Team: 2022-23 Calgary Flames

Initial Creation Date: May 27, 2022

Published: May 28, 2022

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Flames might have forced themselves into an unwanted rebuild I'm afraid. Yes this is an Oilers fan rubbing salt in the wound and yes this is an outsider's perspective here but correct me if I'm wrong:

- Gaudreau has been rumoured for years to want to play for an American team out east, has a best friend named Kevin Hayes waiting in the wood works in Philadelphia, New Jersey a potential option?
- Tkachuk can accept a qualifying offer (of around 9 million i think?) this offseason then walks right into UFA. Also heavily speculated he won't sign long-term. Do you qualify Tkachuk for one last kick at the can and risk losing him for nothing like you just did with Gaudreau? Personally not a wise idea.
- Monahan as well is a huge question mark. Big injury after big injury who knows if he'll be the same again, or even play hockey again. At 50% retained Calgary can likely look to find value elsewhere, or if his injuries' heal time bleeds into training camp + beginning of regular season, do you stuff him on LTIR and let him walk next season?
- The last couple years in FA the flames have NOT been gearing or making moves for a rebuild. Trading for Toffoli, signing Markstrom, Tanev & Coleman, all contracts you very likely don't move. The cap dump of Lucic doesn't help rotting away at 4LW but with 1 year remaining (and 50% retained), if needed seems somewhat moveable (if he agrees to waive NMC).

With that being said, I'm going to take the assumptions moving forward in this cap friendly that:
- Gaudreau walks, PHI will look to acquire his rights for the 8th Year (like they did with Hayes)
- Tkachuk gets qualified and flipped, it would be stupid not to capitalize on his value instead of letting him walk next offseason
- A team stupid enough with enough cap space (Ottawa) takes a chance at Monahan
- Lucic does waive NMC, for very specific place with salary retained


In order to make room for Gaudreau, in the very trade sending Gaudreau over, the Flyers send back JVR. At 1 year remaining he essentially takes up Gaudreau's role in the top 6. As well, Philly gives up prospect Wade Allison. Allison has been an offensive beast in the AHL but struggled to crack PHI's roster, he gets another kick at the can here in Calgary. PHI gives up a 1st here, which may seem like much but they are not only getting the 8th year of Gaudreau's deal, shedding JVR's cap but also grabbing Juuso Valimaki as well. Valimaki has surprisingly fell out of favour in Calgary's depth chart which is likely a Sutter issue and not a slight on Valimaki as a player. Valimaki gets a fresh start on PHI and gets to work behind Provorov and Sanheim on the left side. Somehow, the Flames manage to get some value out of Gaudreau, and I would see this trade as an absolute win for Calgary

Now, for the very reason I think this trade would be a good fit some could argue the opposite, but here goes nothing. Next offseason, St Louis has Tarasenko & O'Reilly walking into UFA, with Kyrou and Thomas walking into RFA. Their longest tenure deals currently are for Krug, Faulk, Schenn & Parayko who all make on or around 6.5 for 6-8 years. While I believe St Louis will have to find a way to move 1/4, and as well 1/4 of the UFA/RFA names I spoke of will likely not be back. why not go and get a hometown kid in Tkachuk, offer him a massive 8 year deal. While my thought process is along the lines of "just in case these guys walk from St Louis, you have Tkachuk long term" you could easily say "well signing Tkachuk long term will hinder their ability to come back" which is fair. St Louis could easily just qualify Tkachuk, then walk into next offseason with even more expiring deals. This is why St Louis dumps the contract of Scandella, to further help next offseason with a multitude of deals coming up. St Louis here as well has to really give up some futures to get this done. 2 1sts is fair for a 24 year old 100 point getter. Tyson Galloway is a former 5th round pick and current Calgary Hitmen, again the Calgary connection could be meaningless but thought to include a C-Level prospect, Galloway is the one.

