2023/2024 Trade Rumors and Speculation Thread

[Jason14h]

Unless he doesn’t want to waive the Flames should take the best offer and move on - time to start fresh

[gvitaly]

I find this whole argument of cities like Calgary a bit weird.

The OP should define which cities he finds are like CGY. Is it EDM, WPG, and OTT? Do you include MIN(us-market), COL? Or are you looking into markets like ARI, CBJ, and BUF and drawing the comparison there?

I don't mind the argument that it's a lot more difficult for a market like CGY. That said 3 markets that I find similar to CGY are 2nd, 4th, and 6th in the the West in WPG, COL, and EDM. All 3 are contenders this year.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by Flames Fan, Ph.D.

This is all confirmation bias. How many other teams were or had bottomed out in an effort to turnaround their franchise while these teams were winning? Lots of them.

Someone has to win the cup every year, and with that you can make up any narrative you want to explain the theory. But it doesn’t make it a robust theory.

What an ironic post!

[Sylvanfan]

I doubt Colorado is on anyone's no trade list. It's a major Hub Airport that can get you anywhere in the U.S.

Don't see how it's remotely close to Calgary. Denver and Calgary as cities might have some commonality, but Denvers bigger, richer, and closer to a lot more things. Calgary is a lot more Winnipeg/ Edmonton than Colorado.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

We have been hearing this about Buffalo for a long time. Buffalos situation took 11 years and counting to get to this point. Ottawa is 6 years of pain to get here. I absolutely want to avoid what Buffalo went through here.

I also agree the fanbase would rather watch a promising young team lead by a potential risk future star as opposed to a team of average vets fight and claw to be in a wildcard race. I also know this fanbase turned on Sam Bennett before he was 23 years old. I am not sure I buy how patient this fanbase will be with a rebuild that doesn’t show immense promise fairly quickly.

This is a savvy Canadian market. Fair weather fans will support an 18th place team much the same as they’ll support a 27th place team.

We have a bare prospect cupboard, an unattractive market for free agents/no trade clauses, an aging and expensive core with basically zero upside, and a shiny new building on the horizon.

If ever there was a time to rebuild, it’s now.

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

What an ironic post!

Why irony?

I’m saying the null hypothesis applies here. I’m not the one putting forward some universal theory of winning. Somebody wins every year and you can try to find some post hoc grand unifying theory, but absent robust data it doesn’t mean squat.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

The reason teams are not pursuing Markstrom is the price is too steep and that won't change.

Conroy should recognize Markstrom is having a good season and maximize the return. Markstrom is a puck stopper, not a great goaltender, and puck stoppers can fall apart quickly, as we have seen. Get what you can, recoup the cap space, and move the rebuild/retool forward.

[Pekkerhead]

Since nothing is guaranteed by tanking for 5 plus years, I’d way rather have the Flames try to stay competitive and hope to get lucky with good picks or signings. Definitely trade the ufa’s for this year though.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

Conroy should recognize Markstrom is having a good season and maximize the return. Markstrom is a puck stopper, not a great goaltender, and puck stoppers can fall apart quickly, as we have seen. Get what you can, recoup the cap space, and move the rebuild/retool forward.

Yep my fear with how they’re handling Markstrom is being too greedy. If it’s a good offer of futures ie. a 1st is in there, you take it and run. Agree to retain salary to keep it unprotected.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by Flames Fan, Ph.D.

Why irony?

I’m saying the null hypothesis applies here. I’m not the one putting forward some universal theory of winning. Somebody wins every year and you can try to find some post hoc grand unifying theory, but absent robust data it doesn’t mean squat.

It's not a 'universal theory of winning', it's a theory of having a chance at winning. The only way to win a cup is with elite talent. The mechanisms to get elite talent in the NHL are: draft it, trade for it, or sign it as a UFA.

We've established that Calgary isn't a desirable UFA destination, and that's ok, because the truth is the UFA market provides way more cap anchors than useful elite players. Trading for it is really hard, as true elite players don't change hands very often and the best way to trade for elite players is with your own potentially elite prospects and high draft picks.

The best chance at elite players is drafting at the very top of the draft. The second best way is drafting a lot of times to increase the chances of hitting elite players later in the draft.

So for a team that isn't a highly desirable location, the only logical way to win a cup is to draft frequently and as high as possible. And probably over a long period of time before you get enough pieces to be a contender.

The alternative to this has been the Flames strategy over the last two decades, which is sign UFAs, make trades that don't move the needle and draft less than average because they're constantly moving picks to shore up immediate needs. This way leads to making the playoffs 50% of the time and getting bounced early when they do make it.

The only way forward that could lead to a cup is drafting and developing over a long period of time. In my opinion of course. I just don't believe that the pattern they've been following for the entire salary cap era ever has a chance at winning a cup, or even coming close.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

The reason teams are not pursuing Markstrom is the price is too steep and that won't change.

Really hope that is a bargaining position. The likelihood that the Flames will be competitive during Markstrom’s contract is extremely low. If the Flames are going to be an elite team again the timeline that that will likely be on includes a goalie lone Wolf or maybe someone in the system like Sergeev who is putting up way better numbers than the starter at Conn but is still the backup because the other guy is a senior. Or it could be a goalie we don’t know about yet. But Markstrom, despite his brilliance, will not be the goalie in all likelihood when the Flames are competitive again.

[sureLoss]

David Jiricek is getting frustrated with the Blue Jackets, Trade request coming?

https://theathletic.com/5231542/2024...shared_article

The Blue Jackets’ handling (mishandling?) of rookie defenseman David Jiricek has raised eyebrows all season, and it reached a boiling point this week.

Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen and coach Pascal Vincent don’t believe that Jiricek is, at present, one of the club’s top six defensemen, which is why the 20-year-old has been sent back to AHL Cleveland for the fourth time this season.

But Jiricek, the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NHL draft, believes he’s NHL-ready after spending last season in the AHL. That’s why the relationship has become strained, and it’s why Jiricek bears watching over the next few days and weeks.

“I played good hockey in the NHL,” Jiricek told The Athletic Friday. “I’m an NHL player right now. That’s my opinion, that I should be in the NHL right now.

“I see guys from the same draft, like Simon Nemec (in New Jersey) and (Kevin) Korchinski (in Chicago) … they get a chance on the power play. They play a ton of minutes in the NHL. Those are different teams, so different situations, but I can compare with them. I just want a chance to play like that.”

Jiricek last played an NHL game on Jan. 9 when the Blue Jackets lost 5-0 in Winnipeg. He played only 15:45 in that game, with two shots on goal, no points and an even rating. After that, he was scratched in three straight games before being sent back to Cleveland.

“They told me the last game was not good enough for me,” Jiricek said. “I told them I don’t think so, but that’s your opinion. I was out of the lineup after that. A whole month now, it feels like I haven’t played.”

Jiricek was recalled to Columbus last Sunday before the Jackets left on a five-game road trip, but he was a healthy scratch against Edmonton on Tuesday and sent back to Cleveland before Thursday’s game in Calgary.

There was concern that Jiricek might consider not reporting to Cleveland, but he arrived on Friday and played for the Monsters on Saturday. What’s next, however, is unclear.

“It’s been most of the month without hockey, so I will play (Saturday),” Jiricek said after sitting out Friday’s game. “After that, we’ll see.”

[Tbull8]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

David Jiricek is getting frustrated with the Blue Jackets, Trade request coming?

https://theathletic.com/5231542/2024...shared_article

Cmon Connie! Now that would be a hell of a trade to make

[saillias]

This is probably the longest conversation anyone has ever had on this board about the Sens, but anyway, someone made a point that their weakness is "not bottoming out and getting a true elite talent" which is truly missing the problem so clearly. They remind me of the Flames in the Treliving era, early on. That team had so much talent and made some nice acquisitions of players like Hamilton.

Bad coaching hires and never getting a real goaltender made that group miss the playoffs half the time and didn't really correct course until half these guys were breaking down or had one foot out the door already. It's very tough to get everything right at once. You can get all the talent but you also need a good coach and a good goalie. If you look at the names on the Sens roster it doesn't make sense they're so bad. But DJ Smith sucks and their goaltending sucks.

New Jersey too. These teams are wasting years of proper building and drafting with bad coaches and bad goalies

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

We have been hearing this about Buffalo for a long time. Buffalos situation took 11 years and counting to get to this point. Ottawa is 6 years of pain to get here. I absolutely want to avoid what Buffalo went through here.

I also agree the fanbase would rather watch a promising young team lead by a potential risk future star as opposed to a team of average vets fight and claw to be in a wildcard race. I also know this fanbase turned on Sam Bennett before he was 23 years old. I am not sure I buy how patient this fanbase will be with a rebuild that doesn’t show immense promise fairly quickly.

You want to avoid what Buffalo went through but we’ve been living it.

And we are farther away from getting out of it than they are.

There is no guarantees on a complete rebuild.

But the Calgary way of retooling is always destined to fail.

[Ped]

Columbus is such a gong show with how they handle young players.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

You want to avoid what Buffalo went through but we’ve been living it.

And we are farther away from getting out of it than they are.

There is no guarantees on a complete rebuild.

But the Calgary way of retooling is always destined to fail.

Won the division in 2019 and 2022? Down the memory hole.

Buffalo hasn't made the playoffs since 2011.

No, we are not living what Buffalo went through (and is still going through).

[iggyloob12]

Jiricek sounds like a real character player whose sense of entitlement supersedes his play. You don't get sent down four times for playing like an every day NHLer.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Won the division in 2019 and 2022? Down the memory hole.

Buffalo hasn't made the playoffs since 2011.

No, we are not living what Buffalo went through (and is still going through).

One other main difference is there is no evidence as of yet that Conroy will miss out on the opportunity to try to maximize his assets. He said that is what he would do in the offseason, either sign or trade his UFAs and he has traded two for picks or a young asset and has signed one. Every indicator with the final 4 UFAs is that he will trade at least two of them, maybe 3 and sign the ones he does not trade.

I think folks should worry less until Conroy demonstrates there is something worth worrying about. I personally think he has a 2-3 year rebuild plan that he has sign off for. After that maybe folks can worry they will do something to arbitrarily try to expedite the process too early but right now I am very confident that he will do what he said he would do, largely because that is what he has done so far on UFAs and providing young guys the chance to play.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

You want to avoid what Buffalo went through but we’ve been living it.

And we are farther away from getting out of it than they are.

There is no guarantees on a complete rebuild.

But the Calgary way of retooling is always destined to fail.

The Flames have had a mediocre decade but they made the playoffs 5 times to Buffalo’s 0, won the division twice and won a couple rounds. Mediocre but no where near a the same as missing the playoffs with 10 top 10 picks in that timeframe we haven’t been living what they went through.

I think they need to be patient and not take as many shortcuts as last time. Don’t trade high picks for a one year goalie rental, or 3 prime assets for a bottom pairing Dman. Acquire picks, make the picks. Develop them. If you can add young cornerstone type assets like they did with Hamilton you still look at it but it has to be a young piece.

This team is entering a rebuild but they will not sell everyone all at once to be the absolute worst roster in the league for an extended period.