Report: Flames sign Nicklas Grossmann

Gross, mann.

It’s been a busy week so far leading up to actual hockey starting. Most of this has been positive. The Flames signed Johnny for a steal and just nabbed Kris Versteeg from the Shelbyville Oilers. 

Then they went and signed Nicklas Grossmann. This was quite obviously the wrong move.

You can’t really argue that Grossmann did anything better than Brett Kulak (or Tyler Wotherspoon, for that matter) during the preseason, so this deal was probably made to take advantage of the kids’ waiver flexibility. The light in this deal is that Kulak isn’t sitting in the pressbox or playing minor minutes, which is good for a kid that still needs a bit of work before truly being an NHL regular.

On the other hand, come on. The upside for Kulak in the lineup is that he can at least provide some sort of positive impact on the ice, should he be needed. He might even be better than we think! Grossmann has played 600 games of NHL hockey, and we know he really isn’t much besides a seventh D. Not to pile on, but they let Jakub Nakladal, their perfectly serviceable seventh defenceman last year, walk to Carolina for a mere $600K.

This is probably the final piece of business, minus paper moves, before rosters have to be submitted at 3 p.m. today.