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Franchise Player
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I have been thinking about this, and it makes me appreciate what Calgary has done this off-season so far.
Did I want Nick Ritchie on the Flames? Absolutely. As I noted above, I think he would have fit-in perfectly with what the Flames have tried to accomplish this off-season, and I think he would have taken a step forward under Sutter. Guaranteed? Nope - maybe Sutter wouldn't be able to reach him, and he would have ended up benched a lot - I can't be sure, obviously, but I was hoping.
What I can be sure of is this - in just a blink of an eye, Calgary changed their culture.
Why did Toronto sign him? I mean, what are they trying to accomplish? It is easy to understand why the Rangers went out and acquired Reaves - he is one of the three toughest fighters in the NHL (with Lucic and MacDermid being the other two, which Reaves has never fought). It was simply to address the Tom Wilson situation, and to make sure it doesn't happen again. I argue that Lucic kind of destroyed Buffalo in that Ryan Miller hit - if he didn't destroy Buffalo, it was at least a few nails in their coffin. That's what the Rangers accomplished - making sure that it doesn't happen to them.
I have been relatively unhappy with the thought that the Flames have moved on from their skilled but tough players - Bennett and Ferland specifically - as I find these players are difficult to find. Not talking about trade value or whatnot, just more in an overall 'plan'. Now the only toughness on the team was looking like it may only be Lucic, with Brett Ritchie 'probably' being re-signed, and Rinaldo not (though Rinaldo isn't an everyday NHL'er).
I didn't post about it, but I had wished that the Flames acquired MacDermid (I think he is a decent 6th defencemen). I was happy when the Flames re-signed Ritchie (though, to be fair, worried that Sutter would play him out of his depth again).
Now look at what the Flames did. They signed Coleman who is a top 6 talent who plays with a lot of speed and sandpaper, and a strong 200ft player. They traded for Pitlick who is another strong 200ft player (though obviously not as strong as Coleman), and who also plays with a lot of sandpaper. They traded for Zadorov who is a bully who really crushes guys, but is a good player and very noticeable on the ice (and whom I would bet takes a big step defensively under Sutter, and he is decent defensively already - I see Sutter wanting to turn him into Regehr). They even brought in Lewis, who is a very good skating sandpaper guy who is also good on D.
The Flames basically changed their culture completely overnight. They acquired players who are known for skating well, and playing 200ft games, and being difficult to play against. It is the sheer number of players they added that has created a culture shift (I am sure this will happen, especially under Sutter). This is what the Flames accomplished, and it honestly makes me excited.
What are the Leafs trying to accomplish by signing Ritchie? He is tough - absolutely he is tough. I think there is some untapped potential there too, though I am not sure that Toronto is the place to have it come out (we will see). However, they let one of their 200ft, fast skating gritty guys go.
Ritchie by himself is a nice get. I am not trying to suggest that Toronto made a mistake here at all - it was a good acquisition by them. I am merely contrasting the difference between these two franchises who both felt that they were a little soft. I know Toronto feels like Montreal manhandled them. However, losing Hyman and adding Ritchie does nothing to move the metre - there is not a guy on Montreal who has single-handedly 'beat up' Toronto, not even Anderson. Unless they expect Ritchie to go out and fight 4 or 5 times a night.
I am not a Treliving fan. Treliving is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Given this culture shift, I anticipate he is going to remain the GM for longer than what people assumed. This is how you accomplish setting an identity and becoming a team that is difficult to play against. There is not one useless goon on the team (though, there really isn't any goons any longer, if your definition of a goon is a guy who can barely skate and play hockey, and only plays less than 5 minutes a night). Treliving's signings were all guys that were strong skaters and known for their forechecking abilities, and their shutdown/defensive abilities, as well as some scoring. Every line now (if you include Tkachuk as a gritty type, which I do) has at least one guy like this.
Calgary really moved the needle and (seemingly - we still have to see it play out of course) fixed their issue - I have felt it has been an issue for a while. Out was Ryan (he is a good player, but not a needle mover, and he is undersized), Simon (who was terrible), Nordstrom (just poor 5on5, though he was getting better under Sutter), and Nesterov (undersized defencemen, though GREAT hit on McDavid!).
Basically all of the 'fluff' in the lineup has been eliminated (yes, that includes Ryan, sorry - like I said, a good player, but part of the problem IMO). All of the 'meat and potatoes' has been upgraded (Rinaldo and Robinson are tweeners, really, though Robinson not getting more looks under Sutter was weird to me, as he was a pretty good skater and full of effort).
I really love the look of this off-season so far. I think the Flames are already a much better team. Vladar does worry me somewhat as I do want Markstrom to not be ridden as much this season (goalies playing too much makes their numbers suffer a bit after all), and I do worry about the offensive abilities from the defensive corps, but overall, I think this team is a better team today. I wish Bennett worked out - skilled, fast, tenacious and loads of sandpaper. However, I am lamenting his and Ferland's loss a lot less right now, as I see a skilled, faster, more tenacious and much more physically imposing team than I have in recent memory.
Toronto? I don't think they accomplished what they needed to accomplish.
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