Chad Billins leaves CSKA

[Drury18]

http://www.cska-hockey.ru/news/Chad_..._pokidaet_CSKA

Translated Article:

Hockey club CSKA Moscow and Chad Billins terminated the contract by mutual consent. This season, 25-year-old defender spent 21 games, which scored 6 (2 + 4) points with a rating of 1 and 8 minutes of penalty time.

CSKA thanks Chad for a professional attitude and wishes him success in his future career.

[devo22]

Interesting. We still have his rights, yes?

[Da_Chief]

yup, they qualified him.

[Drury18]

Yes, we still have his rights. We gave him a qualifying offer as an RFA and he chose not to sign.

[Fire]

It didn't look like he turned his career around like Giordano. What is his options now? Can he still accept the qualifying offer? The last thing the Baby Flames need is another defenseman?

[Drury18]

The qualifying offer will have expired. He could negotiate a contract with the Flames now and be assigned to Adirondack but I am not sure what we'd do with 9 defencemen. Take away Yonkman and it's still 8 Flames prospects and Kulak in the ECHL and potentially a few more once the CHL season is over. And Rafikov maybe. We are a bit full at that position with prospects who are higher on the chart then he is.

He could also play elsewhere in Europe as a few other KHL players have chosen to do so due to financial issues with the league. He cannot play for any other NHL, AHL or ECHL team without signing a contract with the Flames or having his rights traded by the Flames.

[thymebalm]

I disagree Drury. I think we maybe have two guys as capable as Billins in Wotherspoon and Potter, but I don't think anyone on the baby Flames in higher on the chart than him. Let's not forget he had 42 points in 65 games last season with Abby.

He also had 3 assists in 10 games with the Calgary Flames, which is more than Engelland can say for himself after 26 games.

If I was Treliving I'd bring him back into the fold for certain. D is our weak spot, hands down.

[Drury18]

I never said that we didn't need his talent level or that he couldn't play on the team, I'm concerned what we do with the barrage of kids knocking on the door.

We already don't have the room to play them all each night. If we add one more defensemen that takes away yet another spot to develop a kid. And we have more D prospects coming.

Someone would have to be moved or loaned in order to make enough playing time so that the younger guys see ice time at least on a semi-regular basis.

[thymebalm]

Originally Posted by Drury18

I never said that we didn't need his talent level or that he couldn't play on the team, I'm concerned what we do with the barrage of kids knocking on the door.

We already don't have the room to play them all each night. If we add one more defensemen that takes away yet another spot to develop a kid. And we have more D prospects coming.

Someone would have to be moved or loaned in order to make enough playing time so that the younger guys see ice time at least on a semi-regular basis.

There's always the ECHL. No sense babying kids that can't earn the minutes for themselves. They are first year pros.. they can sit games, learn off-ice, all that.

If they really prove their mettle they can be bumped up in favour of Yonkman and Stevenson on the depth chart. If you can't outplay those guys for minutes, you just aren't ready for them yet.

[Drury18]

I don't think it's babying at all. They have to be able to audition in order to make the team. Adding Billins takes away an audition spot and almost closes the door on all first year guys. That's not proper development methods at all.

Currently, the Flames have Wotherspoon, Yonkman, Cundari and Acolaste who are the vets. That's two pairings right there. If/when Potter comes back, that's 5. Adding Billins is 6. There's your defence.

Where do Ramage, Sieloff, Culkin and Stevenson earn time when you have 6 vets on the go? Send all 4 to the ECHL where they aren't learning the Flames system but just getting time in? We already have them on a rotating schedule where they play 4 games a month or so. It's already as limited as you can get before it's almost flat out telling them there's no room so enjoy the free flights and hotels.

We loaned Cundari out last year for this same situation and I wouldn't be shocked to see it again because we do need spots to develop the players on defence. You can't have a kid sitting in the pressbox and learning the things off ice every night. No way Burke or Treliving would support that thinking.

And again, we have more defence prospects coming. They don't get called up as much as forwards do nor is there as many positions to fill. Unless we are planning to move a defense prospect, signing Billins just piles more onto the problem of too many defence and not enough spots.

[Vulcan]

I'd sign Billins if we can trade him for a 6th or 7th pick. Some team might want to bolster their AHL team and have a little more depth.

[Enoch Root]

Billins and Hanowski or Van Brabant would go a long way to shoring up Buffalo's farm team. That should be enough to get Stewart

[Johnny Rotten]

This isn't a Ryan O' Reilly (all be it on a much smaller scale), is it? Does he have to clear waivers because he played overseas? I believe the Flames couldn't resign Gio. until after the NHL season the year after he bolted to Russia!?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Johnny Rotten

This isn't a Ryan O' Reilly (all be it on a much smaller scale), is it? Does he have to clear waivers because he played overseas? I believe the Flames couldn't resign Gio. until after the NHL season the year after he bolted to Russia!?

I read they changed the rule or in the ROR case, we own Bilins rights. If someone else signed him, maybe he'd need to go through waivers.

[FlamesAddiction]

Billins signed with Lulea in Sweden.

Glad that he found a home in a decent league.

Totally OT, but Cam Barker signed in the KHL as well.

[smiggy77]

interesting move.