[Rumour] UPD: Flames are done for the day. Zucker deal does not go through

[Five-hole]

SJ has traded a LOT of futures. In the next three years, they could have only one 2nd round pick and one 3rd round pick in the first three rounds. Karlsson, Nyquist, Pavelski and Thornton are all UFAs. Their window is slamming shut.

TBL has a huge cap crunch coming up. Point is RFA this year. Gourde's extension kicks in next year and he costs $4M more. Vasilevskiy and Sergachev are up for new deals at the end of next season. Four of their top 7 D are UFAs. They'll still be a great team for a long time but not this dominant.

Conversely almost all of the Flames' core is under 25 and cost-controlled. We have no 2nd this year but have most of our top picks in the next three years. We have great young D. The only risk is Gio will eventually start to look his age, but there's no signs of that yet.

This was not the year to sell the farm.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Five-hole

SJ has traded a LOT of futures. In the next three years, they could have only one 2nd round pick in the first three rounds. Karlsson, Nyquist, Pavelski and Thornton are all UFAs. Their window is slamming shut.

TBL has a huge cap crunch coming up. Point is RFA this year. Gourde's extension kicks in next year and he costs $4M more. Vasilevskiy and Sergachev are up for new deals at the end of next season. Four of their top 7 D are UFAs. They'll still be a great team for a long time but not this dominant.

Conversely almost all of the Flames' core is under 25 and cost-controlled. We have no 2nd this year but have most of our top picks in the next three years. We have great young D. The only risk is Gio will eventually start to look his age, but there's no signs of that yet.

This was not the year to sell the farm.

Vegas isn't young either and same goes for Nashville. All those teams have much smaller windows (amazing considering Vegas' lifespan).

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by MissTeeks

https://twitter.com/user/status/1100138757347520513

Yup. That is how I feel.

I wish we bolstered the line-up, but I am also happy we didn't give anything up. We would have had to overpay for Stone big time.

I am a little worried that teams around us improved on paper, but paper is not the ice.

[dissentowner]

I absolutely love what Tre did today which was not mortgaging the future while our Western competitors stocked up for a SC they can't win. TB is winning the Cup and if by some fluke they don't the Bruins will. Whomever comes out of the West is not winning the SC this year so nice to see teams killing their future for nothing and Vegas overpaying Mark Stone on an 8 year deal. Well done Brad!

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

Speaking of which, I don't know what but something needs to be done about this. It's complete horse #### that some teams have this kind of advantage.

What are you gonna do about guys who refuse to play in Canada because of weather? Force California to start having -30 streaks? You can't just make every market the same, there are other factors besides just taxes that are very different in each market. Just how it is.

[Bingo]

I wouldn't have moved Valimaki or Andersson. Kylington I would have done but hated doing it.

From what we are hearing it's good he took a pass.

That and that contract level wouldn't have fit.

[Bandwagon Surfer]

The best trade deadline freakout I remember witnessing was I think back in 2006 when Nashville traded for Peter Forsberg. A guy in my office was raging for weeks afterwards about how it was so unfair, that Nashville was undefeatable now, the league should have stopped this because there was no point for fans of teams to even watch the rest of the season.

[jeffman]

Remember the last time we made a TDL splash? It totally ruined the chemistry of a team that caught lightning in a bottle. Good job on tre for staying put

[Beninho]

Originally Posted by Cleveland Steam Whistle

Quit spouting off your paranoid (or trolling) opinions as fact. There is no fact behind those rosters being better than the Flames at this point, or proof they are better positioned for the playoffs.



This Flames team went through a major face lift already going into this season.........and so far it's paid off with them being 1st in the West. SJ, Winnipeg, Vegas and Nashville didn't...............there's also some truth to Tre did a lot more work than the GMs of those teams much earlier in the year..........which I prefer to doing it at the Trade Deadline because deadline day prices are higher, and it gives those teams less time to work through any chemistry issues in the locker room.



It's fair to have an opinion that you now prefer SJ and Vegas to the Flames roster, cool, it may prove to be true. But it's far from a fact, and Tre not doing anything of significance this deadline is far from a "major mistake". He's got a good team already, that he changed significantly in the last 12 months, it's not like he HAD to give the team it's second round of major surgery..........they are in first place after all.

