24 Dec 2021 21:33:48
TO CGY:
C/LW-Dylan Strome @3.00/RFA2022
RW/LW-Dominik Kubalik @3.70/RFA2022
LD-Riley Stillman @1.35/RFA2024
RW-Alexander Nylander @ELC/RFA2022

To CHI:
C-Sean Monahan @6.375/UFA2023
LD-Jusso Valimaki @1.55/RFA2023
RW-Tyler Pitlick @1.75/UFA2022
CGY-3rd Round Pick-2023

Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman
Dube-Strome-Kubalik
OR
Mangiapane-Strome-Kubalik
Dube-Backlund-Coleman

This isn't my first choice of trades to improve the Flames and would certainly be a gamble, but swap struggling players to revive careers, increase secondary scoring and obtain specific needs should CGY not acquire a Centre like Tomas Hertl & RW like Connor Brown.

CGY gets a Younger Centre, much needed Sniper and 3rd Pairing LD who can Hit and Block Shots while Chicago gets a Veteran Centre to groom the young guys coming up (especially if Kane or Toews get moved) and a Young Puck Moving NHL ready LD Top Prospect. CHI also needs to replace injured RW's Khaira, Johnson x2 & Shaw, but can flip Pitlick for another pick at the Deadline OR they're free of him after the season. Nylander is a throw in; he's had some knee issues and CHI has seemingly given up on him, but a change of scenery might be good and Stockton could use him + the chance he gets playing time with the Flames some day given they lack Right Shot RW's.

25 Dec 2021 01:10:54
I don't like it at all.

With the way Monahan has been playing this year and last Chicago would probably keep Strome even if Calgary retained 50% on Monahan. Monahan just isn't worth very much right now.

Stillman isn't good enough to trade Valimaki for. Walker Dueher is better than Kubalik right now, he's bigger and he's a right shot RW while Kubalik is a left shot LW. Alex Nylander is soft and lazy I doubt he'll ever be good enough to make it to the NHL.

25 Dec 2021 03:06:33
Fair enough, but don’t dissect it in to individual player for player trades, as I tried to make it work/ even things out as a package.

I’ve lost patience with Monahan (Backlund is almost there too), so included Valimaki (who should still be considered as a top prospect imo) + a 3rd RD pick as compensation for taking him on. Monahan is still playing better than both Strome and Kubalik, but he’s just too expensive. My thought is hopefully Strome/ Kubalik both rebound in Calgary or at least one of them does and if not, they’ll be easier to move out than Monahan if he continues to struggle.

Kubalik is a very interesting player and sniper. Watch him on the power play sometime. Calgary could use a guy who can one-time the puck and both Ovechkin and Draisaitl are not available and definitely not at that price lol. Kubalik scored 30 goals just a couple years ago, maybe they can get him back there. Stome is a coin toss, he’s the bigger gamble, but it’s amazing what changing teams does sometimes (Sam Bennett)

Stillman would be a decent 3rd line LD who hits, blocks shots and kills penalties at a good salary and he’s an RFA. May not need him if Mackey can play that role, but I figure Stillman is more defensive and best suited for the 3rd line, whereas Mackey is more offensive and Top-4 worthy, which may allow us to trade one of Hanifin/ Kylington/ Mackey down the road for other pieces.

Pitlick isn’t needed because we have Richie and Duehr and I’m indifferent on Nylander, just trying to throw him in, so he’s gets a different chance = not much risk by the Flames.

Tomas Hertl, Connor Brown, Tyler Toffoli, Brandon Tanev, Owen Tippett and Lawson Crouse are still my main Middle-6 Forward targets, with guys like Tarasenko, Zacha, JT Miller, Josh Anderson, Filip Forsberg of interest too but they’re expensive and I don’t that any of those teams will take back contracts like Monahan’s and Pitlick’s, so taking that on to consideration as well. I can’t wait for some roster changes and hockey to be back already too.

25 Dec 2021 03:26:54
I would definitely try Kubalik and AHL Players like Alexander Nylander or Zach Senyshyn before considering guys like Phil Kessel or Jake Debrusk.

25 Dec 2021 10:47:12
Unfortunately right now a phil kessel is about all we might get for Monahan. In that case I'd rather just hang onto Monahan and keep hoping he rebounds eventually.

Hertl, Brown and Toffoli won't come cheap. Zacha's contract is only 2.25M now though he RFA after this season. I wouldn't call them middle 6 players either, all of them except Zacha would be in the top 6 for sure. Zacha might be too.

Owen Tippet is an interesting player, I just don't see any way Florida trades him.

25 Dec 2021 18:48:07
I think we both agree CGY should stay away from Kessel. CGY's PP isn't bad, but I'd love to see them have a one-time Sniper in Kubalik and maybe just give him 4th line minutes at 5x5.

Monahan is starting to play better than Backlund IMO and likely wouldn't be a -9 if he were playing with Coleman and Mangiapane, so I'd promote him back to 2nd line with Dube on the RW again.

