Welcome to the quarter season edition of CapFriendly Friday! Now that the Calgary Flames are just about 25% done their season, trade talks are definitely worth discussing. If you are new here, welcome, and I’ll give you a brief description of what this is all about.
CapFriendly Friday’s include me going through trade proposals that are done through CapFriendly’s Armchair GM feature. The Armchair GM feature let’s users become the GM of their team, and make whatever moves they see fit. Our last CapFriendly occurred during training camps, and now we are a quarter of the way through the NHL season already!
As you can probably imagine, some of the proposals get our minds thinking and might make sense at the NHL level, while others are just straight up bonkers. I like to cover a little bit of both, so sit back, grab a snack, relax, and let’s laugh as we dive into some trade proposals. Let’s start with a trade proposal involving the Flames and Canadiens:
Calgary trades for a bunch of… bad contracts
No. Please stop. I don’t want any of the Josh Anderson (5 x $5.5M), Joel Armia (3 x $3.4M), or Mike Hoffman (2 x $4.5M) contracts. And the Flames give up premium assets? No. Stop this. Yuck. Jan Mysak is a solid piece, but I would much, much rather keep Dillon Dube, Jakob Pelletier, and a first-round pick in an extremely deep draft.
Calgary trades Coleman for Olofsson and a high draft pick
This is a very interesting one. Victor Olofsson has two years left at an AAV of $4.75M, while Blake Coleman has five years left at an AAV of $4.9M. Olofsson is a streaky scorer, while Coleman excels in the defensive end. The one caveat is Coleman’s no-trade clause, in which he would have to waive to go to Buffalo. I highly doubt that happens, although I would do this deal in a heartbeat if he did. Getting what will be a high second rounder and Olofsson at retained salary would be great value.
Calgary trades Ritchie… for… Ritchie
I applaud the creativity here. It’s not everyday we see a brother traded for another brother. Both are pending unrestricted free agents after this season, with brother Nick carrying a $2.5M AAV, and brother Brett with an $AAV at 750K. Not to offend Brett, but Nick is the better Ritchie brother. The Flames definitely win this trade, but I appreciate the creativity.
Just stop it
Now now. I… uh… don’t think the Panthers do this deal. This is just silly business, although I would definitely welcome Tkachuk back!
Calgary trades for Anthony Duclair
*Eyes emoji*
I wanted to end on this trade, because this is something that makes sense for both teams, and I believe something of this sort has been discussed behind closed doors.
We’ve mentioned earlier in the season that it is morally unconscionable to trade Kylington while he’s out with personal issues. And that point still stands. However, it’s since been shared that the Flames have kept in touch with Kylington and have open communications. We wouldn’t advocate for this trade if it was a blindside move against Kylington, but there is some merit to this one if all parties are on the same page.
On the Panthers end, Duclair and his two-year, $3M AAV contract are coming back from injury soon, and the Panthers currently have: $0 in cap space. If you look at the Panthers roster, there’s no one that really stands out as a prime trade candidate. Even more so since Florida has promised Patrik Hornqvist they wouldn’t trade him during his contract. Maybe Sam Reinhart gets moved after his slow start? Seems unlikely.
It might make the most sense just to trade Duclair and continue rolling with the team you have now. Looking at the Panthers blueline, it is definitely an area that needs to be upgraded. If the NHL allows Florida to place Oliver Kylington on LTIR, they could make this trade and punt their cap problems down the road.
From the Flames end, we know the team is looking for a scoring forward. Anthony Duclair and his 58 points in 74 games last year certainly fits that bill. Who did Duclair play on a line with last year? Well, no other than Jonathan Huberdeau! With the strength of Calgary’s blueline, and need for a scoring forward, it makes sense to make this swap. They have the cap space to make this trade, as swapping Kylington’s AAV for Duclair’s is only a $500K increase. After acquiring Duclair, suddenly the forward group looks very solid, and the Flames have a triggerman to play with Huberdeau.
This trade only works if first, the NHL allows the Panthers to place Kylington on LTIR, and second, Kylington is okay with the trade. If both things happen, I think this makes a ton of sense for both teams.
Time to make a trade
The Flames have had a mixed start to this season, where they’ve been hot, cold, and warm. We know the Flames are looking for a scoring forward, so connecting them to names like Victor Olofsson and Anthony Duclair makes so much sense. Other offers in this edition of CapFriendly Friday makes us understand why fans are in the armchair, not the actual general manager’s chair.
There is ton of season to be played yet before the trade deadline, but we have seen a few deals happen in the NHL recently. With Duclair returning to action soon, the Florida domino is going to fall soon. That would be fun to watch, and it would be even more fun if he became a Calgary Flame.
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