Seattle Expansion Draft Speculation

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

I think the Flames are grooming Connor Mackey to fill Giordano's slot. He's already passed Kylington on the depth chart.

Mackey is older than Hanifin, Andersson, Kylington, and Valimaki. He turns 25 this off-season, but has yet to show that he's more than a depth player at the NHL level. Anybody who is counting on him to become a #1 defenceman is extremely likely to be disappointed.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

My guess is that they are asking for that but have plans to pick Kylington anyway.

Guys like Kylington are available every year on waivers.

Gio can likely get them a 1st at the trade deadline.

Unless they have plans not to spend to the cap, that would be a good use of their resources.


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[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

Guys like Kylington are available every year on waivers.

Gio can likely get them a 1st at the trade deadline.

Unless they have plans not to spend to the cap, that would be a good use of their resources.


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Seattle takes Giordano, and then flips him at the deadline 50% retained to Tampa.

Seattle gets a 1st.
Giordano gets a Stanley Cup.
The Flames get…sad.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Mackey is older than Hanifin, Andersson, Kylington, and Valimaki. He turns 25 this off-season, but has yet to show that he's more than a depth player at the NHL level. Anybody who is counting on him to become a #1 defenceman is extremely likely to be disappointed.

Number 4?

Giordano isn't #1 anymore.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

Guys like Kylington are available every year on waivers.

If you claim a player off waivers, you need to keep him in the NHL or put him back on waivers to send him to the AHL (at which point, the original team can reclaim him and put him in the AHL as if he cleared originally).

If you put a player whose rights you already own through waivers, you can send him to the AHL directly.


Seattle will be getting 30 players in the expansion draft, plus whatever they get in any side deals they can swing, plus free agent signings, and the second overall draft pick. They can only start the season with a 23 man roster, so they will be picking some players who can clear waivers and be sent down.


That doesn't mean they'll specifically choose Kylington over Gio, but it shouldn't be shocking if they do.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

Number 4?

Giordano isn't #1 anymore.

He is still very much #1.

He’s still our best defenceman.

[Strange Brew]

Yeah I think they’re grooming Mackey to compete for an NHL roster spot, and not much more than that. Up to him after that.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

He is still very much #1.

He’s still our best defenceman.

I would rank both Tanev and Hanifin now ahead of Gio.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

Number 4?

Giordano isn't #1 anymore.

If you're grooming a player to take over Giordano's spot on the team, you're not talking about replacing 37-year-old Giordano, but Giordano in his prime. The problem is that Giordano himself is not capable of filling that role anymore. The solution would have to be to find another player who can. Connor Mackey is very unlikely ever to become such a player, and I believe the Flames know it.

Nobody ‘grooms’ a player to become a #4 defenceman.

[keenan87]

Come on Seattle - please pick either Giordano or Backlund. Moreso, Backlund because he has a few years left on that gross contract for a 3rd liner.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

If you're grooming a player to take over Giordano's spot on the team, you're not talking about replacing 37-year-old Giordano, but Giordano in his prime. The problem is that Giordano himself is not capable of filling that role anymore. The solution would have to be to find another player who can. Connor Mackey is very unlikely ever to become such a player, and I believe the Flames know it.

Nobody ‘grooms’ a player to become a #4 defenceman.

Giordano was lining up with the likes of Dmitry ####ikov on Moscow Dynamo at 25. (To be fair, he probably learned a lot for Danil Markov that year).

Mackey's projected as a top 4 defender, no? Or that range.. Maybe Valimaki pushes him out... Calgary's defence is still pretty young. Number one guy? May have to address that from outside the organization.

Mark Giordano may have a few more years left in him, but I'm not sure its with the Flames.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

Giordano was lining up with the likes of Dmitry ####ikov on Moscow Dynamo at 25. (To be fair, he probably learned a lot for Danil Markov that year).

Close; he was 24. But he already had 55 NHL games under his belt before he went to Russia.

Mackey's projected as a top 4 defender, no? Or that range..

That seems to be the hope, but there is a big, big gap between ‘serviceable on the second pairing’ and ‘one of the top 10 defencemen in the entire NHL’. Both count as top-4 defenders, but Giordano used to fit the second description and Mackey might live up to the first. And he hasn't got a lot of runway left.

Maybe Valimaki pushes him out... Calgary's defence is still pretty young. Number one guy? May have to address that from outside the organization.

I definitely agree with that. What I disagree with is the idea that Mackey is being groomed for a particular roster spot. To me, it looks like a pretty wide-open competition for roles and ice time among four young LD, with Hanifin holding the lead and Kylington still bringing up the rear. It seems to me that if any of the four is being specifically groomed, it's probably Valimaki. The organization had very high hopes for him before injuries slowed his development.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by keenan87

Come on Seattle - please pick either Giordano or Backlund. Moreso, Backlund because he has a few years left on that gross contract for a 3rd liner.

He's not and has never been a 3rd liner on this team. For at least 6 years he's been 2nd-4th among forwards in ATOI.

You're not improving his value:AAV through UFA, and great value contracts are expensive to acquire in trades.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

He's not and has never been a 3rd liner on this team. For at least 6 years he's been 2nd-4th among forwards in ATOI.

You're not improving his value:AAV through UFA, and great value contracts are expensive to acquire in trades.

He’s not going to be exposed anyway.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

I wonder what kind of draft picks or prospects the Flames will have to give Seattle to get them to take Giordano's contract off our hands.

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Ummm - none? If anything they will pay to avoid that.

Originally Posted by The Cobra

None. If anything, the Flames will give them something not to take him. Probably a 2nd.

You guys are bonkers.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by jayswin

You guys are bonkers.

Like with most things, time will tell.

Sutter loves Gio. Hard to imagine Sutter allowing him to leave.


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[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

He is still very much #1.

He’s still our best defenceman.

That is sad

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

He's not and has never been a 3rd liner on this team. For at least 6 years he's been 2nd-4th among forwards in ATOI.

You're not improving his value:AAV through UFA, and great value contracts are expensive to acquire in trades.

That doesn’t mean he is a good 2nd liner

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

That doesn’t mean he is a good 2nd liner

So, how do you determine what makes a good second liner?

Backlund's production has been consistently within the top-40-50 centres, while simultaneously carrying the heaviest defensive load on the team, and he is paid accordingly.

Backlund is not an elite second-line centre, but he is most certainly a capable one who is effective at both ends of the ice. He won't be exposed in the expansion draft, but if he were, then he would almost certainly be selected, and he would likely be the best forward on Seattle's roster next season.

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[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by jayswin

You guys are bonkers.

Why - because I think that the Flames won’t pay Seattle to take Gio away? That’s nuts. What I said was they MIGHT pay Seattle not to take him. I never said it was the right call. Though there is a rational basis for it, if they price they pay Seattle is less than what they can get for Gio at the next TDL.