I was classifying the 2nd and 3rd lines as Middle-6 forwards, but line 2 is generally considered Top-6, my apologies. Hopefully we get one or two of our targets in the end, but I will continue to propose less desirable ones from time to time as backup plans to shake things up and/ or generate secondary chemistry and scoring.

26 Dec 2021 04:10:36
We pretty much agree on who needs to go, with a couple exceptions.

Backlund is fine he can play with anyone, up and down the lineup, on the PK and PP too. He isn't flashy but he's solid, reliable and is better offensively than you give him credit for. The thing is his role is to prevent the other team from scoring before thinking about producing offense.

Calgary losing Backlund would be a lot like Montreal losing Danault.

Gudbranson is fine too. He's perfect for his role. A big physical shutdown defenseman to anchor the 3rd pairing and PK. He's tough and sticks up for teammates. Gudbranson's presence is a huge part of why Johnny is playing better this year, he isn't getting hacked, whacked pushed around and playing scared anymore.

Monahan, Zadorov and Pitlick need to go. Everyone else is ok though there certainly are a few who might benefit from a change of scenery (Dube and Valimaki to name a couple) and could be traded for the right return.

26 Dec 2021 21:02:54
At 32, Backlund is definitely starting to regress or he's off to a bad start this year. He's down 50% on points this year (0.32PPG vs. 0.60-0.65 the previous 2 years) and he's only getting 2 shots a game, when he's usually 2.60SPG. Taking Face-Offs and Defensively he's fine and he's still valuable on the Power Kill, but he shouldn't be the 2nd Line Centre or on the Power Play anymore IMO.

Dube should actually replace Backlund as 2nd Line Centre and on the PP, but I don't think Sutter likes him, so I keep packaging him for a better impact player, like your proposal for Zacha.

Gudbrannson started the season off well, but he's either over compensating for Zadorov and losing track of his responsibility at times or he's starting to falter a bit. I'm not as concerned about him TBH and would consider keeping him as the 7th D, but I feel Subban would help drive the Puck 5-on-5 and would provide that Booming Slapshot on the 1st PP with either Andersson or Preferably Kylington on the 2nd PP unit. Hanifin is a very good overall defenseman but shouldn't be a main PP guy anymore either. Ryan Graves is close to the same player if not better, and will likely put up more points. Hanifin and Tanev would be your main PK guys, with Graves and Andersson on the 2nd Unit. All this said, I know defensemen peak later, so Hanifin is still young and could continue to get even better, but he seems to have plateaued lately.

Zadorov for sure needs to be replaced and as much as I believe Mackey can play that position, I don't think we should risk it, so CGY should acquire a proven rental with playoff experience or a guy like Graves who could actually take over for and make Hanifin expendable next year, for another star player.

Monahan has to go because he's been a defensive liability, but more importantly he may never be the same player and we need the cap space next year, yet he's probably better as a 2nd Line Centre than Backlund, but really should be moved to the wing IMO.

Pitlick and Coleman are both either super unlucky or having a bad year offensively. Coleman's not going anywhere of course, but if Pitlick doesn't do something offensively, we have other guys who can do what he does and for much cheaper: Duehr, Richie, Lewis, Ruzicka, Gawdin or heck try Prospisil or Michael Stone there, not sure they'd do any worse. Stone is underrated IMO and has a great Slap Shot.

We only need 2 of either Valimaki, Kylington and Mackey, so one has to go and that's likely Valimaki, who likely has better trade value than Mackey and CGY should only ship out Kylington if they get some type of offer they can't refuse.

27 Dec 2021 14:28:15
I don't understand why they won't put Monahan on the wing for a while and see how he does there. He had a few games at left wing near the end of last year but he was injured then. Other than that they've never tried him on the wing.

For years I've felt his skillset and playstyle would be better suited to wing anyhow. He'd have less defensive responsibility on the wing and could concentrate more on offense and finding his goal scoring touch again.

He should be ok at LW and might be even better as a RW firing one one timers. Over the last few years they've tried every left shot forward on the team at RW except Monahan and Gaudreau.

I like Dube quite a bit but he's been disappointing too. He hasn't been able to make the transition from a 3rd line grinder who shows flashes of skill and potential from time to time into a player who's consistently good enough to hold down a spot as a skilled middle 6 forward. It might be best to trade him preferably as part of a package for an upgrade at center, RW or LD.

Gudbranson I keep. Besides being a very useful inexpensive shutdown defenseman who clears the crease, his toughness and fighting ability make other players think twice about abusing our skill players.

I do agree we don't need all 3 of the young defensemen. Valimaki would fetch a better return than Mackey. With his size and potential he might fetch more than Kylington too though if Kylington keeps playing the way he has been that won't last much longer.

Stone is underrated. He's a good team guy with a great attitude and yes he has a great slap shot from the point.