The relative value of Sean Monahan

[D as in David]

I'd think quite highly of him as my son. As a nephew, a little less so.

[krynski]

Originally Posted by D as in David

I'd think quite highly of him as my son. As a nephew, a little less so.

Son AND Nephew? Well now thats just gross.

[djsFlames]

2/3 of an Eichel.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by bax

To me Monahan is not untouchable, but I'm not giving him away either. I know his play this year wasn't great, but the hip surgery makes complete sense. I only move him if the upgrade at center is significant.

Sutter really likes him as a player and will push hard to keep him with the team.

[The Boy Wonder]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

I really really hope teams are so scared of Eichel’s potential neck surgery that it somehow flattens his trade value and the Flames and Sabres swing a deal for their respective injury prone centers.

I think the Flames are one elite second line away from being a solid team. Fix the RW slots as well throughout the line up and maybe they can be great.

How about we start with a single elite line before we go jumping to having two...

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Dion

Sutter really likes him as a player and will push hard to keep him with the team.

The list of players Sutter has outright complemented, with no backhand comments, is short, and he’s on it. I think Lindholm is as well, and that is almost the whole list.

[Kipper_3434]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

I really really hope teams are so scared of Eichel’s potential neck surgery that it somehow flattens his trade value and the Flames and Sabres swing a deal for their respective injury prone centers.

I think the Flames are one elite second line away from being a solid team. Fix the RW slots as well throughout the line up and maybe they can be great.

I disagree. The flames are an elite dman from being competitive. Just look at how gios decline has effected production throughout the lineup. You don't compete in this league without a #1 dman

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

I disagree. The flames are an elite dman from being competitive. Just look at how gios decline has effected production throughout the lineup. You don't compete in this league without a #1 dman

Depends what you mean by "competitive".

If you mean a team that can realistically contend for a playoff spot, I would suggest they are that already.

If you mean a team that can realistically contend for the Stanley Cup, I would suggest they are multiple pieces away.

But I'm guessing your meaning i somewhere in the middle.

But I would agree, if you could parachute Hedman into the lineup, cap and all, this team would take on a completely different look. But I guess, so would every other team.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

The list of players Sutter has outright complemented, with no backhand comments, is short, and he’s on it. I think Lindholm is as well, and that is almost the whole list.

I think Gio and Tanev as well?

[Vinny01]

The guys on the fan today mentioned that the only type of return the Flames should expect for Monahan is an equally flawed player with a big ticket. I don’t often agree with their valuations but in this case I think they are right.

They said no one would offer futures for him at this point (unless a far worse contract is attached)

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

The guys on the fan today mentioned that the only type of return the Flames should expect for Monahan is an equally flawed player with a big ticket. I don’t often agree with their valuations but in this case I think they are right.

They said no one would offer futures for him at this point (unless a far worse contract is attached)

I assume at least $4.5 mil in salary would have to come back.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

I disagree. The flames are an elite dman from being competitive. Just look at how gios decline has effected production throughout the lineup. You don't compete in this league without a #1 dman

Giordano’s production as a 37 year old does not crack the top-20 reasons why this team has struggled.

25 points in 53 games, +1 on a non-playoff team, strong possession numbers as usual - all while playing with Andersson/Tanev, neither of whom hold a candle to TJ Brodie.

Who we obviously should have kept.

[Lanny_McDonald]

The guys on the fan are idiots, just above the level of Eric Francis. I wouldn't take anything they say without a grain of salt the size suitable for herds of cattle.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Dion

Sutter really likes him as a player and will push hard to keep him with the team.

Sutter also really liked Sam Bennett.

[Bingo]

I just hope they don't go into the summer with a set target of a player to move. That never ends well.

They need to change the core, and potentially kick the window down the timeline a three years or so.

Start with the contracts closer to expiry and make some decisions. Giordano and Gaudreau each have a year left, but what do you do with them? If Giordano wants to go the Joe Thornton route and do a year to year deal he may be worth keeping around. Does Gaudreau take a three or four year extension? If so keep him, but if not you have to move him if he wants 7 or 8.

But with Monahan if the market doesn't perceive value, don't move him. He's two years away so you have time.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I just hope they don't go into the summer with a set target of a player to move. That never ends well.

They need to change the core, and potentially kick the window down the timeline a three years or so.

Start with the contracts closer to expiry and make some decisions. Giordano and Gaudreau each have a year left, but what do you do with them? If Giordano wants to go the Joe Thornton route and do a year to year deal he may be worth keeping around. Does Gaudreau take a three or four year extension? If so keep him, but if not you have to move him if he wants 7 or 8.

But with Monahan if the market doesn't perceive value, don't move him. He's two years away so you have time.

As painful at it's going to be I do think they have to trade Gaudreau this offseason if he won't commit to an extension. I think they have to keep Monahan and hopefully a decent winger is brought in via free agency or Gaudreau trade to prop him up.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I think Gio and Tanev as well?

I wouldn’t doubt it. I just haven’t heard those ones. Certainly they are guys who bring it every game (at least for Gio, during Sutter’s tenure anyway) and he likes that. He may have said it for Mangiapane, but he’s pretty tight with praise for young guys. My vague recollection is that for both him and guys like Dube or Valimaki, any praise is accompanied by “but he has to do it every night” kind of stuff, whereas with his mentions of Monahan or Lindholm there’s “he’s done everything we asked, and more” period.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I assume at least $4.5 mil in salary would have to come back.

Monahan for a $4.5M RW would be just fine. That’s a Kevin Labanc, Alex Tuch, Toffoli, Arviddson level guy. Just fine for a second line RW (or 1st depending on Tkachuk’s presence or even his deployment). And you’d have a little more cash for other things.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

As painful at it's going to be I do think they have to trade Gaudreau this offseason if he won't commit to an extension. I think they have to keep Monahan and hopefully a decent winger is brought in via free agency or Gaudreau trade to prop him up.

As I said above though I think the decision tree is ...

No extension - trade him
Too long / pricey an extension - trade him
Reasonable term / value extension - keep him

I don't want Gaudreau at say 8 x $9M

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by The Boy Wonder

How about we start with a single elite line before we go jumping to having two...

The current top line looks like a legit first line. It’s the first time I’ve said so all season long as we’ve seen a lot of garbage lineups for 80% of the season. Teams have tried to stop them by clogging up the middle and they’ve sliced through it like butter. If this trio comes back, then an elite second line is what this team really needs to take another step.