Ottawa takes on Monahan here, and this does seem like a weird trade on the surface, but here is why I think it gets done. Monahan is a former Ottawa 67, roots are already here in Ottawa and out of anywhere, with his ridiculous cap hit this could be the team to take him, Ottawa is adamant that their rebuild is "over" which means its time to buy on talent. Not like Monahan has loads of value anymore so you get him for cheap. 4 years removed off of a 82 point season, things could be worse. If the injury is worse than expected and only plays in a handful of games, then he gets released and his future in the sport is questioned. To me at least this doesn't seem like the best idea nor would I as Ottawa, but you got to remember, it's Dorion. As much as it doesn't make sense, it oh so does. As for Watson, seems like a Sutter player, 4th line winger, nothing special.

This trade here seems slightly out of left field, but I feel makes sense for all parties involved. Milan Lucic, last year on his deal, was never "targeted" by Calgary but one half of a bad contract swap, and he simply is not playing good hockey. Him and his family are building a new place in California and there were slight rumours of retirement. Although Vancouver is certainly not in California, Vancouver is his hometown. There is a chance this is his last season, he gets to play a very sheltered, very reduced role in Vancouver, potentially buried in the AHL (if possible?). As for Colton Poolman, throw in, brother of Tucker Poolman. Onto Tanner Pearson, played for Sutter as a rookie and few years to follow in Los Angeles. Like Toffoli, Sutter knows Pearson well. As for why DiPietro gets moved here, it's been discussed by Canucks management DiPietro is not that guy anymore. Arturs Silovs is who the Nucks look at as the future in net, rumours of them bringing a veteran goalie in to Abbotsford next year (assuming Martin gets backup role i guess?). All of which spells the end for DiPietro. He gets a chance to redeem himself with his play in Calgary's AHL team. Why the values make sense? Calgary gets Pearson with 1 extra year making 3.25, Calgary retains on Lucic so his deal matches Pearson's. Pearson is a significantly better player than Lucic. DiPietro has some upside, Poolman has little to none.


That is finally it for trades, onto RFA resigning. I think Kylington takes an identical deal to Andersson and signs a 6 x 4,550,000 deal. After the year he had, I'd say this is more than worth it. As for Mangiapane, I feel a fair 5 x 5 work for him. I could be wrong, but I think that is fair. Adam Ruzicka played as a fringe NHLer this year, he takes a .925 deal, and will look to grow into a more acceptable deal. Pospisil & Allison get matching deals, DiPietro gets a minimum 2 way, 1 year deal. As for UFAs I feel CGY chooses to bring back 3 in particular, which are Gudbranson, Stone & Lewis. Gudbranson signs a 2 x 2 which could be seen as an overpay, but looks like several teams have been frequently looking to overpay him. Stone & Lewis both take a minimum deal.

Resigning out of the way, now CGY looks to poach some new talent in FA. With 1 particular name in my mind. A player GM Brad Treliving has tried to acquire once before, and that is Nazem Kadri. Kadri has gone on record saying his NMC rejection to CGY wasn't an attack on the team but more so to stay in Toronto. Kadri this season can be universally assumed to be leaving Toronto and one team will be having to overpay for his services, with CGY now down Gaudreau & Tkachuk, with a decent team on the horizon, Kadri seems like a good pick. Kadri gets to reunite with former Maple Leaf teammate in JVR as well. For one final signing, they choose to bring in a penalty killing FWD in Riley Sheahan.

As you have 3 veterans sitting on the bench making league minimum, I definitely see guys like Pospisil, Pelletier, Coronato (post NCAA season) getting games this season due to injuries. On defence, Connor Mackey is also likely a good shout. I didn't bother to go through FA and sign veterans for the new Calgary AHL team, but I'm sure there will be plenty of players interested living in a big city like Calgary opposed to Stockton.

All in all, as an Oilers fan I want Calgary to succeed, I want more Battles of Alberta in the playoffs. From the outside looking in however, the futures of Gaudreau & Tkachuk were not looking promising. This season in particular is a cap crunch. JVR's 7 mil, Lucic's retention don't help. Next season, cap crawls up slowly, both of those cap anchors are expired. Not to mention for the future of the flames THREE 1sts in 2023 alongside around 13 million in free cap space, in addition to current prospects like Zary, Pelletier & Coronato breaking into the lineup, future is bright.

1.

2.

3.

4.