Flames’ preseason showing dividends of 2016 fire sale

Due to the Flames’ trip to China, they’ve had the luxury of keeping much of their final NHL roster together early on in preseason. The reverse has been a boon for the team, as well: with such a prospect-heavy group dressing in early games, hopeful rookies have had the chance to stand out.

A couple of them have already done so in a big way: 2016 second round picks Dillon Dube and Tyler Parsons.

Dube and Parsons joined the organization through nearly identical means: not just by being drafted in the second round, not just by being drafted nearly back-to-back (Parsons was selected 54th overall, Dube 56th), but by the fact the picks used to bring them into the fold were not originally the Flames’.

The Flames’ second round pick that year, 35th overall, was traded for Brian Elliott. That was a move the team felt it could afford to make, perhaps in part due to the reinforcements they had later in that round thanks to a pair of earlier moves.

The Flames followed up their surprise 2014-15 season with a not-so-surprising 2015-16 coming back down to earth. While they ultimately finished as the third-worst team in the Western Conference – ahead of only the Canucks and Oilers – it was clear, by trade deadline time, they did not really have a hope at making the playoffs.

And so: sell off the veterans on expiring deals.

First to go was Jiri Hudler, the final few months of his services gone for a 2016 second round pick (Parsons), and a 2018 fourth rounder (Demetrios Koumontzis).

Two days later Kris Russell was gone, and back came Jyrki Jokipakka, Brett Pollock, and the chance of a first round pick that ended up being a second as the Stars failed to make the third round of that playoffs that year (Dube). (The Stars ended up selecting Riley Tufte with their first rounder; he’s playing in the NCAA.)

Back in the late winter of 2016, there wasn’t much to look forward to; now that we’re two and a half years down the line, we can see that it looks like the Flames maximized value out of their returns for a forward who was on his last NHL legs and a defenceman who may not even be as good as some of the prospects knocking on the door (i.e. his days in the organization would have been numbered anyway; just look at how people react to Michael Stone’s presence in the lineup today).

The draft is so often a matter of luck. Maybe we’ll one day be able to point to the reverse happening to the Flames: the team spending draft capital on players who never ended up helping them too much at the NHL level (see: Curtis Lazar for a second, Stone for a third and a fifth).

But at least, as this 2018 preseason progresses and some prospects have been able to make the most of their spotlight, we can see that selling at the 2016 trade deadline – not that long ago at all – appears to have given the Flames a couple of players that, if they meet their potential (and they sure look like they’re well on their way to doing that), could fill key roles in the lineup for years to come.