Calgary Flames 21-22 Roster speculation

[Calgary4LIfe]

Flames should definitely not be bringing most of these UFAs back. In fact, my strongest case that I could make was Nordstrom, and he is gone now (strongest case doesn't mean that I feel the Flames should bring a player back).


Rinaldo - I will start with him as I actually think he is the ONLY player that should be brought back. Why? Well, you don't want a rookie sitting. Gives this team some speed and toughness (and abrasiveness with how he plays). Not a guy you want playing more than a handful of games (literal handful - 5 or less). Why do I want him back? Lucic stated it the best way - he brings a lot of energy to the team, especially when he gets inserted into the lineup, and everyone feeds off of that. If Sutter was going to fall in love with him and overuse him, it would have happened already, so for me, it is a zero-risk re-signing. You need the 13th forward that doesn't play much, so it might as well be a guy that is really good in the room.


Ritchie - I liked his effort, I liked his speed, I thought he was good along the boards, I loved his hitting, I love how he can be an actual deterrent and stick up for this team... but I don't want him re-signed. He is a 4th liner, period, but Sutter likes him and will over-use him. As strictly a 4th liner? Absolutely bring him back. However, we all know that won't happen, so remove the temptation.


Robinson - I like him. I really do. Great size and speed, great effort, great at being a disruptive player on the forecheck. Just doesn't have much skill. I like him more than Simon actually, but that's not saying too much. I say re-sign him and send him to the AHL, and recall him only when this team really needs to insert a lot of size in the lineup (the rare times that you may expect 'fireworks' in an upcoming game). That's about it. I was surprised that Sutter didn't make him an everyday NHL'er. I just think he is a tweener at this point, and should just be signed for depth and the occasional call-up when warranted.



Simon - speaking about him, I don't think there is anyone that will be making a case for bringing him back. I liked some of what he did - along the boards and on the forecheck. I liked his effort level too. Just another player that has no offensive ability at all. Flames need to upgrade on guys like these - helps take the pressure off the top lines. Even more importantly, when there are a few injuries, you need to have guys that won't completely neuter the line that they are on.


Ryan - I like Ryan. I think he will be cheap to re-sign. Great on face-offs, dependable all over the ice, always giving a full effort too. What's not to like about him? I just don't see him as a 4th liner, and would rather the Flames get a bit bigger and nastier there (with hopefully some skill). I think that 4th line needs to become a 4th line that actually gives energy - hit everything on sight, legitimately hard to play against, fast, abrasive, but still capable of scoring the occasional game too like Ryan. I don't think his salary will be even half of what it is now, but I would still rather move on. Part of this is that I would also prefer that the Flames start getting larger overall, and a team with Gaudreau, Mangiapane, Dube, Pelletier, Phillips and Ryan, combined with players that overall aren't very difficult to play against like Monahan, Lindholm, Backlund, makes for a team that is overall rather easy to play against. Flames need to start looking at getting bigger, so I would prefer that his spot goes to Ruzicka, or even a FA with some size/speed/depth scoring ability.


Leivo - I can see the Flames re-sign him. I just don't think he is much of a player. I don't really want him on the top 3 lines, but he doesn't provide enough jam on the 4th. Still, he has a decent amount of skill. Would rather try a new piece (again, either from the UFA heap, or a prospect), but it wouldn't really bother me to see him return on the cheap either.


Stone is an obvious re-sign. Nothing to talk about there.


Nesterov shouldn't be re-signed IMO. He is fine as a replacement level defencemen. There just isn't room, even with Giordano (most likely) leaving. Mackey will take his spot. Stone provides more. Maybe Kinnvall impresses too. Kylington might still be here too, and I would rather the Flames try and give him some rope and see if he can provide valuable offence from an overall offensively challenged defensive corps. Nesterov just doesn't fill any holes, and I particularly don't really see the point in undersized defencemen who don't make up for it in other ways. If he was a really strong puck-mover, or was offensively stronger, than sure. He is just vanilla in a lot of areas, which isn't bad at all, but I don't think there is much room for improvement given his age and apparent tool-set either.


Domingue Flames would hopefully get someone a bit better than Domingue as a backup. Markstrom has been injured every year it seems that he plays a lot, so how about not doing that given that we already know his history and durability? Flames have him for another 5 seasons at 6 million, so a priority needs to be made to protect that investment. I don't want to see him become like Quick within the next 2 seasons. Get a backup.


I am ok with bringing back all the RFAs. Would have been nice to give Zagidullin some games down the stretch to see if he could be a competent back-up, no? Now you sort of have to try and re-sign him, and push him into the ECHL, as I would rather have a healthy Parsons and Wolf getting AHL reps.


Flames really need to get better on D, but they can't afford Hamilton (and given some of the stuff that happened here, I doubt Hamilton would even take Calgary's call). This team needs offence.. but I don't think Barrie is the answer either, as he leaves a lot to be desired defensively, and will get a healthy contract too. If Giordano leaves, Oleksiak becomes my pick for the replacement. I do NOT want to see another Hanifin-Tanev pairing where they are amazing defensively, but terrible offensively - that's NOT a top pair. Gustafsson is on the radar, as I think some of the other options are going to be pricey.


I would love for the Flames to find an upgrade on the UFA market, but these guys are going to get paid, as it is a weak market overall (considering that some notable players won't even make it to market at that, as I expect some to be re-signed to their existing teams). My hope is that Treliving finds a guy that has been under-utilized or slotted incorrectly, or has some underlying reasons for not breaking out yet, that is young and cheap (Sam Bennett, cough cough). I don't see a track record when it comes to the Flames for properly identifying these players, and having them perform well here. The only one that comes to mind is Engelland (though not young, he did break-out here I argue). This is not to be confused with 'good vs bad' UFA signings - Frolik was a good one I argue, but was a known commodity before he arrived here. Engelland is the only one player that this organization has identified.



