Bothare fine players, but Minnesota will pass. Two ELCs are far more valuable to a team about to enter their contention window than Hanifin/Backlund would be on FA deals...

I like this trade a lot for my Flames but you're probably right. If I was Minnesota's GM I wouldn't do it.

I don't blame you! I'd be pretty excited getting two players who could potentially be good players for a decade or more in exchange for a mid-30s guy who MIGHT have 4-5 good years left and one who seems to want out of Calgary.

And I get the whole "fans overvalue their prospects" thing, but we see Faber stapled to Brodin's side until Brodin leaves or retires, and we see Ohgren riding shotgun with Kaprizov or Boldy. So, IMO, we can't get rid of our first or second pair RHD and one of our top 2 forward prospects for an aging 3C and a mediocre 2nd pair or high end 3rd pair LHD. That is just bad asset management.

It'd be a different story if it was 1st line center Lindholm. Hopefully he will extend with the Flames but if not those two + the 1st would be enough to get serious talks going. The question then would be if he'd be willing extend with Minnesota.

See, and that might be the scarier part. Lindholm is a good player, don't get me wrong, but he's not someone who gets me excited as the guy who would be my team's 1C for the next 8 years and CERTAINLY not at 8.5 or whatever he's asking. So the trade assets + contract cost = a big time no from me. I'd rather him extend with CGY and be with you guys who clearly, genuinely appreciate him.

Wow I missed that before. Backlund isn't a mediocre 3C he's one of the best defensive centers in the league. Yes he's getting up there in age but he hasn't slowed down yet and is coming off a career year in spite of it being a poor year for the team. He's a terrific 3C / acceptable 2C. He's also one of those players that makes everyone around him better a team first guy not a me guy. Last year he had the most points he's ever gotten in a season (56 points on the 3rd line) and the best plus/minus on the team (+24).

Hanifin isn't a mediocre 2nd pair / high end 3rd pair either he's a mediocre 1st pair / high end 2nd pair. He'd be number 2 or 3 on the vast majority of teams around the league. And he's only 26 years old just entering his prime. If he was just one of a bit more physical (more and harder hitting mainly), a bit more productive or had a better point shot he'd be number 1 or 2 on a lot of teams.

Yeah I was really only harping on Hanifin with that one. He just doesn't do it for me, personally, and we already have a similar player in Brodin. I have way more time for Backlund but he's 34 and you just don't trade two guys on ELCs for a 34 year old and win those trades very often. And like I said, pass on Hanifin. Fine player, but redundant for this team.

That I get. If Hanifin was more physical I'd want to keep him. He's not a pushover but he doesn't have a mean streak or much pushback. I've never really noticed Brodin as a player who stands out so it'd make sense if he's similar to Hanifin in that way.

Andersson on the other hand hits even less than Hanifin but is more physical and has plenty of pushback. He's a keeper who's still getting better.

Brodin is very noticeable. If you actually take the time to watch him. If you don't, he doesn't tend to stand out much, no.

However, he's one of the best pure skaters in the entire league, and there isn't a better backwards skater period. His ability to skate with and shutdown opponents has arguably made him the best shutdown defenseman in the league.

I mean, for reference, when I talk about how good his skating is, I mean he has the ability to skate with AND keep up/on top of McDavid. All while skating backwards.

In short, he's a better Hanifin. So Hanifin simply isn't going to play over him. And while he's better than Middleton, and the fact Middleton loses some weight to him. Middleton makes up for it by being more physical, hits more, and blocks more. So he's a better fit there next to Spurgeon.

The unfortunate fact is that Hanifin would likely play on the 3rd pairing in Minnesota.