Brad Treliving pulled off his second big trade of 2022 on Wednesday evening acquiring Calle Jarnkrok from the Seattle Kraken.
Treliving has been relatively quiet in season when it comes to big trades, but two in a row signals that the Flames are all in on this season. We previously took a look at Brad Treliving’s trade history at the NHL Trade Deadline, but now for the fun part: ranking them all.
We will be ranking all of the trades made in and around the deadline since 2015, GMBT’s first with the Flames, and trying to assess which ones were smart decisions and which ones were simply not.
Let the debate begin:
Honourable Mention: Calle Jarnkrok for 2022 second-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, and 2024 seventh-round pick
This trade gets an honourable mention purely due to it being the most recent, but also due to the fact that we haven’t even seen Jarnkrok in a Flames jersey yet. Far too early to put a label on this trade, but initial reaction says it’s probably more positive than some on this list
15. Curtis Lazar & Mike Kostka for Jyrki Jokipakka and a 2017 second-round pick (Alex Formenton)
Starting off on the wrong foot, the Curtis Lazar trade was just simply the worst offender here. Lazar was a 2013 first-round pick that had mild success with the Ottawa Senators, but was falling out of their NHL roster. GMBT pulled the trigger on this deal at the absolute last second in 2017 sending away a second-round pick and Jyrki Jokipakka. The second-round pick turned into Alex Formenton, who almost has more goals this season than Lazar had points in a Flames uniform.
Lazar played in 70 games for the team before being let go by the team for absolutely nothing.
Not the best asset management.
14. Oscar Fantenberg for 2019 conditional fourth-round pick (Juho Markkanen)
In 2019, the Flames were also at the top of their division, and the Western Conference, primed for a long playoff run. What did they do at the deadline? Passed on Mark Stone, and sent a conditional fourth-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings for Oscar Fantenberg.
A bottom pairing defenceman, Fantenberg played in 18 total games, including just three in the playoffs, notching just a lone assist. Probably could have used that pick for some forward depth instead.
13. Derek Forbort for 2021 conditional fourth-round pick (Jackson Blake)
Another deadline deal with the Kings including a bottom-pairing defenceman and conditional fourth-round pick. This one is slightly better than Fantenberg because at least Derek Forbort played a bit more in the playoffs in the bubble, and was a key cog in the Flames’ penalty kill.
Forbort wasn’t necessarily a bad acquisition, but with the team already trading for Erik Gustafsson it wasn’t the thing they needed the most.
12. Erik Gustafsson for 2020 third-round pick (Wyatt Kaiser)
Speaking of Gustafsson, he gets the slight edge here as he immediately became the Flames’ top power play unit’s quarterback. It translated to seven assists in 17 games, but he made a bit more of an impact on the team immediately.
That being said, a third-round pick for seventeen total games isn’t the ideal way to spend draft pick assets.
11. Markus Granlund for Hunter Shinkaruk
The most memorable part of this trade was Vancouver Canucks General Manager Jim Benning saying they traded an unknown for a known.
Markus Granlund wasn’t getting an opportunity with the Calgary Flames, so they traded him for Hunter Shinkaruk who they thought had more upside. Granlund would go on to have some success in Vancouver, while Shinkaruk was given little opportunity to stick in the lineup and eventually traded him away for Kerby Rychel.
10. Michael Stone for 2018 conditional fifth-round pick (Akira Schmid) and 2017 third-round pick (Stuart Skinner)
This was one of the more difficult trades to rank. On one hand, Michael Stone came onto the team in 2017 and had a huge impact. The team went on a heater, and although they didn’t make much noise in the playoffs, Stone would be re-signed in the offseason and still remains on this team to the day.
The issue here is that the third-round pick eventually became Stuart Skinner, who may end up being the Edmonton Oilers’ starting goaltender some day, and the the team’s decision to sign Stone before July 1 resulted in them having to forfeit the fifth-round pick as well.
Bit of a toss up since Stone has had his moments in Calgary, but this one trends towards the negative due to all the factors mentioned above.
9. Nick Shore for 2019 seventh-round pick (Tyler Angle)
This trade just didn’t make much sense. The team was not going to make the playoffs, yet they gave up a seventh-round pick for nine games of Nick Shore.
It’s not as big of an offender as the others, since it was just a seventh-round pick and also because you probably forgot this trade even happened.
8. Brandon Davidson for Future Considerations
The Flames gave up Brandon Davidson, who was not playing for the team really at the time, for nothing. This allowed them to bring in Gustafsson and Forbort, but didn’t impact them as much as other trades.
