Fan 960: Gaudreau 12:30PM MT. Treliving 1:00 PM MT

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by T@T

Did they shrink the players for the WC's? Maybe they did it for Gaudreau.

Seriously, Gaudreau doesn't avoid traffic on the ice...EVER, he actually loves the traffic areas because he loves to make people look stupid with his quick feet and stick...that is his game, you could make the ice surfice 100x40 and he would love it. and he's like David... the bigger the better.

A million videos of his work out there and people still don't get it.

While I agree with all of this post, I think the point is, the size of players becomes more of a factor on the smaller Nhl ice. No concerns in regards to Gaudreau based on that I've seen, but the big bodies are harder to skate around in the NHL game and on the smaller ice.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Monahan 2 pts in 7 games, although received limited ice time initially
Gaudreau 10 pts in 7 games with arguably a weaker and less experienced team.

If Monahan's play warranted staying on the Flames roster out of camp, then unless there's a large, unforeseen regression on Johnny's part (which, let's face it, won't be likely) then regardless of how Treliving wants to put it, he's going to be and should be on the team. AHL time would just be postponing the inevitable. I fully expect him to play his way on the team, and then some.

The Flames do have more options with Gaudreau than they did with Monahan. Monahan was NHL or CHL and if it was the CHL there was no way to recall until Ottawa was out. Gaudreau can move freely which doesn't paint the Flames into a corner. IF he plays his way onto the team then it really doesn't matter, but if he needs a bit of seasoning in the AHL the option is there.

[CaptainCrunch]

Sure but he's played on NHL sized ice for his whole career, There will be an adjustment period, but from what I saw in the game against the Canucks last year, the guy makes his own space with his agility, he got tagged once, he wasn't getting pinned on the board, he was moving into puck battles and getting the puck.

I think his size issues are being exaggerated a bit. Because people are looking for reasons why he should fail.

bigger guys are going to have trouble tracking him down, because they're not as good on their edges and they don't have the same kind of foot speed in a closet.

I'm not saying the kid is the next Gretzky or anything like that. But his size isn't bothering me all that much.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

If they want him passing to McDavid or Eichel in the future, then they may need to park him in the AHL for a season.

People said this nonsense about Monahan last year; 'keeping him up hurts our draft chances' etc. We're picking 4th. The Flames 100% would never do that.

[Yrebmi]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

If they want him passing to McDavid or Eichel in the future, then they may need to park him in the AHL for a season.

Yuck.
Holding back our best players for a higher pick 100%=tanking.
I sincerely hope we never do that.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by Yrebmi

Yuck.
Holding back our best players for a higher pick 100%=tanking.
I sincerely hope we never do that.

Oh yeah, I completely agree. I would HATE it if they actually did that. I was just trying to make a joke...

As in, the only way I see him not making the team is if we intentionally are tanking (which thankfully the Flames would never do).

[ForeverFlameFan]

I have completely forgotten about McDavid and Eichel.

I'd rather us try and make the playoffs next year with Sean and Johnny.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by codynw

Yep, people keep suggesting trading Hudler and I couldn't disagree more. Sure, he would probably bring back a pretty good return, but you can't trade every valuable veteran. Unless it's a huge overpayment, Hudler should be kept around.

I agree that Hudler will be a great asset to keep on the team going forward but he is also one of the few veteran assets that we can trade away and get a good return.

As someone who recently suggested such a trade: When Tallon suggests that he "needs help now" on his team, do we really have any other assets that could be dealt? To me, comments such as the ones on the first page of this thread are the kind of thing that would hopefully increase Hudler's value to a GM such as Tallon who has a lot of young talent that Hudler could help improve.

If trading Hudler gets us Ekblad... anything less than Ekblad and I would really question the value of trading our top point producer when we are already losing our top scorer to free agency.

As a secondary "benefit" trading Hudler would definitely help the Flames get a step closer to McDavid.

Love the Gaudreau interview.

