When the Flames won a Round 1 series over Vancouver two springs ago, we would have predicted Calgary as a Stanley Cup contender by now. But rebuilds never ascend in a straight line, and after a 26th place finish last season and a year spent on the playoff bubble this winter, the 2017 trade deadline stacks up as a touchy place for Flames general manager Brad Treliving.
Calgary has no obvious pending UFAs to be sold off (other than Dennis Wideman), but nor are the Flames close enough to contention that they’d give up too much to add a rental player. Calgary is that team that will try to use the deadline to land players who will either re-sign in Calgary or have term remaining, to help with the steady build going on in Southern Alberta.
So that means the Flames will look to fill the spot that will be left open when Wideman moves on, and could possibly address their issues in goal at this deadline. Again, as much with an eye on next season as this spring’s potential playoff run. [relatedlinks]
Calgary isn’t a lock for one of the wildcard spots in the West, remember, so you could argue that they should be upgrading on March 1 — then use those upgrades to pass Los Angeles in the standings. The cost on March 1 is always draft picks, and although Calgary has all their 2017 selections they are also cap challenged.
Small upgrades is what we expect from Calgary, with an eye on players with term or who may sign in Calgary.
Needs:
Calgary needs an upgrade on their No. 4 defenceman (read: Wideman), and could find one in former Calgary Hitmen rearguard and pending Arizona UFA Michael Stone. They would also be happy to improve at third-line centre (read: Matt Stajan), which could bring Colorado’s Carl Soderberg into play, though he’s still got three seasons remaining at $4.75 million. The Flames are a middle of the road faceoff club and Soderberg is a 52 per cent centreman this year. But he’s only got 11 points this season, so Treliving would have to see something we do not in this player to take on that salary.
Pending free agents, age, salaries:
UFAs:
Brian Elliott, 31, $2.5 million
Chad Johnson, 30, $1.7 million
Dennis Wideman, 33, $5.25 million
Deryk Engelland, 34, $2.9 million
Kris Versteeg, 30, $950,000
Garnet Hathaway, 25, $690,000
RFAs:
Sam Bennett, 20, $925,000
Micheal Ferland, 24, $825,000
Alex Chiasson, 26, $800,000
Jyrki Jokipakka, 25, $900,000
Brett Kulak, 25, $656,667 [snippet]
Potential assets to move:
Wideman: The Flames would move him, but the takers are few.
Micheal Ferland: A useful banger, Ferland is a pending RFA. His salary ask will dictate his deadline availability.
Brian Elliott: A respectable backup and a second-round pick might pry Elliott out of Calgary for the stretch run.
Draft Picks:
2017: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th.
2018: 1st, 2nd, 4th (own), 4th (FLA), 5th, 6th, 7th.
One bold move the team could make:
Marc-Andre Fleury.
Calgary has to bring in an ‘A’ goalie for next season, and if deadline talks lead to the kind of deal that could scratch that itch today, you bet Treliving would cross that need off his list. Ben Bishop is a pending UFA, so he doesn’t seem a fit. But Fleury is going to have to move before the expansion draft, and the early bird is going to get that worm. Now, about that modified No Trade Clause.
I think the Flames shouldn’t…:
Trade Sam Bennett.
Teams are asking about the 20-year-old winger, whose game has regressed this season (10-10-20 in 56 games). Giving up on the second-year pro might sound like a good idea if you reside in Leafs Nation, but only a fool would make that call at this early stage in Bennett’s evolution — and we don’t think Treliving fits that description.
Sure, if the player turns out to be a bust he’ll be worth less down the road — like Nail Yakupov in Edmonton — but the Flames should set their sights on developing Bennett. Even if that means a stint in the American League next season.
