WWYDW: Trade deadline free for all

It’s the last Wednesday before the trade deadline.

We’ve already posed a lot of trade deadline-related what-would-you-do questions. Should the Flames go for it? Mike Smith has been looking competent in multiple starts recently, is he good to go for some kind of playoff duty? Should the Flames add another forward? Should it be familiar face Micheal Ferland? Just how much should the Flames be willing to part with, anyway? And could it be one of their current regulars?

We’ve also talked about the first round pick, Mark Stone, and not Mark Stone.

The Flames will likely either stand pat or buy. We’re five days away from knowing the final outcome. What we do know right now, though, is that they’re not a perfect team. They’re a strong team – and possibly contenders for the Cup this year – but they could likely use some more help should they choose to seek it out.

The Western Conference is an absolute nightmare in determining who might sell – four of seven non-playoff teams at the moment are literally just a single point out from the last wild card spot, it’s absurd – so our focus turns to the Eastern Conference. The Senators are sellers, as should be the Red Wings and Devils. The Rangers and Panthers are pretty close to being done, the Flyers and Sabres are interesting, and that’s about it. (The Kings and Ducks should probably be selling, too, though both are division rivals and the latter is only three points out, so who knows. The Oilers should also be selling but we don’t have time to unpack that mess.)

Stone seems like the perfect acquisition for the Flames: he’s big, he’s relatively young, he’s a right-shot right winger, and he’s really, really good. Unfortunately, that’s going to make him expensive. Matt Duchene checks a couple of those boxes, too (good player, though not as good, and young-ish). Mats Zuccarello is the other name that’s probably come up the most, and who knows what else could happen.

In short: there are a lot of variables but spread across just a few teams, and nobody has made any really big moves yet. It’s still anybody’s game.

So let’s keep this one brief: what do you want the Flames to do come Monday? Here are your CBA restrictions. Go nuts. Trade for scoring, trade for size, trade away a regular that could actually realistically be traded away, part ways with a prospect or the first round pick, or just hope they do nothing at all. Every guess is as good as the next one – because so far, hands have not been tipped, and at this stage we’re waiting for something to happen. These are our last few days of wild speculation.