[News] Flames recall Nakladal. Raymond assigned to Stockton. Flames activate Ferland.

[GioforPM]

Treliving specifically said he was a depth signing with perhaps some upside.

[868904]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

I really wanted one of Smid or Engelland traded traded before, now I really, REALLY want one of them traded.

In fact, trade Russell too for good measure, and get Wotherspoon, Kulak or Kylington up here too.

I'm with you in wanting Russell gone. I want Wideman gone too. I'm okay with Smid and Engelland though.

But I would rather Kulak and Kylington stay in the AHL and develop. No point bringing them up and ruining them.

As for Wotherspoon, they should jettison the vets and see what he can do at the NHL level. THey have to make a decision soon as his waiver status is coming due.

[PeteMoss]

This guy is 7 months younger than Russell and 1.5 years younger than Smid. I get the whole new shiny toy thing. But he's old. Born in the same year as Bollig.

He's a depth guy. Maybe he can be a cheap #6, but there is no reason to go wild over the guy not getting shot.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Was there any actual point to signing Nakladal if that's how you're gonna operate? Might as well have signed another Aaron Johnson to an AHL deal. So frustrating especially as you see teams like the Blackhawks gift guys like Panarin and Trevor Van Riemsdyk minutes to see what they have. Panarin didn't sign with us for this very reason.

The Flames have been remarkably healthy this season, especially on the blue line.

Gio and Hamilton have played every game. Wideman played every game until his suspension. Engelland has been healthy all season and has only been scratched to give Smid some playing time. Russell missed 3 games in early December and Brodie missed 9 to start the season, which allowed Kulak to start the season in Calgary.

When your second most injured defenceman has missed 9 games and you're about to play your 50th game of the season, you've had a pretty good season, injury wise.

All it would have taken is one or two key injuries at the wrong time and Nakladal could have easily played half the season in Calgary. There's 32 games left in the season after tonight, he could still play a lot of those games.


Signing Nakladal got them a veteran player on an ELC. He doesn't have to clear waivers and gets paid a lower salary in the AHL.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

This guy is 7 months younger than Russell and 1.5 years younger than Smid. I get the whole new shiny toy thing. But he's old. Born in the same year as Bollig.

He's a depth guy. Maybe he can be a cheap #6, but there is no reason to go wild over the guy not getting shot.

I don't think anyone is saying he could be a core player for the team. The fact is that Russell is going to be UFA and in the event he's not on the team next season they will need to fill his position and they would probably be better served to see what this guy can do in a lost season like this rather than waiting until next season where they will likely have expectations of improvement and possibly playoffs. This season got derailed early in part due to a bad goaltending experiment so we may as well get some more experiments out of the way this season rather than next.

[agulati]

If Smid and Engelland continue playing solidly, there is little reason to break up the pairings. If one of them has a few bad starts, or there are fatigue issues it is a different thing.

We are talking about a 28 year old player who was signed for depth with some potential, not a blue chip prospect. It also comes up to always earned never given. If Smid and England continue having solid outings, why switch them out? Does that not go against the flames slogan?

[getbak]

The Flames basically play every other night from here until the end of the season (with a few back-to-backs, and a few two-day breaks -- usually just before or right after a back-to-back). Nakladal should get his chances.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by agulati

If Smid and Engelland continue playing solidly, there is little reason to break up the pairings.

Agree. The team played great last game and there's no reason to mess with the lineup. That said I have noticed that Hartley has a pattern in that when the team has bad nights he will typically rotate one or two of Jooris, Bollig, Raymond, Engelland, Smid in or out of the lineup regardless of how well they played as he's designated them as his rotational guys who he uses to change things up after losses/bad games. We have seen Smid and Engelland scratched after having pretty decent games only because the rest of the team stunk. So if the Flames have a few stinkers and Smid and Engelland stay in the lineup I would say there's zero chances of any young defender playing for the team this season outside of absolute necessity.