FlamesNation Mailbag: UFA sneak peek

It’s odd to think, but in a week’s time the NHL season could be completely over. The buyout window opens on June 15. The draft is just under three weeks away (not that it is supremely relevant to the Flames this year). Free agency opens in just a month. The exciting part of the non-hockey season is just around the corner.

So we’re taking an early peek at what the Flames could do in the frenzy, among other things.

I think the two are linked, but not in that order.

The Flames have the spots open for a few AHLers to make the jump next season, and I think that’s been the plan for a while now, even if Glen Gulutzan and co. weren’t fired. Given the chaos of a coaching change in combination with adding a bunch of fresh faced rookies, it could be a volatile situation. If your team is going to have a few prospects in it next year while undergoing a coaching change, might as well keep around a guy to help the kids who are likely to be lost in all the chaos.

I think adding Ryan Huska was an opportunity that presented itself. He’s a guy with a pretty good success record of bringing players to the NHL (evident last year with David Rittich, Brett Kulak, Mark Jankowski, and Garnet Hathaway. Rasmus Andersson and Spencer Foo are also pointing in the right direction) but the Flames just aren’t rewarding him. He’s going to play a valuable role in getting guys like Andrew Mangiapane, Foo, Andersson, and potentially Morgan Klimchuk settled at the NHL level. I think it was the plan all along.

I don’t know. Maybe Cail MacLean, current Stockton assistant, gets the nod. I could see them go to a WHL coach (Tim Hunter, perhaps) to groom him for an NHL job should Bill Peters not work out.

Otherwise, no intrigue. I’m not sure the coaching position is of much importance when all the orders come from upstairs anyways. The way the Flames have set up their AHL system is to try and create a transition as seamless as possible between AHL and NHL. That means implementing the NHL system, getting the future NHLers the most ice time, and generally doing as much as they can to bridge the gap between the two leagues. I’m sure you or I could be the Stockton head coach if we put Flames game footage on and played the important prospects on the first line.

My pipe dream is that they somehow find a way to pry Mark Stone out of Ottawa. I have no clue how they do it, but that’s what I want most.

A fun option might be to sign Ilya Kovalchuk. The guy has not shown any sign of slowing down in Russia, and if you can get him on a reasonable contract, perhaps he can become the finishing piece on that top line as well as a legitimate powerplay threat.

A real hot take might be that Dillon Dube somehow finds his way to the top. The kid had a great finish to the year as Stockton’s #1 RW and is still not even 20 years old. He surprised a lot of people at camp this past season, perhaps he’s an even bigger surprise this time around.

Realistically, it might be Micheal Ferland again. The RW free agency market is thin and the Flames don’t have many assets to pony up for the RW that would solve their issues (i.e. Mark Stone). I think there’s certainly going to be a lot of careful consideration, but given prices and players available, I don’t think they’re going to make a serious move.

I’m in the boat that the Flames should be going for another goalie as an insurance policy. Mike Smith’s injury history and old age present concerns and who knows if Jon Gillies and/or David Rittich are up to task. It’d be a shame to flush another potentially great season thanks to poor goaltending. They could use another one.

Hutton is a mixed bag for me. Across his career, he’s average but saw a nearly 20 point jump in his SV% this season, which causes me to think that he’s had an aberration year. At 32, it’s not likely he’s turned a corner. Given the Brian Elliott experience, I think the Flames would avoid going for another untested starter from St. Louis. Not to mention that a desperate team will definitely start a bidding war for his services.

Other UFA goalies aren’t particularly intriguing. Perhaps Jonathan Bernier could be a handy backup. Anton Khudobin could be an interesting target for cheap. Otherwise, bleh.

I think they shouldn’t even bother with Hathaway. He’s an alright energy guy on most nights but certainly not a solution for the Flames. He’s a pretty good PKer and not much else. I wouldn’t be offended if they kept him in a limited fourth line role, but there’s certainly younger and better players in the farm system that have earned more of a shot.

Since Lazar is under contract, they should probably send him to the AHL.

If you believe that Lazar’s development was screwed up by Ottawa, you must also agree that it makes no sense to keep him plugging away in fourth line minutes in Calgary. Who does that help? He’s not good enough to play up the rotation (his only redeeming quality is speed, and even that isn’t high end), so might as well send him to a place where he can actually get good minutes in at a level that is at least around his own.

If you’re worried about waivers, what other team is going to look at his 250 game sample (including his 16 points in his past two seasons) and say that they desperately need him?

I don’t think so. There aren’t many UFAs like Evander Kane: young, just entering their prime, and productive. John Tavares is in a tier of his own, so whatever Kane gets doesn’t really impact him.

One of the only players I could see this impacting is James van Riemsdyk. The 29-year-old had similar production and is probably option B for teams that were hoping that they could get a piece of Kane. He might not get the seven years (six sounds reasonable) but he will certainly get around $6M for his work.

If the Flames want JVR (if they wanted Kane like they did at trade deadline, you’d have to think they’re in), then it certainly affects them. Otherwise, I’m not sure who they would be looking at that would get a bump from the Kane deal.

I think either James Neal or David Perron from the Vegas Golden Knights are types to avoid. Both are high scoring wingers (Perron more so than Neal), which the Flames are desperately going to pay for, but they should really watch out. They’re unlikely to continue the Vegas magic after this season, and certainly won’t as they move into their 30s. If there are players that are going to be time bombs, these are easy candidates.

John Carlson is also an option to avoid. Besides the fact that the Flames have plenty of defensive depth, Carlson is a poor possession player who needs offensive zone starts to put up big offensive numbers. He’s a Dennis Wideman clone and will probably start falling apart after this season. Someone is going to pay a lot for a long time for Carlson’s services, and he may only be a useful player for a few of those years.

JVR might be someone to avoid, too. He’s still youngish and will probably still be good for a few more years, but he’s going to get a massive overpayment based on name value and precedent. If the Flames can get a reasonable term for him, go for it, but otherwise avoid. Tyler Bozak is another Leafs player to stay away from.

Associate coaches are one step below head coaches. If there’s a line of succession in coaching, Geoff Ward would be the next one up. It’s a slight promotion from assistant coach, but mostly a pay raise without much more responsibilities. According to a radio hit, New Jersey GM Ray Shero would only let Ward leave if there was a promotion involved, so that’s why Ward is an associate and not an assistant. This was similar to the setup used when Jim Playfair was demoted and Mike Keenan was made head coach.