Matthew Tkachuk & Johnny Gaudreau Signing Watch Thread

[Roof-Daddy]

If Johnny decides to leave, I suspect that Treliving will have an offer already queued up to send to Forsberg and his agent, hoping that he'll be enticed by the "Little Sweden" he's been building in CGY.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I seriously doubt that means Brad is gone

Agreed. But 2 playoff series wins over Gaudreau's eight year Flames tenure (on a bargain contract) with no assets to show for it would be one hell of a bad result for the organization. All on Treliving's watch.

[Britflamesfan]

As far as I can see we went all in this year and rightly so seeing how the regular season went. But there are a lot of people living in a dream world if they think we will be back next year with a par or better team. The cap is just not going to allow that, we have people saying Looch will retire (why would anybody give up the millions he is on, try explaining that one to your wife). JG and MT and EB are going to be after big raises. Then we have 4 defence men who are going to need paying with raises no doubt. There is just no way this same team is coming back next season, especially if we cash up for JG/MT/EB.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

If Johnny decides to leave, I suspect that Treliving will have an offer already queued up to send to Forsberg and his agent, hoping that he'll be enticed by the "Little Sweden" he's been building in CGY.

Yeah I would imagine that would be plan B.

[Hockey_Ninja]

I really hope Forsberg isn’t the “back-up plan”. If Johnny’s gone we should just go ahead and rebuild

[ForeverFlameFan]

If we don’t sign Johnny I’d rather go for Bedard. Won’t happen though.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

I really hope Forsberg isn’t the “back-up plan”. If Johnny’s gone we should just go ahead and rebuild

I would be so leery of giving Forsberg big dollars and term - the guy hasn’t played a full season since 2016-17, and it’s not like he’s missing a game or two either. He has a serious concussion history.

67, 64, 63, 39 (56 game season), 69. He’s missed 82 games the last five years.

Over that same, Johnny has missed *checks notes* 2. And he missed those 5 years ago.

Availability is a skill.

[Sec214]

If JG walks, You have to rebuild. Its not even a question, He stirs the drink and this team will struggle if he leaves.

Ill be honest, Chucky has to go - He has no footspeed and isn't worth the long term risk. Players don't get faster as they age. Incredible Hockey IQ, Supreme Agitator when he wants to be. If he's willing to take a decent hair cut 8.5x8 or Less sure but we know his family, they aren't new to this business and the price will be higher then ever after 100 PTS.

You live and die in this game down the middle of the Ice, the Winger Pipeline is very strong. If you cant get Size, Skill and Speed from the middle of the ice its hard to penetrate a lot of defensive systems. We cant waste 20Million on Two wingers.

Chucky for a 1C or pure futures and suck for a year or two. The time to fold on Chucky is now.

[calgaryred]

Love the core looking forward to getting Gaudreau and Tkachuk resigned hopefully they are fair contracts so the team can continue to improve.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by Kovaz

Who do you even play at LD without Hanifin? If we can't afford $4.9M for top-pairing minutes, we may as well rebuild. If you want to argue we should upgrade the #1LD spot, I can see that argument. But if we're dumping Hanifin for cap reasons, we're setting ourselves up for failure. You really can't go much cheaper than a $9M top D pairing.

Like I said a lot over the course of the season, this will be Treliving’s most difficult offseason. His cap was already in bad shape, but he just had to add Toffoli’s contract in to the mix without any sort of retention.

So now it’s up to him and his group to find value all over the lineup. There are plenty of No Trade clauses in the lineup that are a major cause for concern as it could severely limit what Brad can and cannot do, but the fear of going into next season with nearly half the team having to be made up of league minimum replacement parts is a possibility.

Obviously that’s not ideal as we actually want to improve the team. So, this is where management will have to get creative and find cheaper alternatives. If I was to venture a guess, something along the lines of what the Jets did with the Trouba - Pionk swap. It doesn’t even have to be Hanifin, but exploring moves that saves the team considerable cap space while not impacting the team’s overall performance will likely have to be accomplished. Hanifin being a LHD would just be an easier position to fill IMO, at least compared to a RHD like Andersson.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

The core is Johnny, Tkachuk, Lindholm, Hanifin, Andersson and Markstrom.

