[PGT] TBL 2 CGY 0 - shutout again

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Defencemen often mature right around the age Russell is now. So I think it is reasonable to believe that what Russell has shown this year is the new normal.

That is the risk the Flames have to determine if they are willing to take on. Are they confident Russell will repeat this performance or will he be more of the player he was prior to his arrival in Calgary? Also, what is the cost of keeping him? If the team feels he is nothing more than a stop gap measure they likely don't want to invest much time, energy or money in him. If it was Feaster I would say they could keep him. Feaster is gone and so is the philosophy that brought Russell here.

If you get rid of Russell, Butler and Smith we don't really have many guys ready to step in and replace them.

This is the one point where I agree with you. The system is thin and the team will have to rely on trades and free agency to shore up the blueline for next season.

Russell has been one of our top 2-3 defencemen all year.

Yeah, he has been good. But the blueline is still one of the worst in the NHL. I don't think Burke will sit back and bring back much of it. I see some big changes coming on the blueline and I think size and truculence is an area Burke is going to improve upon. Where Russell fits in with that is open for debate.

He's a great fit long term and obviously a much better fit long term than Cammalleri, Stajan, or Stempniak. Hope we re-sign him. Your statement that Russell especially doesn't fit long term makes absolutely no sense to me. He's right in that age range we want to be adding and keeping players.

Russell is the antithesis to Burke's philosophy of size and truculence. Russell has indeed played well for the Flames this season, but he is a 5'10, 175 pound blueliner and I seriously doubt that is the type of defenseman Burke wants on the roster.

If the Flames keep Russell, I'm fine with that. He's been an effective player. But looking at the direction of the team and the philosophy of the guy running the team I fully expect so see every veteran on the roster who does not fit in the Burkeian philosophy with a new address by the end of the season. Burke has been excellent at managing assets everywhere else he has been, so I doubt he will change in that regard with the Flames.

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

I think we'll be getting enough picks from dealing guys like Cammalleri, Stajan, Stempniak and Butler.

I think Burke will try and speed the rebuild by using the vets to pick up mostly prospects close to stepping in. I suspect he will grab 3-4 defensemen by the deadline using the number of assets we have available. That will fortify the depth and prospect base and allow the team to target specific areas at the draft.

[dammage79]

EDIT: Russell has made the team better. Doesn't matter if its one spot in the standings or ten. You don't trade players who make your team better for picks. Is it a coincidence that the scoring has dried up since Russells been injured? Probably not.

Ship off Butler and O'brien and upgrade the D-corps from there. Gio, Smid, Wideman, Brodie and Russell are all good pieces. Add an Ekblad in there and gee that looks like a good d-corps.

[MissTeeks]

I guess I'll put this here:

“@AAVickers: @AAVickers: Good news on the injury front for the #flames. Kris Russell skated on his own the past two days.”

And Ramo gets the start in Colorado

[Igster]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

You're underrating how good he's been. Nothing bottom pairing about his play this year, he's been as good as Brodie and is still fairly young.

I would argue he has been better than Brodie. More consistent with less glaring mistakes.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by New Era

Pretty simple actually. His performance exceeds any other year he's played. To keep him you have to believe that this performance is the new normal for him. I don't. I also look at acquisition cost versus the potential benefit of moving him. We are likely in a big advantage in benefit versus cost. The whole idea for rebuilding teams is to get better over the long term by dealing away short term assets. Russell is a very short term asset. Using your same logic the Flames shouldn't deal Stajan because he's been our best center. The Flames should deal away Cammalleri because he's been our best goal scorer. The Flames shouldn't trade away Stempniak because he's been our best character player. You have expiring contracts you have to evaluate where they fit in the long term plan and deal accordingly. None of the players on expiring contracts fit in the team long term, especially Russell.

First of all, unlike Stajan, Russell is still getting better.

As to the bold - acquisition cost is irrelevant. If you had a stock worth $30 would you sell it for $25 just because you only paid $10 for it? An asset is worth what it is currently worth, no more no less, regardless of what you paid for it.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

First of all, unlike Stajan, Russell is still getting better.

This is actually his first year where he's stepped up and played to this level. He's been pretty steady his whole career, but in lesser roles for the other two teams he played for. The team has to figure out, is this the player he is going to be for the remainder of his career, or is he having a career year because he's coming up on free agency? Also, the team has to decide how he fits in with team philosophy going forward. He's not big and he is not truculent.

As to the bold - acquisition cost is irrelevant. If you had a stock worth $30 would you sell it for $25 just because you only paid $10 for it? An asset is worth what it is currently worth, no more no less, regardless of what you paid for it.

Acquisition cost does come into the equation. It is the reason why certain players seem to hang around. The acquisition cost was too high too let them walk away for nothing. No one, especially Burke, doesn't like to lose on players. Burke loves to win while dealing players. Anytime he can look at the balance sheet and see he just dealt a player for a 2nd that cost him a 4th, that is a good thing. And if you are going to sit there and try and tell me that you you wouldn't be extremely happy to turn a 5th round pick into a 3rd, or a 2nd into a 1st, you're not being honest.

This whole Russell love affair is kind of reminiscent of the Akim Aliu saga at the end of 2011-12 season and how discussions were focused on not whether to keep him around but where he would play the following year. There was a movement on CP, which I would not be surprised you were a part of, that was all excited about his big two games and were penciling him into lineups, even though it was obvious he was playing above his usual standard of play. Now Russell's play is much superior and consistent to that of Aliu, but getting overly excited about a player over-achieving does appear to habitual for some. I'd hate for us to fall in love with a guy that doesn't have the tools to continue playing at this level. This is what management has to figure out. Hell, Russell may want to test the market himself and will make the decision for the hockey club. We should find out soon. Either result is likely going to be a positive for the hockey club. The only way this goes bad for the Flames is if they do pay him a substantial contract and he regresses back to what he was in Columbus and St. Louis.