Whats the current market for Janko??
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FlamesNation mailbag: a lot can change in a week
A week ago, the Calgary Flames were trying to find their footing. Now? They’re on a winning streak, are generally playing well, and seem to have traction for the first time al season.
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We had a few variations of this question this week. Jankowski was a healthy scratch on Saturday night with Zac Rinaldo playing in his spot (and scoring) and Tobias Rieder playing at center on the fourth line.
Jankowski has played a ton and has zero points. Right now, he’s a fringe NHL player with a $1.675 million cap hit. He’s not playing with linemates that give him oodles of offensive help in Rieder and Michael Frolik, but he should be better than he’s shown. It feels like he’s hit his head on his developmental ceiling.
That said? He’s an NHL body and can play respectable defense, so some team would likely claim him on the waiver wire. If the Flames would to look for a trade partner, he’d probably fetch a fifth or sixth round pick.
On the Mount Rushmore of Flames greats, is Giordano already there? If not, can he be by the end of his career?
I love this question.
Let’s assume there are four Mount Rushmore spots. One of them belongs to Miikka Kiprusoff. One of them belongs to Jarome Iginla, who is a shoo-in for a Hockey Hall of Fame induction in 2020. That leaves two spots available on Mount Rushmore.
Giordano is second in franchise history in games. He’s the only player in franchise history to win a Norris Trophy. He’s the second longest-tenured captain in franchise history. Among defensemen, only Al MacInnis and Gary Suter have more career points. In terms of what he’s meant to the franchise and his performance relative to his peers – both within the franchise and league-wide – Giordano definitely should be on Mount Rushmore.
The better debate might be who gets the fourth spot: Theoren Fleury? Lanny McDonald? MacInnis? Joe Nieuwendyk?
What would it take the Flames to be in the Taylor Hall sweepstakes?
More cap space than they currently have, plus a willingness to move out multiple first round picks or top prospects (the likes of Dillon Dube, Juuso Valimaki, Dustin Wolf, Jakob Pelletier and/or Dmitry Zavgorodniy). I just don’t think they have a deep enough prospect group to entertain the idea right now.
Who gets shuffled out of the lineup once Bennett and Czarnik are healthy?
Right now, the easiest players to slide out are Zac Rinaldo and Tobias Rieder. (This presumes Jankowski stays on the sidelines.) A fourth line of Czarnik, Bennett and Frolik could be fun. Although, Rieder taking Frolik’s spot could provide a really pace-pushing skating trio that could also be a useful line.
We’ll find out likely by next weekend what Brad Treliving and Geoff Ward come up with. One thing they shouldn’t do, though, is bump Dube out of the lineup.
Matthew Phillips is Stockton’s leading scorer. Through 22 games he has 25 points, good for seventh in the entire American Hockey League. He’s a right shot winger that can also play center. He’s not huge at 5’7″ and 160 pounds, but he’s 21, waiver exempt, and very productive.
If the Flames had a spot to put him, he probably would’ve gotten a call-up by now. But a combination of the team’s roster flux, cap situation, and general inconsistency has made it tough to work him in. But the team is very excited about what they have in him, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect him to get a look-see in the NHL if the Flames hit future injury troubles up front and need reinforcements.