POLL REQUEST - Which Legit Top 6 Forward Do You THINK The Flames Will Acquire?

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Drunk Uncle

Galchenyuk is my vote. I don't think they land any big FA.

I do like Galchenyuk a lot, but not sure Flames need another LH shot C who can't play C.

[Drunk Uncle]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

I do like Galchenyuk a lot, but not sure Flames need another LH shot C who can't play C.

He has played RW in the past and much like Bennett it's debatable whether he is a C or W. I agree a right shot would be ideal, but i would choose Galchenyuk over a guy like Coyle even though Coyle is a right shot RW if i was presented with that option. For me the need for skill trumps the need for a right shot and i think Galchenyuk will be the best skill available to the Flames for the most reasonable price.

It also works out that MTL needs a partner for Webber and i think that Brodie can fill that need.

[GoJetsGo]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Thats why I think Vancouver can make a big splash in one of the two top player available this year. They have the location, they have a decent young core of player for someone to lead.

They have a few attractive young pieces... at forward.

They have no defense and no goaltending, and next to nothing impactful in the pipe for those positions. That is why they're in for years of pain to come.

No way Tavares goes from a perpetual losing team like the Isles to another one just entering that groove on the hope it may turn around in a few years.

On Karlsson's side, why would he go from a tire fire in Ottawa where it's all on his shoulders (under a microscope in a harsh Canadian city) to another one?

Both of those acquisitions couldn't be any less likely.

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

Okay, "some" may have been pushing it. But I wouldn't be surprised if one of them did go for it. Hudler was 28 years old, coming off a 50 point season, and signed a 4 year deal with the Flames. Frolik (27) and Brouwer (31) also signed 4 year deals. Last year Shattenkirk (28) signed a 4 year deal.

Sure, Perron, JVR, Neal and Bozak may have more demand than Hudler, Frolik, or Brouwer did. They're also a bit older. But Neal hasn't had more than had 45 points since the 15-16 season. He might not get as much term as people expect. Bozak may not get more than 4 years either. For some reason I don't see him getting a king's ransom.

I agree with you on your approach and I would rather go for an UFA this off season than make a trade (other than a pure hockey trade player for player). Not only are the Flames short on picks and prospects and have a lot of cap this off season I would anticipate that after a few years of a fairly flat cap that we could finally see major growth in the cap over the next 3-4 years

Sign JVR for 6 years @ $6.5 seems like a bit much but the cap could hit 82 this summer. It looks bad if compared to existing Flames contracts but that is why the Flames could afford this deal as existing Flames contracts may be as good as any team in the league right now. Gaudreau 4 more years @ $6.75 is one of the best deals for non ELC's in the NHL.

Or

Trade a first again plus guys like Fox or Anderson or Gillies to get Hoffman? You save 1.3 or so vs the cap for 2 years. But what does Hoffman deal look like in 2 years. 5% increase in the cap for 2 years could push the cap to 90 mil. Now you need to resign Hoffman but his new deal might be 5 years at $7-8 mil. Now JVR's deal or similar type player doesn't look so bad

Most UFA deals look bad the first couple years than as new players sign under a higher cap the contracts 2 years ago look great now

[Otto-matic]

I think the Flames will Fail to acquire a legit top 6 forward this summer. I have a feeling we'll end with a few off the map signings.

Wouldn't surprise me to see Staj back on a cheap contract .

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

I think the Flames will Fail to acquire a legit top 6 forward this summer. I have a feeling we'll end with a few off the map signings.

Wouldn't surprise me to see Staj back on a cheap contract .

I wouldn’t be shocked. Treliving won’t make a trade for the sake of making one. Considering the Flames are putting Dmen on the table those chips are typically much more valuable than wingers. Outside of Tavares there really aren’t any solid free agent options at forward. JVR is going to cost too much and I do not see him picking western Canada unless it is the most money.

Stajan hopefully is done as a Flame. Derek Ryan probably replaces him

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

I wouldn’t be shocked. Treliving won’t make a trade for the sake of making one. Considering the Flames are putting Dmen on the table those chips are typically much more valuable than wingers. Outside of Tavares there really aren’t any solid free agent options at forward. JVR is going to cost too much and I do not see him picking western Canada unless it is the most money.

Stajan hopefully is done as a Flame. Derek Ryan probably replaces him

Huge mistakes are made on July 1. Including by Treliving, who, to his credit, seems to learn from mistakes. Unless you can hit a home run, UFAs are a waste of money. You always end up buying high, and each and every UFA is a guy passed on by the team that knows him best (at least, at the price he will accept).

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Huge mistakes are made on July 1. Including by Treliving, who, to his credit, seems to learn from mistakes. Unless you can hit a home run, UFAs are a waste of money. You always end up buying high, and each and every UFA is a guy passed on by the team that knows him best (at least, at the price he will accept).

You are right there. I don’t see the Flames doing much in free agency unless they can get in on Tavares which is unlikely. I do think trade is the way they go but I don’t think Treliving will move one of his top 4 unless he is very happy with the return. Without picks one of those top 4 Dmen on the team make the most sense to move and I would further narrow that down to Brodie or Hamilton

Treliving has had more misses than hits with free agency. Engelland, Frolik, Johnson,

Raymond and Brouwer represent his biggest misses.

Hiller was good year one and awful year two.

There were guys that didn’t work out but also didn’t hurt the team in Jagr, Glass, Grossman, etc.

