[Rumour] Flames Not Yet Done - More to Come? Possible D for F?

[Nelson]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

I dunno... 8 goals and 25 primary assists, no injury to explain the lack of scoring, 35 years old this season...


I feel like we can do better, even if it means waiting a few months into the season.

I think Kessel suffered from a down year in terms of shooting percentages. At all strengths, Kessel would’ve had 18 goals if he was shooting at his career average shooting percentage. He still took 175 shots, which was second only to Clayton Keller, who had 177. At 5v5, his individual expected goals was 11. He led the team in shots on goal at 129, but he shot 3.88% and got 5 goals instead.

This is still a player who gets a ton of shots off and has highly positive relative possession numbers.

Also, he had 52 points on that team.

[dammage79]

I'd prefer Kessel over someone like Milano but I'd really rather not have either. None of the winger FA's really appeal to me.

[Naitix]

Phil Kessel makes so much sense on a 1 year deal until Coronato replaces him next year. Also we probably have the worst RW depth from any contending team this year, it makes sense for Phill to cone here and score a bunch after last year.

[CGY12]

Probably an unpopular opinion but we need to give the young dmen a chance at some point. Adding Weegar is so significant I think you can move a dman to a team who may offer a top 6 forward. Hanifin fits that bill for me, young, good contract, didn't have the best showing vs the Oilers.

I still try and move Lucic, trade Hanifin out east (maybe to the leafs for Nylander), and if we need a dept dman at some point in the season you have the cap space to add. Having lived in Toronto for the last 10 years, he gets a bad rep even though he consistently shows he can play well in the playoffs and the Leafs may need a dman.

Huberdeau - Lindholm - Toffoli
Mangiapane - Kadri - Nylander
Dube - Backlund - Coleman


Weegar - Anderssen
Kylington - Tanev
Zadorov - Valamaki

[genetic_phreek]

Originally Posted by CGY12

Probably an unpopular opinion but we need to give the young dmen a chance at some point. Adding Weegar is so significant I think you can move a dman to a team who may offer a top 6 forward. Hanifin fits that bill for me, young, good contract, didn't have the best showing vs the Oilers.

I still try and move Lucic, trade Hanifin out east (maybe to the leafs for Nylander), and if we need a dept dman at some point in the season you have the cap space to add. Having lived in Toronto for the last 10 years, he gets a bad rep even though he consistently shows he can play well in the playoffs and the Leafs may need a dman.

Huberdeau - Lindholm - Toffoli
Mangiapane - Kadri - Nylander
Dube - Backlund - Coleman


Weegar - Anderssen
Kylington - Tanev
Zadorov - Valamaki

I like this a lot. Probably would reconfigure the d pairings differently but yeah, Nylander is intriguing. Would leafs be interested in adding another LHS dman is the real question.

I'd move Kylington up with Andersson, they played together in the A. Go Valimaki with Weegar then the defacto shutdown of Tanev and big Z. Or even swap out Z and Valimaki. I think Tanev is versatile enough with either.

Kylington - Andersson
Valimaki - Weegar
Zadorov - Tanev

[CGY12]

Originally Posted by genetic_phreek

I like this a lot. Probably would reconfigure the d pairings differently but yeah, Nylander is intriguing. Would leafs be interested in adding another LHS dman is the real question.

I'd move Kylington up with Andersson, they played together in the A. Go Valimaki with Weegar then the defacto shutdown of Tanev and big Z. Or even swap out Z and Valimaki. I think Tanev is versatile enough with either.

Kylington - Andersson
Valimaki - Weegar
Zadorov - Tanev

Not opposed to anything you said in terms of our D. My reasoning behind the pairings was Kylington had some great chemistry with Tanev and hes stable that he can make up for some of Kylingtons mistakes. Weegar has shown he can play the left side so he seems like a natural fit to me along Anderssen should Hanifin be bait. Valamaki being pretty mobile/agile seems like a decent experiment to me along side big Z on the right side.

From Torontos perspective, would Hanifins age and contract be to good to pass up (plus cap savings)? I recognize they have Reilly, Brodie and Muzzin, but IMO they still seem to lack on the back end. Brodie can play the right side with Reilly, would hanifin be a nice fit on pairing 2? Analyzing their defence I believe they only have 2 or 3 legit top 4 dmen. It would be intriguing but I think Nylander would flourish in our top 6.

[bax]

Originally Posted by CGY12

Probably an unpopular opinion but we need to give the young dmen a chance at some point. Adding Weegar is so significant I think you can move a dman to a team who may offer a top 6 forward. Hanifin fits that bill for me, young, good contract, didn't have the best showing vs the Oilers.

