[Signing] Flames sign Blake Coleman (6 years, $4.9m AAV)

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by sa226

I'm just legitimately surprised that he signed here. I don't subscribe to the "Nobody wants to play here, especially Americans" mantra. I'm just legitimately surprised.

Players wait years for UFA status, he apparently was building a house in Texas, spent a good chunk on a cup winning team in Tampa, and he chooses Calgary? Kinda cool.

With the deeper dive into the type of valuable player he is, I would have pegged him as a top 5 massive overpay in free agency But 4.9 AAV is, quite reasonable for a 2 way top 6 forward.

He must have had multiple offers. Maybe it was term that tipped the scales for Calgary.

Would be interesting to know what made him want to sign in Calgary. Especially with 2 cups under his belt.

I have long suspected that lots of players see things in tbe NHK much differently than fans. While it is popar here these days to imagine that the Flames are an old team running out the string on an obsolete core, and destined for a half-decade if bottom-ten finishes, I am fairly sure that there are plenty of players who do not see things the same way at all. Rightly or wrongly, I bet that Coleman believes this team can win.

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[Coach]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I have long suspected that lots of players see things in tbe NHK much differently than fans. While it is popar here these days to imagine that the Flames are an old team running out the string on an obsolete core, and destined for a half-decade if bottom-ten finishes, I am fairly sure that there are plenty of players who do not see things the same way at all. Rightly or wrongly, I bet that Coleman believes this team can win.

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I also think that fans think differently about their living situations. It’s basically their family that lives there, the player is on the move most of the year to all these different cities regardless. And then in the summer they go wherever they want anyways (usually home).

It’s not the same as most other job moves.

[Jeff Lebowski]

How do people think Coleman will be used*? I've already seen some people posting how Gaudreau and Monahan should be matched with Coleman. Then another line of Mang, Lindholm and Tkachuk could be deployed.

Any consideration of leaving the top line that ended last year intact and building the second line around Coleman and Mangiapane, so a top 9 of:
13-28-19
88-11-20
17-23-29
Not a slight against 23 but I think he and 29 could work magic together and I think 29 needs third minutes to really allow for the growth he needs. However 88-23-20 is a great option too. 2 hunters for a tremendous finisher.

*I know there are still offseason moves to be made with a lot hoping for a big change but since this is reality as of now - just playing with alignments.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

How do people think Coleman will be used*? I've already seen some people posting how Gaudreau and Monahan should be matched with Coleman. Then another line of Mang, Lindholm and Tkachuk could be deployed.

Any consideration of leaving the top line that ended last year intact and building the second line around Coleman and Mangiapane, so a top 9 of:
13-28-19
88-11-20
17-23-29
Not a slight against 23 but I think he and 29 could work magic together and I think 29 needs third minutes to really allow for the growth he needs. However 88-23-20 is a great option too. 2 hunters for a tremendous finisher.

*I know there are still offseason moves to be made with a lot hoping for a big change but since this is reality as of now - just playing with alignments.

Gaudreau - Eichel - Coleman
Mangiapane - Lindholm - Tkachuk
Dube - Monahan - Pitlick
Lucic - Ruzicka - Lewis
Ritchie

…that seems about right to me.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Coleman can run together if Eichel misses any time to start the season.

[devo22]

nm

[timbit]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Gaudreau - Eichel - Coleman
Mangiapane - Lindholm - Tkachuk
Dube - Monahan - Pitlick
Lucic - Ruzicka - Lewis
Ritchie

…that seems about right to me.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Coleman can run together if Eichel misses any time to start the season.

Hang on a second.

Who are the Flames trading to acquire Eichel, in your scenario?

[AustinL_NHL]

Originally Posted by timbit

Hang on a second.

Who are the Flames trading to acquire Eichel, in your scenario?

Not to mention who are the Flames trading to free up cap space in his scenario

[jesters91]

^ Backlund is not on his roster

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by timbit

Hang on a second.

Who are the Flames trading to acquire Eichel, in your scenario?

Originally Posted by AustinL_NHL

Not to mention who are the Flames trading to free up cap space in his scenario

The main pieces in an Eichel trade are going to be picks and prospects (based on rumours).

Backlund has been subtracted either in a trade to acquire more futures, or to send to Buffalo so they can then flip him for more futures.

[TheScorpion]

Blake Coleman is a third-line forward on roughly three teams in the entire NHL. I'd venture he's a first-line forward on more.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Blake Coleman is a third-line forward on roughly three teams in the entire NHL. I'd venture he's a first-line forward on more.

I don’t know about 1st line. I would comfortably have him as the 2nd line LW/RW

Assuming the worst, which isn’t acquiring Eichel, I would line them up as:

Gaudreau - Lindholm - Tkachuk
Mangiapane - Monahan - Coleman
Lucic - Backlund - Dube
Ruzicka - Lewis - Pitlick
Ritchie

Have that 1st line continue to play together, they were pretty good when put together. Mangiapane and Coleman would play a solid two way game and also could get a goal-scoring center going.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

I don’t know about 1st line. I would comfortably have him as the 2nd line LW/RW

Assuming the worst, which isn’t acquiring Eichel, I would line them up as:

Gaudreau - Lindholm - Tkachuk
Mangiapane - Monahan - Coleman
Lucic - Backlund - Dube
Ruzicka - Lewis - Pitlick
Ritchie

Have that 1st line continue to play together, they were pretty good when put together. Mangiapane and Coleman would play a solid two way game and also could get a goal-scoring center going.

