Who do you HOPE Seattle takes in the expansion draft.

[MrMike]

Originally Posted by UKflames

Am I correct in thinking that Backlund has a NTC, rather than a NMC, which is why he can be exposed?

In answer to the question, I would lose Gio.

You are correct.

[Canada 02]

It would be crazy to lose your captain and Norris winner for free. If Tre does not plan on protecting Gio, he should be traded at the deadline.
With or without salary retention, he is easily worth a 1st or more

[Imported_Aussie]

I hope they take Tanev. Of the guys on higher contracts who are aging, his deal is an injury risk and he has less connection to the team. As a fan, I would not want to lose Giordano or Backlund, and with players with value to pick from, they aren't taking a UFA like Ryan.

[blender]

Everyone carrying on about wanting to see Giordano or Backlund gone is out to lunch.
Take either one of those players off the roster without replacing them and the Flames are significantly worse. That's the 1D and 2C on the roster.

Expansion is a year away, so some growth/improvement from certain players (Dube, Hanafin) could make the loss of Gio or Backlund more palatable.

The notion that either of those players is on a bad contract is also untrue. I'd say Bennett's deal is less value for what he brings. In fact as much as I like Bennett if he hasn't improved significantly in a year you expose him and carry on.

[Funkhouser]

Gio is still a top pairing D, and is likely to remain a top 4 D for the next 3-4 years.
He will likely re-sign in a capacity that gives the Flames maximum cap flexibility.

Why would you let a top 4 D with cap flexibility walk?
Because he is old? That seems narrow-minded.

The young, potentially top 4 D that you keep in his place may not be as good nor stay for 3-4 years...Why throw away a good thing for a maybe?

[ForeverFlameFan]

Depending on how well we do in the upcoming season, I could see Treliving paying a pretty penny for Seattle to just pick Ryan. Can you pay them a 2021 1st to pick a UFA (Ryan) or does it have to be a player with a contract?

[FlamesFanTrev]

If seattle watched how Vegas went about their expansion draft and the success they had, I would guess that they are open to taking a good prospect and a pick. See how the vets play this year, and if you like the group, make a package offer. Next year seattle gets the double advantage of loading up on packages and being able to relieve teams cap concerns in a flat cap market; they can make out like bandits if they are wise enough to plan on having a long term view. If so, they will be interested in acquiring value contracts to maximize that advantage. I think it will likely be a package offer, and the flames take 2 runs with most of this group.

[wired]

Gio.

[Yrebmi]

We've only seen such a tiny amount of games played by these guys in the last 8 months. I have no friggin idea who to hope goes. Man I miss hockey.

[Leeman4Gilmour]

Rittich. I know he'll be UFA. But, gives him the opportunity to get out from behind Markstrom and opens the door for, hopefully, Parsons.

Giordano has a Chelios/Chara vibe. He's going to be good until the end of this contract and maybe a year or two after.

[CliffFletcher]

I’m shocked at how many people would expose Backlund over Bennet. Does 8 or 10 good games in the playoffs really count for more than a couple hundred games in the last three seasons where Backlund has easily been the better player?

Backlund is 31. He’s a good skater. His game isn’t going to fall off a cliff any time soon.

[Lil Pedro]

Really hope Seattle takes Bennett

[BigErnSalute_16]

Just strictly because of age I hope the Flames expose Backlund and Giordano and I hope Seattle takes Gio. But I can't see them doing that at his age so I think Backlund will be gone.

All this is assuming Bennett actually shows something which I am expecting him to. If he gets the whole year at centre with Lucic and Dube or better and only manages 25 points still then I guess he'd be the odd man out but maybe that would end up working in our favour.

Because then the Flames could keep Backlund, expose Bennett who they might not even want if he doesn't produce and are then forced to take Tanev or Giordano and we get out of a potentially risky contract.

[CSharp]

This is a no brainer on who to protect or not between the following forwards:

Backlund, Dube, Mangipane, Bennett

Unfortunately, if any of the 3 are not protected, it's not going to be Bennet who'll picked up.

It's unfortunate Gio's age has caught up to him and the Flames have wasted so many talent over the years. I'd rather see him go to a real Cup contender via a trade than to see him get picked up by the Krakens.

[codynw]

Tanev

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by Funkhouser

Gio is still a top pairing D, and is likely to remain a top 4 D for the next 3-4 years.
He will likely re-sign in a capacity that gives the Flames maximum cap flexibility.

Why would you let a top 4 D with cap flexibility walk?
Because he is old? That seems narrow-minded.

The young, potentially top 4 D that you keep in his place may not be as good nor stay for 3-4 years...Why throw away a good thing for a maybe?

No because he has been a disaster leading our teams into the playoffs. Hence the ZERO playoff series win.

[CalgaryFan1988]

Originally Posted by CSharp

This is a no brainer on who to protect or not between the following forwards:

Backlund, Dube, Mangipane, Bennett

Unfortunately, if any of the 3 are not protected, it's not going to be Bennet who'll picked up.

It's unfortunate Gio's age has caught up to him and the Flames have wasted so many talent over the years. I'd rather see him go to a real Cup contender via a trade than to see him get picked up by the Krakens.

Why is it unfortunate that Bennett won't get picked up?

We don't even know what Bennett's salary will be at that point.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

It would be crazy to lose your captain and Norris winner for free. If Tre does not plan on protecting Gio, he should be traded at the deadline.
With or without salary retention, he is easily worth a 1st or more

Assuming it's based on last years number, who in the hell would give up a 1st rounder for him?? Even Dim Benning wouldn't do that.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

Assuming it's based on last years number, who in the hell would give up a 1st rounder for him?? Even Dim Benning wouldn't do that.

It seems pretty naive to think that a player's most recent season is the only factor of consideration in a trade. This is a silly assumption. I doubt Giordano will ever again have a campaign as good as his Norris trophy season. But I am equally as confident that he will be better than he was last year.

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[Pellanor]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I’m shocked at how many people would expose Backlund over Bennet. Does 8 or 10 good games in the playoffs really count for more than a couple hundred games in the last three seasons where Backlund has easily been the better player?

Backlund is 31. He’s a good skater. His game isn’t going to fall off a cliff any time soon.

This is who we hope they take a year from now, not today. I hope that Bennet has a full season with better line mates, takes that next step or two forward, and forces the team to protect him. I love Backlund, but I would love even more if Bennet stole his spot.

I will be very sad if Bennet ends up having another mediocre season and gets exposed, even if that is a more realistic case.