7. Sam Bennett and 2022 sixth-round pick for Emil Heineman and 2022 second-round pick
This was a necessary evil. The Flames were going to miss the playoffs in a dreadful COVID season and would not be able to afford Sam Bennett’s next contract. Although he was frustrating at times, he was the team’s highest draft pick in franchise history and was a huge playoff contributor when called upon.
The team was able to get a prospect in Emil Heineman and a second-round pick for Bennett, but he has now gone on to have immense success in Florida, which is great for him.
What makes this trade more positive is that the assets obtained from Florida were used in two deals this current season that has set the Flames up for potentially a huge success—softening the blow a bit.
6. Jiri Hudler for 2016 second-round pick (Tyler Parsons) and 2018 fourth-round pick (Demetrios Koumontzis)
Now things start to improve on our list.
Jiri Hudler was coming off of a career year and the Lady Byng Trophy, but the Flames were unfortunately looking to miss the playoffs and the pending UFA needed to be moved. The team was able to get a second-round pick and third-round pick for Hudler in a deal with Florida, which was a phenomenal return.
The only thing that puts this trade lower on the list is that Demetrios Koumontzis doesn’t look to have a future with the Flames organization, and despite his initial success as a young player, Tyler Parsons looks to be like a massive disappointment.
That being said, still an excellent return for GMBT.
5. David Jones for Niklas Backstrom and 2016 sixth-round pick (MatthewPhillips)
David Jones was a depth player for the Flames, and was able to be a key piece of the 2015 playoff run, but was a UFA that needed to be moved out.
The Flames were able to get Niklas Backstrom, who was near retirement and got to play one game against the Minnesota Wild and win that game, but also a sixth-round pick that turned into Matthew Phillips. Phillips has been a star with the Stockton Heat since joining them, and hopefully will make his mark in the NHL. But to not only get a pick for Jones, but for that pick to turn into Matthew Phillips is icing on the cake.
4. Kris Russell for Jyrki Jokipakka, Brett Pollock, and 2016 conditional second-round pick (Dillon Dube)
Staying in the same year, Kris Russell was one of the hottest commodities at the NHL trade deadline that year. The Flames were able to get a depth defencemen in Jokipkka, a prospect in Pollock, and a second-round pick for the pending UFA defencemen.
That second-round pick turned into Dillon Dube. Need we say more?
3. Curtis Glencross for 2015 second-round pick (Jeremy Lauzon) and 2015 third-round pick (Jens Looke)
The Flames were the story of the season in 2015, making an incredible run at the playoffs the team surely wouldn’t sell players? Well that is what GMBT did by sending longtime Flame Curtis Glencross to the Washington Capitals.
What makes this deal so amazing is that the team was able to get a second and third for Glencross, which was well above what was expected. The team then used one of those picks in acquiring Dougie Hamilton, which was some fine asset management work.
The team also went on to make the second round of the playoffs despite Glencross’ absence. Smooth work Brad.
2. Sven Baertschi for 2015 second-round pick (RasmusAndersson)
Sven Baertschi was one of the Flames’ most highly touted prospects for a while, but was not getting a shot in Calgary. After years of frustrations the team sent him to Vancouver for a second-round pick.
Surely sending a former first-round pick to a division rival for a lesser asset would turn into a disaster.
Think again.
That pick turned into Rasmus Andersson who is arguably the Flames’ top defencemen now, and more many years to come. Baertschi would have some success in Vancouver, but has now been playing in the AHL for Las Vegas.
Sweet, sweet victory.
1. Tyler Toffoli for Emil Heinemen, Tyler Pitlick, 2022 conditional first-round pick, and 2023 fifth-round pick
The best trade that GMBT has made at the deadline was one of his most recents. Tyler Toffoli was not only his biggest trade made in a season, but one that set up the Flames for success in many ways.
GMBT finally identified a key area of weakness—right wing depth and scoring—and went out and traded for it. Although the cost was huge, Toffoli is under contract for two more seasons after this one, which means they didn’t give up major assets for a rental player.
Toffoli has had an immediate impact on the team so far during his tenure and gives the Flames far more forward depth than they have ever had.
This trade will stand out as GMBT’s best as general manager.
More to come?
What do you think? Which trades should be higher, or lower, on this list? Will there be another to add to this list before the deadline passes? Let us know in the comments below!
Ahead of tonight’s contest, the bookies have predicted a Flames favourite, with Betway Sports pricing the Calgary Flames at -155 and the Buffalo Sabres at +140 to win the game in regulation, with an overtime decision being priced at +380.
