, that have won 1 playoff series in over a decade, and half a decade with this core would be idiotic to think that they're just a tweak or two away.

That being said, the Calgary flames are one of the dumber organizations in the league, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if they look to tweak.

[Vinny01]

If you fire Treliving for a new GM I don’t expect that GM to make huge changes until they get their pulse on the team and system which could be another year. If fans want major player changes then keeping Treliving likely gets that result.

[Vinny01]

What teams have torn it down and rebuilt when most of their best players are aged 22-27?

[Royle9]

I dont see any scenario where Brad is given a full rebuild.
I think if it comes to that, which I'm fully on board with happening, you have to start with a new GM, new Coach and let them do their thing come the draft -> onward.

I can't believe its come to this.

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

What teams have torn it down and rebuilt when most of their best players are aged 22-27?

Leafs with Kessel, Phaneuf, Bozak, Reimer?

[442scotty]

Rebuild... get rid of the GM, coach(es), Gaudreau for sure, Monahan for the right deal, Jankowski, and if you can trade Chucky for the 1st or 2nd pics in the draft you do it. He’s great but he’s not gonna stick around not to mention he’s just not fast enough for today’s NHL. He’s worked his contract so he can be done in 2/3 years. I think the consensus is that ownership meddled too much, and forced bad decisions on the GM but it doesn’t look like Treliving made enough good choices trying to rush the rebuild.

[ricosuave]

I worry about how much pie the ownership have their thumbs in.

I mean, they really can’t see the same obvious flaws that we all have, year after year?

[SuperMatt18]

Honestly to me it’s a re-tool, there are too many good young pieces on this roster still for a true scorched earth re-build.

I think the first step is bringing in a new coaching staff, and Treliving should move quickly with an experienced coach. Get one of Boudreau, Gallant, Laviolette, or Sutter in here prior to the draft.

Sit down with that coach and have an honest conversation about the team, the style of play and identity you want the team to play, and then determine what pieces you want to move with the new coach as part of that discussion.

Then you make the necessary roster moves from there. Don’t move out any of your own picks, and any pieces that are added need to fit into our expansion draft plans so that we don’t just move assets to them lose a better player for free in 12 months.

[madmike]

The Flames need to move Monahan out of the 1C position. I don’t care if they deal him, move him to wing (which is really where he belongs), or drop him down to 3C, but they can’t keep wasting the 1C position on him.

Shift Lindholm to 1C. No he’s not a true 1C but the Flames aren’t going to get one unless they tank. And he’s a better all-around player than Monahan and should create more for Gaudreau.

At this point I’d also be ok with blowing it all up and starting over - especially if Gaudreau isn’t interested in coming back.

They just can’t keep rolling that same first line out. It doesn’t work any more.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Geeoff

Leafs with Kessel, Phaneuf, Bozak, Reimer?

That is a decent example for sure but that team made playoffs once in several years together where this team won a division and has made playoffs in 4 of 6 years.

If this team goes the blow up route then let’s start spitballing Tkachuk trades because he is not sticking around for that imo

[howard_the_duck]

Rebuild. The flames have complimentary pieces, but any team that doesn’t have a number one center, number one defenceman, or number one goalie...that is a really difficult starting point to retool.

I firmly believe you build through the draft and add via free agency to push the team to the next level. Tough to do that without higher draft picks. Drafting ~15th overall year after year just spins the wheel of mediocrity.

[Erick Estrada]

This is Brad Treliving's team. He's had three coaches and half a decade to shape the roster. You can make a very good case he should be fired but I don't think that happens because he has multiple years left on his deal. I don't see a scenario where he gets to perform another rebuild so I imagine the plan is to retool via trades and free agency. The team will look different next year and maybe even worse on paper but it's all going to come down to the next head coach they hire. If Brad hires another dud you can stick a fork in the this team as things will snowball into a scorched earth rebuild. If he hires a proven head coach that's won a lot of games then it is possible to at least move the needle forward a bit. Plenty of question marks;

-No head coach. Ward did well filling in but he's not the solution. This is pretty scary because Treliving doesn't seem to have a grip on what to look for in head coaches.
-No starting goaltender whatsoever. Rittich at this point is an average backup goaltender and Talbot isn't the solution.
-No elite defenseman on the roster. Gio's no longer that guy and will likely regress more next season.
-No 1st line center. I don't care what anyone says Monahan is not a 1st line center on a cup contending team. We have ample evidence that shows that this Flames team is that absolute ceiling for a team that's top center is Sean Monahan.
-No blue chip prospects in the organization. Not a drafting issue and more that it's the price paid for too many picks traded.

While it may look like a mess there's talent on the roster to work with but it's going to require some shrewd decision making for a retool to work. Need to nail the head coach hire. Gaudreau should fetch a solid return of player/prospect/draft pick and they will have some cap space to replace at least Brodie but I don't know what to do with the goaltender and center position. You can't trade Monahan because there's no succession plan within the organization and no team is going to trade their 1st line center to the Flames. They will have to stick with him and go after a guy like Hall that can hopefully carry him like Gaudreau did. Do they go after Lehner or trade for a Matt Murray type of reclamation project? Lots of questions and lots of options out there. I think a GM could successfully retool but there won't be much margin for error.

[Yobbo]

Flames are in a tough position. Unlike a lot of our rivals, we're missing elite talent. We don't have a McD, MacK, Pettersson, etc. Franchise players are one thing this team has been missing since Iggy left unfortunately.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

I don’t think the option of rebuilding and keeping Tkachuk go together.

It is a retool but it could include trading our 2 core forwards who have been the faces of the team for the last 6 seasons.

Tank mode in a crappy market is a ticket to wandering the dessert for another 5-10 years with no guarantee we land a franchise or generational talent.

Keep and add picks, don’t sign mid tier free agents, change the core.

This organization just made the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since 08-09 they are not tearing it down

Anytime there is a need of a core change, that’s then a rebuild, no?