Everyone else is a spare part who can be replaced and should not be committed to with significant term or dollars.

Buy out Monahan, save $4.25Mish.

Trade Mangiapane and Kylington (Heretofore referred to by me as Bread and Circus) for a superstar.

Plan to have Zary, Pelletier and Coronato on the team next year - if Coronato doesn’t sign this summer, include him in the superstar trade.

All hinging of course on 13 and 19 extending, but if they do, we’re in a place where we shouldn’t be drafting our own picks for at least the next 3-5 years.

Not saying it’s easy, but you can do a lot to retool this roster of you don’t overcommit to the wrong guys.

Wait, you have Hanifin and Andersson as core pieces, yet you don’t consider Backlund or Mangiapane core pieces after the playoffs performances they just had? Their line was without a doubt, the best line on the team in the playoffs and helped make the BoA at least a little competitive.

Backlund was especially good, I thought he was the best overall skater the Flames had in this year’s playoffs and not to mention the 2020 playoffs where he was also the best Flame. He just comes to play in the playoffs and the Flames need more guys like that.

Inserting those young guys isn’t even realistic with Sutter at the helm. Even Dube and Valimaki (especially the latter) had tough times just getting into the lineup and they actually had previous NHL experience prior to Darryl. Those other guys you mentioned, do not. Darryl would probably prefer to sign old veterans to take their place until they young guys are 100% ready to make significant NHL contributions.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

Wait, you have Hanifin and Andersson as core pieces, yet you don’t consider Backlund or Mangiapane core pieces after the playoffs performances they just had? Their line was without a doubt, the best line on the team in the playoffs and helped make the BoA at least a little competitive.

Backlund was especially good, I thought he was the best overall skater the Flames had in this year’s playoffs and not to mention the 2020 playoffs where he was also the best Flame. He just comes to play in the playoffs and the Flames need more guys like that.

Inserting those young guys isn’t even realistic with Sutter at the helm. Even Dube and Valimaki (especially the latter) had tough times just getting into the lineup and they actually had previous NHL experience prior to Darryl. Those other guys you mentioned, do not. Darryl would probably prefer to sign old veterans to take their place until they young guys are 100% ready to make significant NHL contributions.

Hanifin and Andersson are 25 year old 1st pairing D who play in all situations. They were outstanding against Dallas and they struggled against Connor McSupersaiyan - they’re not the only ones. Cale Makar is going to struggle with that assignment too, just watch. 55 and 4 are going to get better.



Backlund is a 14 year vet. He’s wonderful and I’m glad we have him. He needs to slot the #3C, and he’s not going to get perceptibly better than he is now, given he’s been virtually the exact same player for the last eight years.

Mangiapane had a career year in a contract year. He’s undersized, and he couldn’t stick on the first PP unit ahead of Tyler Toffoli, despite ample opportunity in the second half of the season. I said it during the Eichel saga - he’s the definition of a player you sell high on.

Kylington, who I’ve always been a fan of, regressed hard after he took those massive hits. He went from a composed, agile, confident player to one who handled the puck like a live Grenade. And he was lost without Tanev. I still like him, but he isn’t a core piece.

To me, the “core” is the group you put out to tie the game with the season on the line, or to protect a one-goal advantage to close a team out.

Kylington and Mangiapane aren’t on that list, and Backlund being on it is an indictment in its own way.

It doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable players, it doesn’t mean they aren’t quality. But they’re the exact sort of mid-tier players bad teams over commit to, and I’d rather move them for Scheifele or Barzal because those guys would be on the ice to save the season.

[midniteowl]

Hanifin and Andersson are 25 year old 1st pairing D who play in all situations. They were outstanding against Dallas

I don't agree, Hanifin struggled with the physicality Dallas brought. After that series, I was hoping he is just not a physical D and he'll be better player a faster softer team like Oilers. But I guess I was wrong, he can't play the fast style neither.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

I don't agree, Hanifin struggled with the physicality Dallas brought. After that series, I was hoping he is just not a physical D and he'll be better player a faster softer team like Oilers. But I guess I was wrong, he can't play the fast style neither.

