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31 Thoughts: Flames extra bodies unhappy
Sam Bennett
Photo credit: Sergei Belski/USA Today Sports
Ryan Pike
Jan 2, 2020, 10:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 1, 2020, 16:13 EST
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As per usual, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has published his weekly look around the NHL, 31 Thoughts. As has become usual, there’s some chatter regarding the trade market and the Calgary Flames.
Here’s Friedman:
7. Let’s go through a few other situations. Calgary’s got extra bodies, and some of the players shuffling in-and-out of the lineup are unhappy. GM Brad Treliving will be careful, but it is always a delicate balance when you’ve got unhappy players on a team with ambition. There is interest in Mark Jankowski, who needs a fresh start. There is interest in Sam Bennett, who was scratched on Sunday. I’m not convinced the Flames wish to do that, unless the return is impactful. But it’s something to keep an eye on.
The in-and-out crew currently includes:
  • Dillon Dube, 21, who’s in the second year of his entry level deal ($778,333) and is waiver exempt.
  • Sam Bennett, 23, who recently returned from injury and is signed through 2020-21 with a $2.55 million cap hit.
  • Michael Frolik, 31, who’s a pending unrestricted free agent with a $4.3 million cap hit.
  • Tobias Rieder, 26, who’s a pending UFA with a $700,000 cap hit.
  • Zac Rinaldo, 29, who’s another pending UFA with a $700,000 cap hit.
  • Mark Jankowski, 25, who’s a pending restricted free agent with a $1.675 million cap hit.
Let’s break it down a little bit, folks.
Dube can go to the AHL if there’s no regular spot for him in Calgary. He’s still developing, but he’s already pretty good. Rieder and Rinaldo both cleared waivers earlier this season and are on league minimum contracts. They’re both likely happy to be in the NHL, and Rieder has been consistently in the lineup recently – he’s played in each of the past 16 games.
Heck, since Rieder’s last scratch Rinaldo has sat 11 times, Bennett once, Frolik twice, Dube twice and Jankowski six times.
The “where’s the fit?” bunch is Bennett, Frolik and Jankowski. Frolik’s agent has been vocal about his role in the past and it seems logical that he’ll walk as a free agent. Bennett and Jankowski are both team-controlled assets that like have some outside trade interest, but it seems likely that the Flames won’t want to sell either off for pennies on the dollar – if they were willing to do that, trades would’ve happened by now.
That said, the Flames are in a situation where consistency is hard to find and their ability to shake things up with any big moves is heavily hindered by their lack of cap space. Moving a past first round selection may be the biggest splash they can make to wake their locker room up a bit.

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