I’m out of thanks but this needs more thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by Johnhitbox

I have to admit that I expected something yes. But not as much as I did last year, we were in a spot where they were making a push for a playoff spot and could have used some scoring and goaltending

the way i honest look at it is that we can essentially "add" a top 4 defenseman in Vilamaki, who hasn't played in 2 months...

we could add someone like a Dube from the farm... can he score at the NHL level? uncertain, but he could bring some speed and energy at the least.

the great unknown is Neal and Czarnik... if Neal can somehow find his groove and Czarnik continues to show some finish, maybe Calgary isn't in horrible shape...

Glass half full for sure, but we can't turn back the clock, Calgary can only move forward.

[Buff]

This is our first year of contending. How good are we? We're good, but we're young with not much playoff experience. Why sell all of our good picks and prospects for players who may or may not help us this year?

Why don't we trust this team that has us in 2nd place overall and find out what we have and what we need for playoff success? Once we're in the playoffs, Treliving will have a better idea on how ready some of the younger players are and make adjustments in the off season when trade prices aren't as high.

If we keep remaining a top contender then we start making more deadline deals.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Five-hole

SJ has traded a LOT of futures. In the next three years, they could have only one 2nd round pick and one 3rd round pick in the first three rounds. Karlsson, Nyquist, Pavelski and Thornton are all UFAs. Their window is slamming shut.

TBL has a huge cap crunch coming up. Point is RFA this year. Gourde's extension kicks in next year and he costs $4M more. Vasilevskiy and Sergachev are up for new deals at the end of next season. Four of their top 7 D are UFAs. They'll still be a great team for a long time but not this dominant.

Conversely almost all of the Flames' core is under 25 and cost-controlled. We have no 2nd this year but have most of our top picks in the next three years. We have great young D. The only risk is Gio will eventually start to look his age, but there's no signs of that yet.

This was not the year to sell the farm.

And you could make the argument that all of your conference rivals loading up is even more of a reason for why you shouldn't go crazy and jump into that.

Nashville, San Jose, Winnipeg, and Vegas all appeared to be more desperate than the Flames were today. Let them mortgage the future for this season.

Only one team wins the cup and history shows that spending at the trade deadline has no real bearing on who succeeds come playoff time. This is just the opening of our window, not the last shot (like it may be for San Jose and Columbus).

[Imported_Aussie]

Originally Posted by MisterJoji

Well I’m pleasantly pleased with today for a few reasons:

1.) Very rarely does the team who makes a huge deadline acquisition do damage in the playoffs. It’s usually the depth pickups (Fantenberg).

B.) Losing a cost controlled, likely future top 2 defenseman for what is now an overpaid winger who’s contract ends at 35 would be asinine.

III.) Getting Mark Stone would all but assure losing Matthew Tkachuk who is younger with a higher ceiling. Sorry guys, no one is talking Neal’s contract to free up cap room.

Four.) As for the aforementioned Neal, if he can turn it up down the home stretch/playoffs we’ve just acquired a deadline acquisition for zero assets. Even Czarnik has been ramping up lately.

Yep, I think Tre was pretty much perfect today.

I agree, and it is kind of splitting hairs to find faults.
Is a 4th too much for Fantenberg, when Kislevich and Beaulieu went for 6th and 7th respectively - maybe slightly, but a 4th vs 5/6 round is marginal and if that's the cost of your guy, so be it.

Considering the crazy prices for top 6 talent, involving Valimaki/Andersson level prospects, you then have to move to the next bracket. Treliving made the call that an extra D is worth more than adding to the 3rd line (Brassard, Johansson level player). I would have liked an extra forward, but this is more a vote of confidence in Czarnik and Neal coming back from injury

At the end of the day, this team is playing well, #2 in the league and #1 in the conference. Not a good chance that a rental makes enough of a shift to warrant what was paid.

[Duffalufagus]

Originally Posted by Savvy27

Some thoughts on Flames standing (mostly) pat:

1. Even if the Flames had a package that would have landed Stone, the $9.5 per year simply does not fit in with their salary structure. It is going to be difficult enough to sign Tkachuk to anything close to the Giordano/Gaudreau internal cap number, but that goes right out the window if they agree to those terms with Stone.

2. Fantenberg does not make a ton of sense to me as an addition. It's not like he has a ton of playoff experience for the other guys to rely on, he's merely older. A distant 4th isn't really worth complaining about, but the deal seems a little wasteful when Valimaki and Stone are set to return.

