Flames Trade Deadline 2015: A Preview Roundtable

We’re now firmly in the swing of Trade Deadline Week here at FlamesNation, and it’s time to check in with our team before the team we cover trades everybody away for magic beans. So we checked in with Mike Cadarette, Arii, Byron Bader, Beloch and me to see how we think the next week-or-so will play out.

Add your takes in the comments!

Mike: Young-ish defensive prospects would help this rebuild immensely. In a perfect world, Scott Harrington (Pittsburgh), Stephen Johns (Chicago), or Joe Morrow (Boston) would become a Calgary Flame (or Adirondack Flame) on March 2nd. Early round picks would also be ideal.
I would love to see an established second pairing defenseman join the Flames who can take a few minutes off of the current top-4.

Arii: A young, top four defenceman. Preferably someone no older than his lateish mid-20s, although if it was someone like, say, Zbynek Michalek, I’d be fine with that too, just as long as he doesn’t cost any meaningful future assets. But ideally someone who can play top four, and play top four for a long while yet, would be awesome and address probably the roster’s biggest weakness for now and the future.

Byron: Zybnek Michalek or Patrick Wiercioch or Adam Larsson, and Phil Kessel.

Beloch: In a perfect world, it would be a youngish #3 defenceman who, when paired with Russell or Wideman, would drive play in the right direction.

Ryan: Ideally, I’d love if they could add a second pairing defender in their early 20s who could push Dennis Wideman down to the third pairing. Some functional bottom six players to join Bouma would be nice, as would picks. Many, many picks.

Mike: At the deadline, considering Glencross is in play, I think it’s reasonable to expect Treliving to pick up a second-round pick and a ‘B’ prospect for him. GMs tend to give up their Swiss bank account on deadline day, so I think Glencross could net the Flames a return like that depending on the desperation of the GM on the other end of the phone.

Arii: Uhhh. Maybe Michalek actually will be the guy with the Treliving-Phoenix connection, but I’m not actually sure. I think at minimum the Flames will have a couple of extra picks for the draft, but I doubt any of them are higher than second rounders, if even that.

Byron: Much worse defencemen [than I mentioned previously].

Beloch: I’m answering this question along with Question 4 because they really are co-dependent. Given the early state of the rebuild, the Flames want to keep their picks and prospects and obtain long-term contributors. Given the tight playoff race, the Flames also want to keep their veterans or obtain, in trade for them, players ready to contribute now. This limits what Treliving can do. A near-ideal trade would be to move Glencross, Wideman, and Ramo for a less valuable backup goalie (for depth) and that white whale #3D. Even if the defensive gain doesn’t quite balance the loss in offense, such a trade would allow the Flames to make a credible run at the playoffs without being forced to watch multiple UFA’s walk in the summer.
If Treliving doesn’t pull off a miracle trade, should he stand pat or trade his pending UFA’s?. Standing pat and missing the playoffs would be worst-case scenario. It’s a loss, both in the long and short term. Conversely, trading Glencross and Ramo for future-friendly assets and making the playoffs is win-win. If Treliving trades Ramo and Glencross, this protects him from the worst-case and gives him a shot at the jackpot.

Ryan: I think the Flames could be very busy or the Flames could do next to nothing. At worst, I expect moves similar to the Drew Shore deal – lower profile “tinkering” trades designed to bring in assets that could pay off. That and Treliving adding draft picks.

Mike: In a perfect world, Deryk Engelland is sold for a late pick and Wotherspoon is brought in to fill his spot. That would never happen though considering his cap hit. I also think it would be mutually beneficial if Glencross is shipped out. The Flames would advance the rebuild with picks/prospects and Scoreface can get his chance at a Stanley Cup.

Arii: Curtis Glencross for sure. Karri Ramo. Any way to get rid of Brandon Bollig and Deryk Engelland would be awesome.

Byron: Engelland, Glencross and Ramo

Beloch: Glencross, Ramo and Wideman. The first two are both pending UFA’s who seem unlikely to sign extensions, so it’s time to move them. Wideman is not a UFA, but trading him now would be “selling high” thanks to his shiny point total. Defensively, he’s an anchor on the Flames second pair and the Flames tend to bury their third pair in defensive zone starts where Wideman is at his weakest. This means Wideman is not an ideal fit for the Flames at present.

Ryan: I’d love for the Flames to move out some of their longer, not-great contracts (like Wideman) to get themselves a bit of flexibility in the future. And I’d prefer if they flipped any free agents that aren’t in their plans for some manner of assets, just so they don’t lose anything for nothing.

Mike: Short of sounding like a broken record, I think Curtis Glencross will no longer be a Flame. Burke wasn’t able to get anything for Cammalleri last season and that was a mistake (even if he was being lowballed). I don’t believe Treliving will make the same mistake.
I think there’s an outside chance that a GM inquires about Paul Byron and is dealt for a mid-round pick. With the amount of youth coming in next season, it wouldn’t hurt to move on from Paul. [Editor’s Note: Written before Byron’s injury.]

Arii: Just Glencross. Maybe a lower level prospect, like a Max Reinhart type, is gone as well to upgrade the team in another area.

Byron: Glencross for a song.

Beloch: See previous answer for question 2.

Ryan: I expect them to flip Glencross and Ramo for…something. Probably picks. And I’d also expect the Flames to ship out someone like Max Reinhart, as it seems pretty obvious that he’s not in their plans anymore. (And that’s a similar move as the Corban Knight trade, really…)

Mike: Treliving hasn’t shown me anything that would make me wary of his ability to do the right things on deadline day. I’ll chalk the Bollig trade on draft day as an over-anxious rookie GM making a mistake (even though the chances of that pick becoming anything are slim). So far, Treliving has said all the right things to the media about not sacrificing the future for the present.
In Burke’s (small) tenure as the Flames’ GM, he made two good moves on deadline day when he stole a second-rounder from the Avs for Reto Berra and flipped Lee Stempniak for a third-rounder.
I’m optimistic they’ll do the right things to assist the rebuild on March 2nd.

Arii: I am very trusting of him! The Bollig and Engelland oversights from the beginning of his GMing career seem more Burke-like than anything, and nothing like that has really happened since Engelland was signed. Treliving’s hitting all the right notes in his interviews so I’m really not concerned about him at all. The trade deadline will be a win if the Flames don’t lose any future assets, and anything that’ll improve them in the meantime is a bonus, and that’s what it sounds like Treliving’s goals are.
Also, Brian Burke isn’t the GM, so he’s really of no concern to me at all.

Byron: High. I think he’s done well for the most part. Makes me feel better with Burke being around. Burke doesn’t normally get fleeced.

Beloch: So far, Treliving has said the right things about the state of the rebuild and has made only minor, but smart, moves. Trading Corban Knight for Drew Shore was larceny! Meanwhile, Burke has been uncharacteristically silent. This is a situation where two minds are likely better than one. Burke or Treliving alone might feel pressured to do something, even if it’s not smart. Fortunately, if one of them is tempted to make a bad move the other guy is there to offer sober second thought. As such, there’s room for optimism. However, if a wild-haired Burke holds a press conference about the many virtues of having size and truculence, then you can panic.

Ryan: The more exposure I get to Treliving, the more I think he’s a rational, measured person who isn’t going to go hog-wild in any particular direction. Given that the Flames are at a crucial moment in the rebuild, he’s probably the right captain for this ship at this deadline.
And I’m sure Burke’s major job right now is just to go “Yeah, that sounds smart, Brad…” and collect his cheque.