FORWARDS
- Priority 1 for this off season should be having Lindholm sign an extension on July 1st.
- Huberdeau and Lindholm need to figure it out together next season, having Huberdeau play down in the line up just leaves the top line far to weak with Dube or Mangiapane filling that hole. I expect Hubby to bounce back and have a good season next year.
- Middle six is obviously a strength in the organization they lack serious upside talent but the middle six can produce with the best of them. I think it's likely Coronato starts the season with the Wranglers unless he makes a ridiculously good case out of training camp but I expect him on the roster well before Christmas. Center depth is great, they'll need to find a way to shelter Kadri in the D zone a little bit which I think Pelletier and Mangiapane can do with their strong 200 ft games. Backlund bump goes to Dube at least until Coronato makes his way to the big show.
- Bottom 6 will get its shake up and injection of youth, Duehr is found money with how well he played to end the year and I think that he Ruzicka/Hunt/Schwindt/Klapka/Lewis make a formidable 4th line.
DEFENCE
- I would be shocked if they moved on from Hanifin this off season, I have seen it suggested in a few circles but it really doesn't make a ton of sense, even if he were to sign an 8 year extension in the same territory as Weegar he would be 35 when the contract expires, plenty of D with his style of game are still extraordinarily productive at that age. Pay the man!
- Kylington remains a questions mark, I would prefer he is someone else's question mark at this point as he only has a year left until UFA, if he comes back and is half the player he was before the time off then the opportunity to move him has long passed and he will walk to UFA for nothing and the Flames would be left looking for options on the back end.
- Loved Stetcher's play down the stretch I think he's a great insurance policy on the right side behind Tanev who unfortunately can't shake the injury bug
GOALTENDING
- Markstrom mentoring Wolf is best case scenario, Vladar was good but showed that he was a really good back up with 1B upside. Wolf has been too good in the AHL to keep down there and I think that having him come in and play 25-30 games next season is a perfect path for his development to split starts the following year and then take over the crease in Markstrom's last year of his deal.
COACHING/GM
- Sutter will be back behind the bench, I think there will be some changes and they fill the staff with Sutter's successor in Mitch Love to replace Kirk Muller. Sutter, Huska, MacLean and Love would be a strong staff and I think that Love have such a good relationship with the current Wranglers and hopefully some championship pedigree after this Calder run bodes well for building trust with young guys at the next level.
- I think Treliving is gone, I don't necessarily like that but I think he has ran his course, he's a great GM, manages the media well but ran into a buzzsaw that is Sutter, he will find another job in hockey opps somewhere and I can see him building a cup winning team. As for a succession plan, I wonder if it's already in house with Conroy and Maloney running the hockey opps department. With Pittsburgh cleaning house I wonder if Burke could step back into his role being the buffer between a new GM in Conroy and the media the same way he did for Treliving, I also think Burke would have the capacity to go head to head with Sutter in terms of personnel decisions.
DRAFT
- Flames cupboards are pretty bare on the back end and not a ton of picks at the moment, with such a deep draft I think Conroy makes his mark and picks up a couple more picks with the Vladar trade as well as making a deal with Chicago to move the 16th pick for Chicago's 20th and 66th pick, if the player is still on the board you move back again with St. Louis to 25 while getting another 3rd rounder in the process.
- If Reinbacher or Pellikka are there at 15, make the pick and stock those D cupboards, Poirier is the only prospect really on the NHL radar right now with Solovyov, Kuznetsoz, Boltmann, Jordan yet to make their mark.
OUTLOOK
All that being said, the team is due for a bounce back. They have a strong roster and a small window to compete, I don't think it would be wise to shake up the roster two years in a row and expect a different result. Kadri with a full offseason, Huberdeau settled in and some youth injected into the line up should all push this team to a better result next season.
Enjoy the playoffs, enjoy the baseball season, golf, the summer all of the above!
To respond to something you said in your description, I don't believe the blackhawks will trade up. they're gonna try and rack up as many 1st and 2nd rounders as possible instead of moving up just 4 spots.
I like Stecher but I would much rather have Kylington than him. Ruzicka >>> Schwidnt and Coronato derves a shot
I'm more sold on Stetcher on the right side, I think that Kylington having one year left of a deal with so much uncertainty is my main reason for moving him out, if the Flames get 20 games in and they have 2018 - 2021 can't play a lick of defence Kylington as opposed to career year Kylington they'll be searching for a fix. You know what you're going to get with Stetcher and from his exit interview it sounds like he enjoyed playing in Calgary, I get your point, I just have more confidence in a cheaper Stetcher. I think that Ruzicka could replace Bemstrom on that bottom line, I also think that Ruzicka is going to have to have a ridiculous good camp to not be locked in as a 13th forward, I like Schwindt's upside and responsibility way more than Ruzicka's, again all dependant on training camp and if Schwindt can get a little faster. I think he plays a way better center ice than Ruzicka. Coronato will have to steal a job. Everyone has seen how the organization is run, I think he starts in the A but is up quickly.
McDavid, Connor
$250,000)
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