3. Treliving has a lot more patience than I do and hopefully it pans out. It is a little disappointing to miss out on the excitement of a big addition on trade deadline day, but the fact of the matter is that the teams in the West are making these moves to compete with the Flames, who are currently the best of the bunch. It's not like the Flames are in a poor position now. They have a decent schedule remaining with lots of home games and by holding on to their picks and young players, they are going to have all of Valimaki, Andersson, Kylington, Dube, Czarnik, and Mangiapane to look forward to in the near future instead of trying to plug holes with low end UFAs.

4. Team chemistry: I'll grant that it is common for teams to say that the locker room is close and guys care about each other, but I do believe it when it comes to this group. A lot of them have been able to grow together to become a top team in the league and the new additions like Hanifin and Lindholm have fit in seamlessly and are playing the best hockey of their career. Bringing in another high profile player carries at least some risk of disrupting a really good situation. We heard Peters telling the media the other day that he is happy with the roster as is and thinks they can get to another level.

5. This is going to be a hell of a playoffs. Calgary has an excellent team, but question marks in goal, not a lot of toughness, and a lack of playoff experience. I am incredibly excited to see how Peters manages to prepare them for the battles to come. Other teams in the division and conference sure seem to have closed the gap with the moves today. However, I cannot imagine that there are any teams out there looking forward to matching up with Calgary either.

Great post and agree with everything except the bolded. Stone is on a different level than Tkachuk (at least right now). It is not like Tkachuk could have said "you paid Stone this much so that is what I should get".

[keenan87]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I absolutely love what Tre did today which was not mortgaging the future while our Western competitors stocked up for a SC they can't win. TB is winning the Cup and if by some fluke they don't the Bruins will. Whomever comes out of the West is not winning the SC this year so nice to see teams killing their future for nothing and Vegas overpaying Mark Stone on an 8 year deal. Well done Brad!

How about $100 bet that Tampa nor Boston will win the cup. Such a ####ty mentality you have.. why even watch sports or the rest of the season?

[Johnhitbox]

Originally Posted by keenan87

How about $100 bet that Tampa nor Boston will win the cup. Such a ####ty mentality you have.. why even watch sports or the rest of the season?

That's a little harsh

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by CGY12

Where are you getting this info? I haven't seen anything regarding Nyquist not wanting to come Calgary.

I didn't say anything about him not wanting to come to Calgary. It was reported yesterday that he was very interested in playing in SJ, and has a connection with Erik Karlsson. Who knows if he would have waived to come to Calgary, but reports seemed pretty unanimous that he was most eager to be in SJ.

Point remains. The Flames needed to upgrade the 2nd line RW position to have a legit chance at a long run in the playoffs, IMO . If it was because they didn't want to lose a late 1st round pick for a guy who was a UFA at the end of the season, that's a fail.

They are the second highest scoring team in the NHL, and boast one of the youngest cores. They didn't really "need" to upgrade anything. An upgrade would have been nice, but not at all costs. And as mentioned a few times already the biggest deals made on TD Day are very seldom the ones that make the biggest difference in the playoffs. Last year Tampa mad a massive deal for Ryan McDonnaugh, and they were beaten by the Washington Capitals, who made a minor deal for Michal Kempny.

I would say the only time teams should be scolded for their failures to make big deals on this day are the occasions when they need to: Ottawa HAD to make big deals today; Columbus likewise HAD to make a big push. The Flames did not.

The city and fan base has been stuck supporting a franchise whos won 4 playoff series in the last 30 years. Its not like we've been spoiled with success. I think if anything this tells me management doesn't think they are true cup contender this year and probably thinks the young guys need another year of playoff experience before they are willing to trade any significant assets to go on a cup run.

I think this is pretty spot-on.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Bunk

The one deal I really wish the Flames were in on was Granlund. For Fiala, that seems like a bit of a steal.

That would have been a nice upgrade.

It sounded like Fenton is really high on Fiala, so that was probably the only deal the Wild were looking for.

[keenan87]

Originally Posted by Johnhitbox

That's a little harsh

Not really. So many posters on here are handing Tampa Bay the cup alteady. How do you even enjoy watching the Flames win...thinking its all for nothing because the Lightning are going to win the game. Are you watching the game to watch players pad their stats? Not really sure.

How often does the President's trophy winner win the cup?

[Brick]

I am okay with today's outcome. Valimaki would have been a deal breaker for me.

Let's see how this team does in the playoffs this year. Weaknesses can be addressed better in the offseason.