Welcome back to another edition of CapFriendly Friday! If you are unfamiliar with CapFriendly Friday, it involves looking at trade proposals submitted on CapFriendly.com‘s Armchair GM feature. The Armchair GM feature lets users, like you and me, become the GM of their team, and make whatever moves they see fit. Before you read on, check out our Q&A with CapFriendly to get insights on the inner workings of the site and some fun stories all about NHL contracts.
Trade rumours are buzzing around the Flames
There are no shortage of trade proposals involving the Flames right now. Especially with Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli noting that Lindholm, Hanifin, Backlund, and Toffoli are unlikely to re-sign. This has catapulted Flames fans on all social media’s into pure chaos. And we all thought last summer was crazy.
Earlier this summer, CapFriendly’s Armchair GM was flooded with trades including Hanifin. More recently, proposals including the 2024 UFA class for futures were front and centre. Since our last CapFriendly Friday was published, the Flames traded Tyler Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Yegor Sharangovich and a 2023 third-rounder which was used to select Aydar Suniev.
As you can probably imagine, some of these CapFriendly Friday 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.
It was hard to sift through Flames proposals this week, as CapFriendly’s Armchair GM is flooded with Nylander to Calgary proposals from Leafs fans at the moment. Let’s start off with a trade with the Islanders:
Flames trade Dube and a pick for Palmieri
Yuck. With the direction the Flames are going, I can’t see them trading a 24-year-old forward for a 32-year-old forward. That isn’t even mentioning that Palmieri has had a rough few seasons, and isn’t the player he used to be. Because of the team control and production Dube has had in recent seasons, he probably nets close to the return Ross Colton got for the Tampa Bay Lightning—a high second round pick. This trade is an absolute no. And we haven’t even mentioned the contract that Palmieri is on, which includes a 16-team no-trade list. Given the situation in Calgary, with an old arena, Canadian market, tough season last year, I just assume Calgary is on everyone’s no-trade list. So, the Flames definitely don’t do this trade, and Palmieri likely doesn’t waive either.
Calgary is incentivized to take on Goodrow’s cap hit
I thought about Goodrow earlier this offseason, when the Rangers were initially rumoured to be trying to move his cap hit. Goodrow has four seasons left on a contract that has an AAV of $3.64M. He had a ton of success on a line with Blake Coleman during the cup runs with the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is a trade you make when you are rebuilding and have a ton of cap room. Unfortunately for the Flames, they have no cap room. Craig Conroy and co. are being patient with trades of Noah Hanifin, Dan Vladar, Mikael Backlund, and more.
If we come later in the offseason and the Rangers still haven’t found a suitor, and the Flames trade some players and free cap space, I would be all over this. Getting a high asset and a useful albeit overpaid bottom-six forward are the types of moves teams can take advantage of when they have cap room. However, like the Palmieri deal before, the wrinkle here with Goodrow is he also has a 15-team no-trade list. That is probably why the Rangers haven’t found a suitor for him yet.
Zadorov is dealt to the Leafs for a futures package
The Leafs and Flames are being discussed as trading partners on a variety of topics, including William Nylander, Noah Hanifin, Nikita Zadorov, and Chris Tanev. I’ve skipped over the Nylander and Hanifin deals, which are the majority, because we’ve discussed them in past CapFriendly Fridays. So today we will look at a Zadorov deal. He’s been heavily discussed with the Leafs, due to new GM Brad Treliving wanting to make their blueline bigger and tougher to play against.
Zadorov wants to stay and extend in Calgary, so this trade likely gets made assuming Calgary commits to rebuilding. I like the return Calgary gets back, and I would definitely pull the trigger. SDA is back in Russia, so the Flames would just hold his rights if he ever decides to come back. The big piece is LW Nick Robertson, who has a ton of promise as a 21-year-old prospect, but has faced a ton of injuries. I would take a chance on him and his promise. A third rounder coming back is nice as well.
This hurts my brain
Nick Ritchie isn’t even a member of the Flames anymore, he’s a free agent. Yet that is the least difficult thing to comprehend about this trade. The Islanders have no cap space, so they couldn’t take on the contracts of Mangiapane and Vladar without sending cap back. This user is obviously trolling, and congratulations to them, as they hurt my brain and probably everyone reading this.
Lindholm reunites with Johnny Gaudreau
Columbus has always been Flames fans favourite for a landing spot for Lindholm. There was tons of talk surrounding the third overall pick in exchange for Lindholm, so much so that Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen had to deny rumours they were moving the pick. I think the return here is pretty on par with what we could expect for a extended Lindholm. Columbus wants to get better given the moves they’ve already made this summer. Putting together a centre core of Lindholm, Fantilli, and Jenner gives Columbus that push. Reuniting Lindholm and Johnny Gaudreau would surely come up good in Columbus’ eyes.
Cole Sillinger had a strong rookie season, but struggled mightily in his sophomore season. The 20-year-old centre has a ton of promise still and was highly regarded by Calgary in the 2021 NHL Draft. Adam Boqvist is a 2018 top ten pick, but the 22-year-old RD hasn’t found the success he wants at the NHL level. He’s been battling injuries and healthy scratches in the Blue Jackets lineup. Now that Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson have been added, there is even less room for Boqvist. I would assume the Columbus first rounder would have some sort of trade protection. So, Calgary would get a first, a young centre, and a young right shot defenceman in exchange for Lindholm, which I think is pretty solid.
Tanev is dealt to the Stars
The 2024 UFA that hasn’t been discussed at all is Chris Tanev. I have all of the time in the world for Tanev, but if the Flames start to head in another direction, moving him makes sense. Given his age and injury history, it would be smart to move him now, if the Flames are moving in the direction of rebuilding or retooling. Right shot defencemen always go for a premium, and especially defenceman that play the way Tanev does. The Stars are sensible for Tanev, given their roster and quest for a Stanley Cup. Tanev could slot next to one of the Stars many left shot defenceman and create a strong pairing.
In return for Tanev, the Flames receive RD Jani Hakanpaa, who plays a similar style to Tanev although more in the bottom of the lineup. The Stars also give up LD Grushnikov, who was a second-round pick a few years back, and a 2024 second-rounder as well. That would be about the return I’d expect for Tanev.
Decisions to be made
The Flames still have plenty of decisions to make and with their overall direction not entirely clear yet, plenty of teams are likely inquiring about their players. CapFriendly users clearly think the Flames are a targetable team for trades—some are good and reasonable, others not so much. Time will tell if the Flames start making some of these trades turn into fruition.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
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