Poll Request: Retool or Rebuild?

[activeStick]

Florida's not trading Barkov. And with Tkachuk on the roster I don't think it can be considered a rebuild. I think this team is heading towards a retool, hopefully around Tkachuk and Andersson, supported by Bennett and Dube.

[MrMike]

I don't think there is a way Barkov is traded from Florida. But I could see them departing from Ekblad.

I haven't watched much of Florida, but does he still have a chance to raise his game to the next level and become an absolute stud?

[agulati]

A lot of people are counting on Bennett being a bigger part of a rebuilt/retool. Myself as well, but we have to reflect that he has only been solid/excellent in spurts. He needs a longer look in a top 6 role/center role though.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Florida's not trading Barkov. And with Tkachuk on the roster I don't think it can be considered a rebuild. I think this team is heading towards a retool, hopefully around Tkachuk and Andersson, supported by Bennett and Dube.

Before this series, the fan in Florida thought there's no way the Flames would want to trade their #1C, #1LW, & #1D, yet here we are.

If Florida continue to miss playoffs, they can be persuaded to move Barkov. Especially for an American player.

[devo22]

still think Philly would be a great trading partner. Obviously that's Johnny's team, and if they want him, they have a lot of great young pieces to make it work. Frost and Myers, for example.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by agulati

A lot of people are counting on Bennett being a bigger part of a rebuilt/retool. Myself as well, but we have to reflect that he has only been solid/excellent in spurts. He needs a longer look in a top 6 role/center role though.

Yeah, which is why it's good we have him for one more year. Give him the spot he's earned next season and then you get to re-assess before extending/trading/or losing to expansion.

He's certainly done more than enough to earn better linemates and ice time next season, and yeah - play him at centre.

Originally Posted by devo22

still think Philly would be a great trading partner. Obviously that's Johnny's team, and if they want him, they have a lot of great young pieces to make it work. Frost and Myers, for example.

I don't think they move Myers - but Philly makes some sense. Retain salary on Johnny to really cash in on it.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Florida's not trading Barkov. And with Tkachuk on the roster I don't think it can be considered a rebuild. I think this team is heading towards a retool, hopefully around Tkachuk and Andersson, supported by Bennett and Dube.

Build around the best RW of his generation: folly.

Build around the smallest LW of his generation: folly.

Build around a pest LW who needs to become a bully: folly.

Build down the middle. We have two guys who can reliably play Centre at a top-6 level - Lindholm and Backlund. We need more centres. You find centres at the top of the draft.

Nobody's going to be allowed to host live events with spectators until we're a year into the Biden administration anyway, so punt this season.

There's no sense being a cap team with a roster that's more holes than cheese.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

You are saying that the Flames will not qualify Tkachuk for the 9M that his contract set as the minimum?

He would get close to the league max as a 24 year old UFA based on the mediocre year he had as the clear cut best Flames player over the last year.

If they get the contract done during the final year of his current deal they don't have to qualify him. They only have to qualify him if they are letting the current deal expire.

And no, Matthew Tkachuk is not getting league max. That's on a new level of stupidity, even from you. No one pays the 34th best scorer in the league the max salary possible. Unless he becomes a 100 point player in each of the next two seasons, and scores 40 goals a season, he's not going to get a sniff over $8M. With the flattening of hockey revenues - which will actually act as a major drop in hockey revenues - salaries are going to flatten out dramatically. Salary escalation is going to be on hold for the next four or five years until all the uncertainty goes away, and fans start coming back and spending again.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

I don't think they move Myers - but Philly makes some sense. Retain salary on Johnny to really cash in on it.

yeah, probably not ... 6'5 and right handed, they don't come around often. But I'd happily take a package including Frost, think he'll be really good.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by SeanCharles

Come on..

Välimäki, Andersson, Hanifin.

Valimaki has played 24 games. In those 24 games, did you see Miro Heiskanen? Because I didn't. He'll be a fine player, I'm sure, but is he a dynamic gamebreaker that we need to move the needle and win multiple rounds in the playoffs? Absolutely no way to know.