Is there any word on how Monahan’s rehab is going following hip surgery?

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

Is there any word on how Monahan’s rehab is going following hip surgery?

He was training with Giordano in Toronto on the day of (or day before, can't remember) the expansion draft, so at least we know he's training to some degree.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

I don’t know about 1st line. I would comfortably have him as the 2nd line LW/RW

Assuming the worst, which isn’t acquiring Eichel, I would line them up as:

Gaudreau - Lindholm - Tkachuk
Mangiapane - Monahan - Coleman
Lucic - Backlund - Dube
Ruzicka - Lewis - Pitlick
Ritchie

Have that 1st line continue to play together, they were pretty good when put together. Mangiapane and Coleman would play a solid two way game and also could get a goal-scoring center going.

I totally agree he's a second-line forward in Calgary. All I meant is that he'd be on the first line for more teams than on the third line.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

Is there any word on how Monahan’s rehab is going following hip surgery?

No. There likely won't be, either.

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[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

You should probably take the time to read the thread before posting this nonsense...


Blake Coleman can play.


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Blake Coleman is a 3rd liner on a 2x Stanley cup winning team, full stop. Any defence against that statement is incorrect, arrogant and stupid. Unless you can point out where he was a top 2 line player on a Stanley cup winning team your argument is 100% wrong. He wasn't that for TB and we're going to be asking substantially more from him on a much worse team.

To the guy who said I should go grab a couple top line RWers from the store, I'd rather we didn't waste cap space on that. A top tier center is what the flames need and there are 2 available in the next 2 drafts. If we don't get either of them, we're still in the same position as we currently are. We will still be out of the playoffs but at least having a shot at Wright/Bedard would be better than the mediocrity we currently have.

[AC]

Yeah, but signing Coleman doesn't appear to be a hinderance to potentially trading for Eichel. So it's not like we chose Coleman over a #1C that was available.

The trade discussions are still happening as per the rumours.

I agree with the frustration though if we end up not doing much else and just hoping Coleman, Lewis, Pitlick, and Zadorov are good enough because we all know the forward group isn't going to get it done.

[AustinL_NHL]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Blake Coleman is a 3rd liner on a 2x Stanley cup winning team, full stop. Any defence against that statement is incorrect, arrogant and stupid. Unless you can point out where he was a top 2 line player on a Stanley cup winning team your argument is 100% wrong. He wasn't that for TB and we're going to be asking substantially more from him on a much worse team.

To the guy who said I should go grab a couple top line RWers from the store, I'd rather we didn't waste cap space on that. A top tier center is what the flames need and there are 2 available in the next 2 drafts. If we don't get either of them, we're still in the same position as we currently are. We will still be out of the playoffs but at least having a shot at Wright/Bedard would be better than the mediocrity we currently have.

Sure, but on top of his numbers showing he was:

- a top 5 Tampa forward in terms of 5v5 offense rates
- a top 4 Tampa forward in terms of individual chance creation
- a top 3 Tampa forward in terms of driving offense
- a top 3 Tampa forward in terms of driving defense
- a top 2 Tampa forward in terms of overall driving ability

Even going by 5v5 TOI, Coleman was a top 6 forward for the Lightning in both the Regular Season and Playoffs during his time there.

Calling him a 3rd liner when all of his results on a back-to-back Stanley Cup winning team suggests otherwise is a bit of a stretch

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by AustinL_NHL

Sure, but on top of his numbers showing he was:

- a top 5 Tampa forward in terms of 5v5 offense rates
- a top 4 Tampa forward in terms of individual chance creation
- a top 3 Tampa forward in terms of driving offense
- a top 3 Tampa forward in terms of driving defense
- a top 2 Tampa forward in terms of overall driving ability

Even going by 5v5 TOI, Coleman was a top 6 forward for the Lightning in both the Regular Season and Playoffs during his time there.

Calling him a 3rd liner when all of his results on a back-to-back Stanley Cup winning team suggests otherwise is a bit of a stretch

His numbers were accrued as a 3rd line player, not as a top line RW like he will be played in Calgary. Apples to oranges so these stats are mostly meaningless.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by AC

Yeah, but signing Coleman doesn't appear to be a hinderance to potentially trading for Eichel. So it's not like we chose Coleman over a #1C that was available.

The trade discussions are still happening as per the rumours.

I agree with the frustration though if we end up not doing much else and just hoping Coleman, Lewis, Pitlick, and Zadorov are good enough because we all know the forward group isn't going to get it done.

I still really like what little I know of Coleman as a person/player. His signing to me just feels like a solution to a problem we don't have. He has never been used in the position we need him to play (top line RW) and his salary only further complicates the money in vs money out in an Eichel trade.

Eichel can still become a flame, but Treliving definetly complicated matters by bringing in a lot of salary in Coleman.