He’s 25, and just had a career year while 60% less PP1 time than Andersson.

I think it’s a pretty safe bet that he hasn’t plateaued - this #### is hard.

Remember how we laughed at Justin Schulz? He was good enough to help Pittsburgh win 2 cups, and he played nearly 20 minutes a night the second time through.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Hanifin and Andersson are 25 year old 1st pairing D who play in all situations. They were outstanding against Dallas and they struggled against Connor McSupersaiyan - they’re not the only ones. Cale Makar is going to struggle with that assignment too, just watch. 55 and 4 are going to get better.



Backlund is a 14 year vet. He’s wonderful and I’m glad we have him. He needs to slot the #3C, and he’s not going to get perceptibly better than he is now, given he’s been virtually the exact same player for the last eight years.

Mangiapane had a career year in a contract year. He’s undersized, and he couldn’t stick on the first PP unit ahead of Tyler Toffoli, despite ample opportunity in the second half of the season. I said it during the Eichel saga - he’s the definition of a player you sell high on.

Kylington, who I’ve always been a fan of, regressed hard after he took those massive hits. He went from a composed, agile, confident player to one who handled the puck like a live Grenade. And he was lost without Tanev. I still like him, but he isn’t a core piece.

To me, the “core” is the group you put out to tie the game with the season on the line, or to protect a one-goal advantage to close a team out.

Kylington and Mangiapane aren’t on that list, and Backlund being on it is an indictment in its own way.

It doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable players, it doesn’t mean they aren’t quality. But they’re the exact sort of mid-tier players bad teams over commit to, and I’d rather move them for Scheifele or Barzal because those guys would be on the ice to save the season.

I don’t disagree with some of what you’re saying, but I’m also definitely in the opposite camp with other things you said.

For instance, I didn’t really like the Hanifin-Andersson pairing throughout the entirety of the playoffs, probably more so Hanifin, thought he dragged down his pairing and I often found myself cursing at him for the soft plays, turnovers and general lack of poise or awareness on both ends of the ice. Last I checked (yesterday), they sat 1 & 2 for most goals allowed in the playoffs. Not a good stat to lead the league in.

I do agree with your Backlund take, ideally it would be nice to slot him at #3. But I don’t know how realistic it is to find/acquire a center better than him given the team’s current constraints i.e. cap space & assets. The team has very little to offer for the Scheifele’s and Barzal’s of the world as you suggested.

In terms of Mangiapane though, he’s a core piece to me. He can produce on the PP and I think he’s just scratching the surface in that department. He’s an excellent puck retriever, has underrated vision, a great shot, nice deflection capabilities and a real nose for the net. He has every tool needed to be a top PP unit guy at some point in his career. He may undersized physically, but he plays bigger and with more heart than just about every Flame on the team. Not even a question in my mind that he should be re-signed.

I’m also not as down on Kylington as you are. He’s got some erratic aspects, can be over exuberant at times and definitely regressed a bit later in the season. He also has some physical limitations, but his skating, effort and offensive potential are too good for me to trade away. If the Flames can get him cheap, I’d bring him back. Not sure if he’s ideally slotted at #4, but he’d make an excellent #5 paired with a steady shut down Dman.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

I don't agree, Hanifin struggled with the physicality Dallas brought. After that series, I was hoping he is just not a physical D and he'll be better player a faster softer team like Oilers. But I guess I was wrong, he can't play the fast style neither.

100%. I thought he was completely out of his element in the playoffs. Dallas really went after him hard in the playoffs and he wilted. He might have even been worse in the Oiler series, Hanifin struggled with their physicality too and the pace of play may have been too quick for him to process.

There were a lot of moments over the last month where I’d be shaking my head and looking to see who screwed up and it ended up being Hanifin more often than not. I don’t think the guy is built for the playoffs and I really don’t care if he’s 25, he’s a 7 year vet and his past playoff experience should’ve better prepared him for these playoffs and he failed badly to meet the challenge. It might have been his worst play as pro hockey player to date.

[midniteowl]

Remember how we laughed at Justin Schulz? He was good enough to help Pittsburgh win 2 cups, and he played nearly 20 minutes a night the second time through.