[stang]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Huge mistakes are made on July 1. Including by Treliving, who, to his credit, seems to learn from mistakes. Unless you can hit a home run, UFAs are a waste of money. You always end up buying high, and each and every UFA is a guy passed on by the team that knows him best (at least, at the price he will accept).

This is a weird way to look at it IMO. UFA don't have an a cost attached. Only money, no picks or players in return.

And the team trading is giving up on the player they are trading as well.

On top of that if JT goes UFA I don't think you can say the team gave up on him. I'd bet he could write his own contract there. Sometimes its not up to the team when a player moves on.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by stang

This is a weird way to look at it IMO. UFA don't have an a cost attached. Only money, no picks or players in return.

And the team trading is giving up on the player they are trading as well.

On top of that if JT goes UFA I don't think you can say the team gave up on him. I'd bet he could write his own contract there. Sometimes its not up to the team when a player moves on.

When I say cost I mean the contract they are signing. For example, Lucic is costing your team a lot.

Teams that do trades are getting something in return. Teams that don't re-sign a player are saying "he's not worth what he's asking". In rare cases they can't afford it, but the cases where they'd be willing to pay the asking price but the player wants to move on are pretty rare. Maybe JT is an exception, and I'd probably make an exception for signing him too, but even with the big contacts, good UFA signings are rare. In fact, it's the low level ones that work more often.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Stay the course. How will Ferland get better if he's knocked off of the top 6? How will prospects Foo and Mangiapane be able to prove themselves worthy of a top 9 spot if they never get the chance to?

I liked what I saw from Foo with his brief stint. I'd like to give him a shot before we really try to push for a player. Additionally, I think that we need to give this roster one last chance under a new coach with better AC's. I have a feeling if we pay for another player, we are going to be underwhelmed by his performance.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

Stay the course. How will Ferland get better if he's knocked off of the top 6? How will prospects Foo and Mangiapane be able to prove themselves worthy of a top 9 spot if they never get the chance to?

I liked what I saw from Foo with his brief stint. I'd like to give him a shot before we really try to push for a player. Additionally, I think that we need to give this roster one last chance under a new coach with better AC's. I have a feeling if we pay for another player, we are going to be underwhelmed by his performance.

I don’t see anything different from Foo that we didn’t see from Shinkaruk in 2016. I think one of the reasons the Flames failed last year is because Treliving banked on his prospects being better but he pivoted quickly to sign Jagr when it was clear he was wrong.

Treliving hired a meaner version of the last coach. A coach who had his team firmly on the treadmill of mediocrity for the last 4 years. I don’t think we can piss away another season of Gaudreaus deal by hoping our prospects pan out. This team needs scoring and has only 3-4 true top 6 forwards. Cutting loose guys like Stajan, Brouwer, Versteeg, Hathaway can make room for younger guys like Mangipane, Foo, Klimchuk. This team desperately needs to add a top 6 forward that can produce on the powerplay

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

Stay the course. How will Ferland get better if he's knocked off of the top 6? How will prospects Foo and Mangiapane be able to prove themselves worthy of a top 9 spot if they never get the chance to?

I liked what I saw from Foo with his brief stint. I'd like to give him a shot before we really try to push for a player. Additionally, I think that we need to give this roster one last chance under a new coach with better AC's. I have a feeling if we pay for another player, we are going to be underwhelmed by his performance.

Well, thing is the Flames don't believe they'll be staying the course. Treliving was adamant that the changes will not stop at just the coach. Has said a couple of times that there's some players that do not fit the mold of the team he wants on the ice. Think of that what you will.

But all indications are that there will be a significant change on the roster. Who that is or how many changes that entails remains to be seen.

And I'm of the opinion that you will not win a cup if Ferland is on a top line.

[bigrangy]

Originally Posted by dammage79

And I'm of the opinion that you will not win a cup if Ferland is on a top line.

The caps literally just won with Tom Wilson on their top line, who's never been as impactful or successful as Ferland was this year.

The Flames definitely need another play driving top 6 option but Ferland is absolutely good enough to fit in a championship top 9.

[steveo]

I'm going with Tavares. I wanna see some tattooing go down.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by bigrangy

The caps literally just won with Tom Wilson on their top line, who's never been as impactful or successful as Ferland was this year.

The Flames definitely need another play driving top 6 option but Ferland is absolutely good enough to fit in a championship top 9.

a bit unfair to Wilson imo...

the guy has a lot of upside; the Capitals didn't draft him 16th overall because they saw him only as a face puncher.

I like Ferland as much as anyone, but he needs to be more consist to stay on the top line... Wilson brings a lot of other things that Ferland no longer does as much.

BT's pc implied he was going to add to the forwards, so guys better be prepared to compete... and produce

[1qqaaz]

I wonder how much the Flames would have to add to Brodie to get Nylander.

The Flames need top 6 skill and that's exactly what Nylander is.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

I wonder how much the Flames would have to add to Brodie to get Nylander.

The Flames need top 6 skill and that's exactly what Nylander is.

I think the Flames would have to trade Hamilton to get Nylander. I can’t see them taking a 28 year old coming off a couple of subpar years as the centerpiece for a trade of their 22 year old C/RW with back to back 60pt seasons

[Harry Lime]

I don't think that the Leafs are interested in selling Nylander or Marner. And Toronto hype machine aside, they are both a step down from the talents of Gaudreau and Monahan, so wouldn't be worth a Hamilton.

The only trade that I could see benefiting both teams would be Kapanen for Stone.

[dammage79]

Would love the Flames to get Kapanen. Near the very tippy top of my wishlist of Flames acquisitions.