I still try and move Lucic, trade Hanifin out east (maybe to the leafs for Nylander), and if we need a dept dman at some point in the season you have the cap space to add. Having lived in Toronto for the last 10 years, he gets a bad rep even though he consistently shows he can play well in the playoffs and the Leafs may need a dman.

Huberdeau - Lindholm - Toffoli
Mangiapane - Kadri - Nylander
Dube - Backlund - Coleman


Weegar - Anderssen
Kylington - Tanev
Zadorov - Valamaki

Valimaki was playing 3rd pairing minutes in the AHL last season.

That defense is significantly worse and one injury away from desperation. Plus, it’s really not Sutter and Treliving’s MO to gift a roster spot to a prospect.

I really like Nylander too, but Hanifin is just finally putting it all together. He put up elite metrics last season for the first time. At 25 years old I think it would be really foolish to trade him. Especially foolish if it’s to gift Valimaki a spot.

[Rick M.]

Scorp has indicated that Valamaki’s mobility has been badly hurt since his knee injury. Is he even a future NHLer at this point?

[Vinny01]

When I watched the clip of Treliving on the national last night he once again made a comment that more was coming. I just wonder if it is a trade or signing?

[bax]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

Scorp has indicated that Valamaki’s mobility has been badly hurt since his knee injury. Is he even a future NHLer at this point?

We’ll see how he looks in camp this year, but if it’s the same story I have a hard time imagining him getting picked up on waivers even.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Where's Mackey in the mix? I thought he had bubbled to the top on the AHL roster and surpassed Valimaki? I'm actually surprised to see Valimaki on the Flames' depth chart. I thought he would have been used in trade this summer to bring in a forward for depth.

[VilleN]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

Where's Mackey in the mix? I thought he had bubbled to the top on the AHL roster and surpassed Valimaki? I'm actually surprised to see Valimaki on the Flames' depth chart. I thought he would have been used in trade this summer to bring in a forward for depth.

I don't think he's tradeable. He makes too much money for a guy who might not even be an NHLer.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by CGY12

Probably an unpopular opinion but we need to give the young dmen a chance at some point. Adding Weegar is so significant I think you can move a dman to a team who may offer a top 6 forward. Hanifin fits that bill for me, young, good contract, didn't have the best showing vs the Oilers.

I still try and move Lucic, trade Hanifin out east (maybe to the leafs for Nylander), and if we need a dept dman at some point in the season you have the cap space to add. Having lived in Toronto for the last 10 years, he gets a bad rep even though he consistently shows he can play well in the playoffs and the Leafs may need a dman.

Huberdeau - Lindholm - Toffoli
Mangiapane - Kadri - Nylander
Dube - Backlund - Coleman


Weegar - Anderssen
Kylington - Tanev
Zadorov - Valamaki

At seasons start the ages of "young" dmen will be:

Mackey 26
Hanifin 25
Valimaki 24

[Redrum]

Valimaki would need a pretty big resurgence just to catch back up to Mackey at this point, IMO. Though I think it has just as much to do with Mackey stepping up. Would've been given a good look on most teams last year.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Looking around the league for a RW that might be available and come cheap. Palmieri from the Islanders is a good fit. Plays the type of game that would work on the first line. Kapanen in Pittsburgh is also a guy that plays the right game. I wonder if Reilly Smith could be had in Vegas? Not a huge fan of either player, but Garland or Eberle could bring some finish. Still think we need one more RW to replace Tkachuk on the top line and these guys would be a good fit. The option I keep going back to though is Landphil Kessel. He's a finisher that was snake but last season, so might be worth a cheap contract as a gamble.

[transplant99]

What would Kessel provide that Toffoli doesnt?

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by transplant99

What would Kessel provide that Toffoli doesnt?

Speed

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Speed

Seems to me that speed on the right side of Lindholm is not much of a necessity for success.

You need a finisher in that spot....there is one in house already. One who also kills penalties and isnt 35 years old.

[Eric Vail]

I like the idea of the Flames trading one of their top four defensemen for a top six winger. I think MacKay has shown he is ready. They could also sign Stone to complete with him. Juuso Valimaki, Dennis Gilbert and Nik Meloche also have NHL games under their belts and could step up in the case of injury, or could even possibly take a step in their development. No one is being handed the #6 and #7 jobs. They are going to have to earn them.

1. Weegar
2. Tanev
3. Hanifan
4. Anderssen
5. Kylington
6. Zadorov
7. McKay
8. Meloche
9. Gilbert
10. Valamaki

Possibly add Stone?

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by transplant99

What would Kessel provide that Toffoli doesnt?

Scoring depth? Kessel is an additional entity. Another existential being.