2024 Off-season trade rumours and speculation thread

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I disagree. You need a draw for your average fan to come out to games. Kuzmenko has the ability to be that draw. If the goal is to compete when the new building opens and you can get a player that you can probably sign well below the value I think he is capable of I would extend him on a 6 year deal all day.

You don’t think we’ll have anything better to watch than Kuzy in a year’s time?

Also, does the avg Flames fan even know who he is? Is Kuzy a ticket selling draw? I don’t think so.

I think his current contract is fine. And I hope his flashes of brilliance are concentrated close to the trade deadline.

As for Laine, he’s a cap dump imo. Lots of uncertainty and a big price tag, who may be unhappy with his team. I think the list of team interested would be low and he’d have to be flexible with his NTC unless he wants to stay where he is. All those factors lead me to think he’d need to be packaged with a sweetener to be traded now. Maybe not if he starts the season and plays well. But right now he is a gambler’s special.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I don't want Laine, I would rather extend Kuzmenko who I think is the better player and you don't have to give up assets to keep him

Definitely would rather sign Kuzmenko than give up assets for Necas, that is a no brainer. If Laine was super cheap, like a camp dump, he would be someone worth looking at it.

[Incogneto]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Overpaid , unproductive , 26 and only 2 years of control ?

How does this fit the Flames S/M/L term goals at all unless his salary completely sinks his value and we are picking up for Pennie’s on the dollar

He is PERFECT for the short term plans, as long as you can get him cheap (Let's call this the Gostisbehere model).
1) He allows you to hit the cap floor (which the flames are below if you trade Markstrom for picks).
2) Cost could be minimal. Simple lottery ticket for 'buy low, sell high'
3) He'll immediately play top line PP minutes.
4) Short term contract that you can flip for MORE assets in short order.

I would be all in with Laine if you can get the price at a discount rate. If you are paying top dollar for him, then you pass.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I disagree. You need a draw for your average fan to come out to games. Kuzmenko has the ability to be that draw. If the goal is to compete when the new building opens and you can get a player that you can probably sign well below the value I think he is capable of I would extend him on a 6 year deal all day.

And why is Kuzmenko going to be good enough to draw fans into the arena, but also signed well below his value?

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by All In Good Time

I dont want to rebuild like the Oilers

I want to build a team like Tampa, Colorado, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.

Where they differ from Edmonton is that Tampa, Colorado, Chicago, and Pittsburgh were excellent at making draft picks in rounds 2-7, not just round 1 - they also did well in trades and free agency, which is another key downfall of the Coilers. Edmonton's biggest failure as an organization is their complete inability to build a team around their elite players.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I disagree. You need a draw for your average fan to come out to games. Kuzmenko has the ability to be that draw. If the goal is to compete when the new building opens and you can get a player that you can probably sign well below the value I think he is capable of I would extend him on a 6 year deal all day.

Kuzmenko is an okay support piece. If this organization thinks we need pieces like Kuzmenko to come out and draw your average fans we might as well move the franchise.

You hope he has a good season and you flip him for assets. Giving him a 6 year deal would be a mistake. You'd be better off just finding whatever the next maligned forward that's a cap dump is and doing that every season than giving Kuzmenko an extension.

There tends to be at least one a season that gets moved for nothing (Kuzmenko, Reilly Smith, Bjorkstrand, etc). Continually getting pieces like that to try to pump up their stats, then dump when their contract terms are more favourable to move (ie pending UFA) is much smarter than extending a guy like that.

Plus a top 5 pick in 2025 is a lot more important and a much bigger draw for fans than Kuzmenko ever will be. Getting a guy like Hagens, Misa, Martone, etc will draw a lot more fans beyond the 24-25 season than a Kuzmenko extension ever would.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by jayswin

And why is Kuzmenko going to be good enough to draw fans into the arena, but also signed well below his value?

Because I think Kuzmenko is closer to the guy that once healthy and comfortable with the system was on a 128 point pace. If you can lock him up for 6x6 you might be able to offset Huberdeau's bad contract. I think Kuzmenko has the skillset to be an offensive star player.

[dissentowner]

There is some serious underrating of Kuzmenko's skill set on here. That's a guy you want here when the team is ready to turn the corner, especially if you can get him for around $6M AAV.

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Because I think Kuzmenko is closer to the guy that once healthy and comfortable with the system was on a 128 point pace. If you can lock him up for 6x6 you might be able to offset Huberdeau's bad contract. I think Kuzmenko has the skillset to be an offensive star player.

Lots of good players aren't big draws. You go to games, who is on the back of the jersey's at the dome. Iginla, Kipper, Gaudreau and Tkachuk clearly were draws when they were here. Kuzmenko is not.

Hagens would be.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Macho0978

Lots of good players aren't big draws. You go to games, who is on the back of the jersey's at the dome. Iginla, Kipper, Gaudreau and Tkachuk clearly were draws when they were here. Kuzmenko is not.

Hagens would be.

The Flames have about as much chance of drafting Hagen's as I do of winning Lotto Max. They are not going to be bad enough to make that pick unless they defy some serious odds.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Because I think Kuzmenko is closer to the guy that once healthy and comfortable with the system was on a 128 point pace. If you can lock him up for 6x6 you might be able to offset Huberdeau's bad contract. I think Kuzmenko has the skillset to be an offensive star player.

I wish I believed as strongly in anything in my life as you do in Kuzmenko !