Also don't forget they have Sid the kid and Malkin?

He’s 25

I know, I'm not saying get rid of him. My reply was soley disagreeing with you on the statement you said they play great.

[midniteowl]

100%. I thought he was completely out of his element in the playoffs. Dallas really went after him hard in the playoffs and he wilted. He might have even been worse in the Oiler series, Hanifin struggled with their physicality too and the pace of play may have been too quick for him to process.

There were a lot of moments over the last month where I’d be shaking my head and looking to see who screwed up and it ended up being Hanifin more often than not. I don’t think the guy is built for the playoffs and I really don’t care if he’s 25, he’s a 7 year vet and his past playoff experience should’ve better prepared him for these playoffs and he failed badly to meet the challenge. It might have been his worst play as pro hockey player to date.

Agree, I was doing the same thing. I'm still hoping that since he is a D and D tends to mature slower, and also, he hasn't play in playoff all that much in his career and I really hope having Sutter as coach, may be he'll learn a thing or two. But if he isn't a quick learner, then I don't mind may be trading him?



Man, I missed having a rough and tumble, rock em sock em defensemen.

[kipperiggy]

re posted from the garbage day thread, might be better here.

Now I am no cap expert, and don't have the hockey experience of many on this forum, but it's Saturday and I don't want to work overtime lol.

If Monahan can return to form after both hips being done, why can't he slot into the #2 or #3 C? I know everyone is counting him out, but I'm not ready to just yet. Not only that, but Backlund has shown us time and again he can step up to #2 at times but age will start to catch up I know.

What if we can re-sign Johnny, Chucky, and Bread and roll with something like:

Gaudreau - Lindholm - Toffoli -
Keeps chemistry from the top line and hopefully gets Toffoli back to the level we saw him play in Montreal, since he needs someone to dish him the puck. I have no problem with Lindy being our #1 and not sure why the other thread is suggesting Stutzle etc.

Dube - Monahan - Tkachuk
Maybe a bit slow but Dube can bring some speed, Chucky can show us if he can carry a line.

Bread - Backlund - Coleman - Don't know why we ever break up the 3B line (or why we have not called them that yet). Also don't know how Bread gets more than Lindholm, hopefully can get him signed around $4.0-4.5m and not the $5.0m+ people are projecting.

Then try and trade Lucic to someone trying to reach the cap floor (or he could retire or be bought out if he doesn't want to move, his actual cash owing is actually only around $1.0m this year if I'm recalling correctly which would be attractive to a team potentially or less on the table if he wants to retire). Re-sign Lewis especially and Jarnkrok if the price is right otherwise get a young gun or two up here to win a spot. They are getting their own playoff experience right now! Lewis' experience was key in the run but remember all our guys have got more now.

For Defense Gudbranson at least hopefully wants more stability but Zadorov might be gone, unless he wants stability too, since he's also bounced around a bit too. I think another year of experience for our guys is a good thing as 3 of them are still relatively young (Hanifin, Andersson, and Kylington especially if he can bulk up). Stone also strikes me as a guy looking for stability so could be enticed to re-sign especially if Zad goes and opens up a top 6 spot. Alternatively if both Gudbrandson and Zad are gone it gives Mackey or Valimaki a chance to win a spot like Oliver did. And let's hope and pray that Tanev's recovery is more like 4 than 6 months.

As someone who has up and left my place of employment to move for a secondment and then returned home, there is something to be said for the known (being Calgary for JG).

With Connor making $12.5m and Leon making $8.5m up north, if Johnny and Chucky want to stay, it might be easier than we think, given their stars outperformed ours. If they stay, this team is certainly closer to Cup than many teams that have the cap space to add them. So why wouldn't you want to stick with the known?

Anyway, just some ideas.

[Steve Macfarlane]

Not sure what thread this belongs in because I'm talking Johnny in many, but I believe he was very genuine in saying he wants to be here. I think reading between the lines he's looking at an eight-year deal to stay. Treliving's job is to try and get the AAV as low as he can to fit other pieces around him.

But I feel strongly we can put the Philly rumours to rest pretty soon.

https://calgaryhockeynow.com/calgary...gent-contract/