[Poe969]

Hudler is one if iur best players and he's good for the young guys but that can be replaced. If we could manage a deal with the panthers involving Hudler + not our first for the first overall, I would be more than happy. It wouldn't be worth Hudler + our first just to move up though. I like Hudler a lot but will he be around when we are good and we it him as a UFA, we can get other guys like him trough free agency.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

If they want him passing to McDavid or Eichel in the future, then they may need to park him in the AHL for a season.

you would make a good Oilers fan

[Hackey]

I have no problem saying I'd rather have Mcdavid than playoffs next year. If we somehow did make playoffs which would be extremely unlikely we would likely get booted first round. Id rather see Mcdavid helping us compete for cups for the next ten years. People on here might be afraid to admit that as well because of the backlash they'll receive but most people I talk to in real life feel the same way. Either way I'm sure Flames are picking top 5 next year whether we like it or not.

[stemit14]

I agree with keeping hudler I think... But how does anyone here feel about trading him to get a pick like say Virtanen or fleury? I can't decide if that would be worth it.

[jg13]

Originally Posted by stemit14

I agree with keeping hudler I think... But how does anyone here feel about trading him to get a pick like say Virtanen or fleury? I can't decide if that would be worth it.

No way we can trade Hudler for a top 10 pick.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by stemit14

I agree with keeping hudler I think... But how does anyone here feel about trading him to get a pick like say Virtanen or fleury? I can't decide if that would be worth it.

Hudler is a good player and teammate but he won't get you a top 10 pick at the draft by himself. It would need to be a package with other players/picks.

Think I would rather keep him, seems to be well liked and respected.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by T@T

Green text?

No, if you're not a good skater, international ice is not for you and there are a lot of players in the NHL that aren't great skaters but can get by in the NHL by using their size and smarts. Smaller players are at less of a disadvantage on the big ice as there is less hitting and there is more room for play making. I'm not saying this is going to affect Gaudreau but looking at the World Championship and the NHL as equal comparables is not right.

[Hackey]

Originally Posted by stemit14

I agree with keeping hudler I think... But how does anyone here feel about trading him to get a pick like say Virtanen or fleury? I can't decide if that would be worth it.

That is a no brainer. You pull the trigger on that as fast as you can.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by Hackey

I have no problem saying I'd rather have Mcdavid than playoffs next year. If we somehow did make playoffs which would be extremely unlikely we would likely get booted first round. Id rather see Mcdavid helping us compete for cups for the next ten years. People on here might be afraid to admit that as well because of the backlash they'll receive but most people I talk to in real life feel the same way. Either way I'm sure Flames are picking top 5 next year whether we like it or not.

If we made the playoffs it would likely mean that our young players and prospects have taken huge jumps in their progression to the point of being very good/elite player.

I'll take playoffs and unreal player development over a chance at McDavid.

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by T@T

Hudler is a good player and teammate but he won't get you a top 10 pick at the draft by himself. It would need to be a package with other players/picks.

Think I would rather keep him, seems to be well liked and respected.

What about Hudler at half salary? 54 point player at $2M is hard to pass up for a cash strapped team like the Panthers (or any team for that matter).

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

I have completely forgotten about McDavid and Eichel.

I'd rather us try and make the playoffs next year with Sean and Johnny.

I'm looking at the footage of McDavid and Eichel and I don't see anything spectacular from Eichel. What am I missing?

Sure it's just a few youtube videos, but I feel like McDavid's heads up play is far superior to Eichel's. I can see McDavid for instance looking into the net for some of his shots at top shelf and whatnot. Most of what I saw of Eichel he looks like he's staring at the goalie and shooting where the goalie/players aren't. That being said, maybe I'm being too harsh as most typical NHL players are like Eichel and Gaudreau is a completely different monster.

Feel free to say I'm full of crap, but if making a comparison, McDavid is like a Gaudreau style (less developed) and Eichel I'm not sure what comparison to make? Both probably would succeed, but I could see McDavid learning "tricks" from Gaudreau and actually pulling them off in game, not something I could see Eichel pulling off on a consistent basis.

I concur, focus on Sean and Johnny. McDavid would be awesome, but what are the odds?

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Wolven

What about Hudler at half salary? 54 point player at $2M is hard to pass up for a cash strapped team like the Panthers (or any team for that matter).

You want to ship out the guy who welcomed Gaudreau to Calgary for dirt cheap soon after he shows up? I can't believe that would be a nice impression. I think Hudler should be allowed to retire a Flame if he is willing to take half salary.

Shipping Hudler out for a solid chance at McDavid is one thing. For this draft? No thanks. He's more valuable as a mentor.