I guess if anyone truely believes he’s a 80-100 pt guy and Van made a monumental mistake I agree signing makes sense

I don’t think there’s another person on the planet that believes this !

He was a cap dump that can stand in a spot on the PP and had a lucky shooting percentage . He fine for what he is and a free asset, not a building block

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

There is some serious underrating of Kuzmenko's skill set on here. That's a guy you want here when the team is ready to turn the corner, especially if you can get him for around $6M AAV.

He will be 30 in the first year of that 6 x 6 contract though.

If guys like Gaudreau and Huberdeau don't look good after their 30th birthday then I highly doubt Kuzmenko who is even more one dimensional is going to look better.

His performance is very shooting percentage dependant:

Vancouver 22-23: 27.3%
Vancouver 23-24: 12.7%
Calgary 23-24: 24.1%

He's a very talented one dimensional forward, the exact type of piece you should try to sell high on...not try to extend beyond his 30th birthday.

Originally Posted by dissentowner

The Flames have about as much chance of drafting Hagen's as I do of winning Lotto Max. They are not going to be bad enough to make that pick unless they defy some serious odds.

Why not?

They had the 4th worst points percentage in the NHL the last 21 games of the season once they moved Lindholm, Hanifin, and Tanev. with a .381 points percentage.

They are likely to move Markstrom this offseason.

If they do the right thing and don't try to sign short term fixes in Free Agency then they should be a bottom 5 team. That gives them a decent chance of a top 2 pick in the lottery.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

He will be 30 in the first year of that 6 x 6 contract though.

If guys like Gaudreau and Huberdeau don't look good after their 30th birthday then I highly doubt Kuzmenko who is even more one dimensional is going to look better.

His performance is very shooting percentage dependant:

Vancouver 22-23: 27.3%
Vancouver 23-24: 12.7%
Calgary 23-24: 24.1%

He's a very talented one dimensional forward, the exact type of piece you should try to sell high on...not try to extend beyond his 30th birthday.

We will agree to disagree in this.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

There is some serious underrating of Kuzmenko's skill set on here. That's a guy you want here when the team is ready to turn the corner, especially if you can get him for around $6M AAV.

I think he is good, and I want him to be good, but don't see him as a big draw for regular fans. I'd be concerned about a 6 year contract based on his body of work.

When this team turns the corner, it will probably appoint a real coach who is going to expect a 200 ft game from Kuzy. Not sure he has that in him.

Also, I agree with others that expect him to drop off in year 4 of a 6 year contract.

Might be wrong, but that's not a gamble I want Flames to make.

Kuzy's greatest gift to the Flames would be returning some high picks at the next TDL if he plays well this coming season.

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

The Flames have about as much chance of drafting Hagen's as I do of winning Lotto Max. They are not going to be bad enough to make that pick unless they defy some serious odds.

Based on what? I was posting stats on what it takes to get a 1st OV. Leafs had 69 points when the go Matthews, Tampa had 71 when they got Stamkos.

Since the lottery rules changed from max 4 spots you can move up to 14 and now 10, the last place team picks 1st 42% of the time.

SJ last year is 1 of 3 teams since the salary cap to be below 50 points. There the 1st to pick first OV of those 3 teams.

3rd last averages 69 points a year.

I believe SJ will be very bad next year. But Anaheim and Chicago could be just as good as the Flames. Columbus likely is as good too with the kids they got and if they can get rid of Laine who probably lost them more games than he won them, they could be a 70-point team.

Why can't they get Hagens? Because Conroy says they aren't rebuilding?

[dissentowner]

They are not rebuilding, they will probably draft anywhere from 9 - 16 depending on what they do this offseason. They are not going to tank no matter how much the tank crowd wants that. They will try and get into the playoffs.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

They are not rebuilding, they will probably draft anywhere from 9 - 16 depending on what they do this offseason. They are not going to tank no matter how much the tank crowd wants that. They will try and get into the playoffs.

The Flames need to simply be honest with themselves on this one because drafting 11-16th and giving that pick to Montreal is a massive, massive, massive mistake.

Say the opposite publicly, whatever - but they can't shoot themselves in the foot here.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

They are not rebuilding, they will probably draft anywhere from 9 - 16 depending on what they do this offseason. They are not going to tank no matter how much the tank crowd wants that. They will try and get into the playoffs.

Barring a miracle acquisition(s) or draft, it won't matter what they try to do. They'll be picking in the top ten again next year.

I know they are saying all the right things. But we may have as few as 1 top four d-men this season.

I can see Wolf being a .915 save percentage goalie with a 3.5+ GAA.

It's going to be that kind of year, so let's have fun with it.

[1qqaaz]

If the Flames really do trade Markstrom, it seems like they are fine with picking higher than 11th OA.

For that reason, I am hoping that Markstrom gets traded. It kind of signals the short term direction.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

They are not rebuilding, they will probably draft anywhere from 9 - 16 depending on what they do this offseason. They are not going to tank no matter how much the tank crowd wants that. They will try and get into the playoffs.

That means they're drafting somewhere from 25-32. I don't disagree, this seems to be what they're signalling they'll do...and it's just stupid. It won't surprise me to see them make a series of short sighted "now" moves this Summer. If they continue to march down this path, they'll continue to be one of the most irrelevant franchises in the league.

What a waste of a season. Good luck selling expensive ass tickets in a new arena with no star players on your roster, and battling for 16th-20th overall.