I think it more prudent to consider where players would fit on other teams that would have interest in making a deal with the Flames. A team will give up only so much to fill a particular hole in their roster, and it is dependent on that hole they are trying to fill. If they are looking for a top line or top pair position, they are going to give a similar player back in return (see Hall for Larsson). A numeric value doesn't represent much, as it is abstract and non-representative of the opposition's needs. I feel the more productive exercise would be to define how our players would fit on other teams and consider that the base line for what they would return (equivalent value).
First Line - Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan
Second Line - Matthew Tkachuk, Micheal Ferland
Third Line - Mikael Backlund*, Sam Bennett**, Mark Jankowski**, Michael Frolik, Troy Brouwer,
Fourth Line - Garnet Hathaway,
Depth - Kris Versteeg, Jaromir Jagr, Curtis Lazar, Matt Stajan, Tanner Glass, Marek Hrivik
1st Pair - Dougie Hamilton, Mark Giordano
2nd Pair - T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic
3rd Pair - Brett Kulak*, Michael Stone
Depth - Matt Bartkowski
Starter -
Backup - Mike Smith
Depth - David Rittich
Prospect - Rasmus Andersson, Jon Gillies, Andrew Mangiapane
* - Decreased value because of UFA status
** - Increased value because of age/unattained potential
A team will give assets based on where a player will fit on their roster, and give what they think is an equitable player in trade. A prospect, or player with untapped potential may return an extra asset in the form of another player at lesser position, or a draft pick, as equalization, but the opposition will based the valuation of where that player is going to fit. If a team is willing to go all in, they may be inclined to over-pay and throw around some ridiculous valuation (see Kris Russell) but those deals don't come along too often. If a player from the Flames is traded, I would expect the return to be no different than the matrix above. We aren't going to be getting a top line player without giving back top line talent, and that applies to other teams as well.
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