Andersson is a good player. He's around as good as Brodie, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Hanifin... Does Noah Hanifin have any signature moments or games as a Flame? I dunno. He's a great skater, but he doesn't have any offensive instincts, and I don't think he's anything special defensively. He'll get better, but he's nothing that every other team doesn't have.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by devo22

yeah, probably not ... 6'5 and right handed, they don't come around often. But I'd happily take a package including Frost, think he'll be really good.

Myers is probably not available any more. He's been great for the Flyers this season, especially in the restart. Frost is the reason why Couturier may be available. I saw a clip with the Flyers brass talking about him and they think he's a special player. I don't disagree with them. He would be a very good option or compliment to Monahan as a second center.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by devo22

still think Philly would be a great trading partner. Obviously that's Johnny's team, and if they want him, they have a lot of great young pieces to make it work. Frost and Myers, for example.

Yes, but Philly is rolling. Would they be interested in moving the pieces we would want? Doubtful IMO.

I suppose if MTL claws back and wins, they might be inclined to trade.

[SportsJunky]

Brian Costello at SI/THN believes both Gaudreau and Monahan will be gone before the start of next season.
Time For Calgary Flames To Move On From Gaudreau and Monahan

As two-thirds of Calgary's top line – with right winger Elias Lindholm – Gaudreau and Monahan have failed yet again to show they can raise their game a notch when the NHL's intensity level ramps up. The Flames offensive leaders were reduced to little more than ornaments during 5-on-5 play for most of Calgary's first-round loss to the Dallas Stars. That was the case last year as well in a five-game upset loss to Colorado.

I suspect GM Brad Treliving has seen enough and will make some high-profile personnel changes in the off-season. It's not like Gaudreau and Monahan are kids anymore. Gaudreau just turned 27 and Monahan turns 26 in October. It's unlikely their one-way offensive game that dries up at crunch time is going to evolve as they approach 30.

[Huntingwhale]

I think the team is heading for a retool. No way ownership agrees to a scorched rebuild so soon after the last one. Even that one took years to convince ownership to get on board. And that was with nothing in the pipelines and a bunch of aging vets.

While the core of this team has proven to be no good as a whole, they are still good players on their own, young and on good contracts. The main difference this time vs 2013 is that the team actually has good assets to retool this time. I have no doubt one or both of Johnny/Mony are traded for a comparable roster player or high picks. I could see Gio sticking around for some leadership stability. The team also has some great young and upcoming D and a few decent young forwards. The 2013 rebuild was just junk being given away for free essentially. This time there is actually assets to play around with.

[boogerz]

Retool.

The forward depth is good enough and the defense is still pretty young and deep.

The Flames are just missing a top line C, legitimate 1a or starting goalie, and a coach

Two of those things can be addressed relatively easily this off-season.

[Enoch Root]

The other reason that I think you need a rebuild and not a retool is the cap. In a cap world, almost all trades send roughly the same amount of salary each way.

If you're retooling, and you try to move Monahan as an example, you are probably going to get a couple lesser players that add up to $6-7M, plus a prospect or pick or two. In other words, it is very difficult to improve the team.

Conversely, if you commit to a rebuild, you can take on a dead contract. If you do that, you can send Monahan to a contender who is looking for that last piece to psh them over the top. You take a garbage contract off their hands, and you can get some really good value back in the form of picks and prospects.

That is what the Flames need to do - they need to utilize the value they have t=in their core players in order to load up on a bunch of young talent.

The great thing about the Flames roster right now is that they have a bunch of really talented players that are still pretty young and have good cap hits (Gaudreau, Monahan, Lindholm, Bennett). they also have a couple vets that would be huge help to a contender (Giordano, Backlund).

The best way to maximize the return for these guys is to take crappy contracts back.