Seriously, this team needs to start becoming a better pro talent evaluator.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I would be ok with Ritchie and Leivo up front, Stone on D. All at the minimum or close to it. The rest will be lucky to get a PTO, in my opinion (possible exception for Ryan, he is a decent NHLer).

Edit: UFAs. RFAs should pretty much all be qualified.

[GioforPM]

If you can't sign Ritchie because you are afraid Sutter will use him too high, that strikes me as (a) a problem with Sutter and (b) a problem with communication with Sutter. If I'm GM I sign him and tell Sutter he's a 4th liner. If Sutter starts playing him top 6, I'm sending poor old Ritchie to the minors right quick.

[getbak]

I'll be very surprised if the Flames leave Backlund exposed for Seattle. I think they'll likely sign one of the pending UFA forwards prior to the expansion draft to meet the exposure requirement (Leivo, Ryan, or Ritchie).

[TheScorpion]

A guy who I actually wouldn't mind seeing the Flames bring in (back) to stabilize the bottom pair is Forbort — wasn't a huge fan when he was here but he's done a surprisingly great job in Winnipeg on their bottom two units. If he's cheap, I think they could do far worse.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

If you can't sign Ritchie because you are afraid Sutter will use him too high, that strikes me as (a) a problem with Sutter and (b) a problem with communication with Sutter. If I'm GM I sign him and tell Sutter he's a 4th liner. If Sutter starts playing him top 6, I'm sending poor old Ritchie to the minors right quick.

Sutter's not a goof, if Ritchie is playing in the top 6 it means Treliving has once again failed to address the RW position.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

A guy who I actually wouldn't mind seeing the Flames bring in (back) to stabilize the bottom pair is Forbort — wasn't a huge fan when he was here but he's done a surprisingly great job in Winnipeg on their bottom two units. If he's cheap, I think they could do far worse.

Did he play the right side? Otherwise he blocks Valimaki, Mackey, Kylington, etc.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Did he play the right side? Otherwise he blocks Valimaki

Earned nothing and should be challenged for his position

Mackey

AHL

Kylington

Seattle

etc.

Not much else past that.

[HighLifeMan]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

Earned nothing and should be challenged for his position


AHL



Seattle



Not much else past that.

Valimaki and Mackey need NHL minutes.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

Sutter's not a goof, if Ritchie is playing in the top 6 it means Treliving has once again failed to address the RW position.

I should have said, I doubt this is happening. A lot depends on Dube, too. That's his spot.

[CSharp]

Getzlaf, Ovi, Landeskog. Then trade for Eichel - done!

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I should have said, I doubt this is happening. A lot depends on Dube, too. That's his spot.

I could definitely see Ritchie brought back, but the importance of whether he plays in the top 6 or not will really depend on what else happens with the team. If you're looking at a team where one or more of Johnny, Monahan, Chucky are traded and an honest rebuild is on, then I don't think the next few years really matter. It's like worrying about top line LW Curtis Glencross when the team was drafting 4th overall.

I don't see it happening either, so I guess on that front we're in the same boat. But I think it'll be because Treliving is going to go into next year with a very similar roster and will try to sell the narrative of the team underachieving and they deserve a full season together. It won't pan out and we'll be right back here next summer with pennies on the dollar for our core.

[GioforPM]

Betcha if Calgary doesn’t sign Ritchie Edmonton does (and doesn’t re-sign Khaira).

Which is a double whammy for poor Khaira.

[Hack&Lube]

Please Treliving,

No more old vet UFA signings. We have seen you just can't do it after James Neal, Troy Brouwer, Mason Raymond, etc.

Almost every old vet we sign for a big contract falls off the cliff.

[Harry Lime]

Johnny Gaudreau - Elias Lindholm - Matt Tkachuk
Dillon Dube - Sean Monahan - Kyle Palmieri
Andy Mangiapane - Mike Backlund - Matt Philips
Milan Lucic - Adam Ruzicka - Brett Ritchie
Glen Gawdin

Noah Hanafin - Chris Tanev
Conner Mackie - Rasmus Andersson
Jusso Valimaki - Mike Stone
Oliver Kylington

Jake Markstrom
Zaggy Zagizagilum

That's the smart move. What I want to happen is a splash on the trade front. What I expect is Gawdin, Phillips, Ruzicka, Kylington and Mackie are out, and a bunch of minimum wage AAAA players are in. I don't see how Seattle doesn't take Gio.

[Bourque's Twin]

I think Seattle takes Giordano and Monahan gets traded.

If only the Flames kept Bennett for that 2nd line C spot.

[FlamesAddiction]

I thought Ritchie was OK and he fills hole on the team.

I am curious what his stats were after Sutter took over. Anyone know how to separate those?

[tfi racing]

Nothing that will be any help will happen yet again, next year's team will be almost the same as this years, with about the same result yet again. Seattle will likely say no thanks, and take their chances on players from anywhere else. Most other teams can easily afford to buy all the brand new sticks and bags of pucks they require, no need for them to take on a Flames player to keep their equipment rooms fully stocked...

[Badgers Nose]

Please BT stay away from UFAs. You suck at it.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by Bourque's Twin

I think Seattle takes Giordano and Monahan gets traded.

If only the Flames kept Bennett for that 2nd line C spot.

Then they would have a crappy 2C?