Ryan let’s say only Coleman is traded at the deadline. The Flames get number 1 pick and take McKenna. Could you see them change philosophy and become next seasons Islanders? Thanks!
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FlamesNation Mailbag: Getting ready for trade deadline week
Photo credit: Mike Gould
Folks, it’s a big week in the National Hockey League. The trade deadline is 1 p.m. MT on Friday. The Calgary Flames could be busy, though some of their potential big moves may have to wait for the summer.
In the meantime, let’s check in with the mailbag!
Man, getting Gavin McKenna – or anybody else in the top three or four picks – would be a coup for the Flames. That said, they’re still in the process of accumulating high-end assets and developing them into strong young NHL players. Until they have a critical mass of young players to compliment the likes of Dustin Wolf and Zayne Parekh, they’re probably going to remain in that accumulation phase – even if they get McKenna or another high-end player in June.
Hey Ryan! My question would be surrounding the players the flames would be targeting. We all know the speculation of players that the flames are trying to trade away, but are there any players on other team’s blocks that the flames would be actively inquiring on? Thanks!
If I’m the Flames, I’m looking for players below the age of 25 that may be under-valued or under-performing in their current spots. Yegor Sharangovich or Kevin Bahl are good examples of this; young players that had promise in New Jersey, but perhaps needed a bit of a run on a team with a shallower NHL talent pool so they could reach their potential.
Also, centres. They need centres.
What do you expect the returns for Coleman, Kadri, Whitecloud, Hanley, and Pachal could be if they get traded?
Alright, pure speculation time!
- Blake Coleman: first-round pick
- Nazem Kadri: second-round pick
- Zach Whitecloud: second-round pick
- Joel Hanley or Brayden Pachal: fourth-round pick
We’ll get into why I think Kadri gets less than Coleman a little later, but the gist is “downside risk” and “length of contract.”
Are there any cap dump candidates that the flames could take on for some draft capital?
I can’t really think of any because I’m not sure who’s available. I would say that I don’t think the Flames are gonna take on pure “cap dumps,” but rather look at players that may just be a bit overpaid for their current role on their current team. The Flames have the ability to overpay a second-line centre for a couple seasons, for example, while a contender might not.
Hi Ryan! How do you think take value term? For the Anderson trade the narrative was often we got less because he was a rental. But now for a potential Kadri deal seems like the term is more of a negative this time.
I love this question!
I would frame it in terms of risk. With Rasmus Andersson, if you acquire him you have the opportunity to convince him to sign an extension… but you also carry the risk of him walking away for nothing on July 1. For Blake Coleman, you get someone older than Andersson, but with two playoff runs left on their contract and a strong track record as a recent Stanley Cup winner. For Nazem Kadri, you get a really effective centre with a recent Stanley Cup ring… but he’s older than Coleman and is under contract for this year and three more seasons.
If Andersson turns out to be a bad fit or can’t perform, you’re not stuck with him. Coleman you would only be stuck with for another 16 months or so. For Kadri, it’s a lot longer, and his age and playing style make the potential for a drop-off a bit more likely than the others.
It’s about balancing value and risk, and that’s why trades are tough to make sometimes.
Hi. If the Flames make a lesser amount of trades, for whatever reason, will that be deemed as a mistake by Conroy? His fault or not? Return, contacts, other GM's.
Yes and no.
Yes, in the sense that it would be nice for the Flames to clear some pathways to develop some of the players they’ve drafted over the last 2-3 years. And so moving some older players to add picks (or more prospects) provides some opportunities for upward mobility and development.
No, in the sense that if the prices the Flames want aren’t there, aside from Ryan Lomberg, precisely zero of their assets are on expiring contracts. (And in Lomberg’s case, he’s been pretty adamant that he would like to return.) So the Flames don’t need to accept less than they think a player’s value is just for the same of getting something.
Conroy’s been patient so far and his approach has seemingly worked so far, so I would not be shocked if, in a buyer’s market, he doesn’t stand pat on some assets and then regroup in the summer like he did a couple years ago.
Hi. I am really liking the Flames defense group over the next 5 years. Bahl, Brzustewicz, Parekh, Kuznetsov. Add in Whitecloud and Weeger, or someone else on the Wranglers. Therefore, shouldn't the Flames be focused only on forwards for trades and drafts?
If you draft good players and you have a surplus in a particular position, you can make trades. As straight-forward as it sounds, you start getting yourself into unnecessary trouble when you start twisting yourself into knots to fill positional needs rather than just taking the best player available at each slot.
Got a question for a future mailbag? Contact Ryan on Twitter/BlueSky at @RyanNPike or e-mail him at Ryan.Pike [at] BetterCollective.com! (Make sure you put Mailbag in the subject line!)
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