[DazzlinDino]

The Flames need to get a decent coach, and then it's a lot easier to assess the players. If thr Flames brought in a guy like Darryl, the players would have learned what it takes to win, so whatever coach was brought in the plauers would have solid habits. We need a experienced coach that knows how to work with guys like Bennett, and maybe would have been a lot further ahead. Several tries and we still haven't got it right. The fact is we could bring in a bunch of new players, if we don't have the right coach everybody's going to want to trade them too.

[MisterJoji]

NJ’s rebuild has not taken the next step, particularly Hischier. They might be looking to unload him before his NTC and 7.25 AAV contract kick in. He’s signed for longer than Gaudreau but Johnny is cheaper and more of a sure thing so I don’t think you’d need to add much. But that is a dangerous dice roll that Hischier will develop into a true #1C.

[SuperMatt18]

Going to be tough to get a team to trade an established bonafide 200ft center like an Eichel or Barkov, so don't think that can be the central plan of how to improve.

So you have a couple of options:

1) Trade for a top 10 pick which is where those guys are usually drafted. I think people have identified Buffalo, Minnesota, and New Jersey as teams with picks in the top 10 that may be open to moving them.
or
2) Try to find a guy that had that potential but hasn't lived up to it yet

A couple of guys that maybe could still break out:

-Pavel Zacha: Was okay for NJ but has gotten overlooked when the shiny new toys in Hischer and Hughes came to the roster
-Tyson Jost: Top 10 pick was compared to Toews, but has been stuck as more of a bottom 6 C on a loaded Avs team
-Nolan Patrick: Injury issues have derailed his career, but Philly doesn't really have space for him anymore and he could be a buy low candidate

I think the real problem the Flames are going to run into this offseason is the leagues uncertainty due to COVID-19. Are teams going to be open to moving high draft picks, and top prospects, for a player that helps them win now when it's unclear when the league is actually going to resume for the 20-21 season.

If I'm a GM i'd be really hesitant to move any future pieces for short term pieces, look how many teams moved pieces at the deadline last season only for them to almost lose those pieces for nothing due to a potentially cancelled season.

[DomeFoam]

Its kinda sad to be in this position because theres no real direction, and no hope on the horizon. I completely agree with the people saying the Hamilton and Hamonic trades were the downfall of a successful rebuild. We needed to figure out if Monahan and Gaudreau were for real, and we didn't.

As for the trades: Hamilton was having issues as a Bruin. He was drafted and developed by them, he didn't grow up in our system. Why are you trading for a star player that grew up in another organization that doesn't even WANT him anymore? Isn't it likely we won't either in a few years? We're damn lucky he didn't turn into a Griffin Reinhart and we got some semblance of value back for him. Whatever issues he had as a Bruin were brought to Calgary and he was gone in short order. Why are we bringing this man to Calgary in 2015?

The bruins for whatever reason selected Senyshyn at our 15th overall pick. Who were the next three to go? Mat Barzal, Kyle Connor and Thomas Chabot. We could've had a superstar there. Mat Barzal IS the Islanders. Chabot IS the Senators. Scheifele is the Jets, but Connor scored 38 this year. He is one of their most important players.

The Hamonic trade? The Isles selected Noah Dobson with our 1st. I don't watch the Islanders, but he's already in the show in under two years. The jury is still out on who develops in the latter half of that first round and becomes the face of their teams.

A retool is for teams where the guys built around these franchise players aren't properly assembled. I think the guys built around the supposed faces of the Flames are properly assembled; they did their part this playoff. They earned what they are paid. Dube was a beast. Bennett. Backs was fine. Hell even Lucic had some GREAT games.

I hate to play the 'what could've been game', but the guys we built around were rotten in the first place and we didn't see it through. IF we had stuck to the plan, we might be in round two with a Barzal/Chabot/Connor, Dobson and who knows what else leading the charge. Then Gaudreau and Monahan would've been in the situation where Monahan IS 2C, and Gaudreau has the centre to drive the play. Its disgusting to think about. Start over.