The Calgary Flames scored both a huge win and loss this week in the trade department.
Leading with their massive victory in the Elias Lindholm trade, the Flames organization was served a massive “L” on Friday morning with the announcement of Sean Monahan being traded to the Winnipeg Jets for a first-round draft pick and a conditional third-round pick.
That means that the Canadiens netted two first-round draft picks for Monahan; one from Calgary to take on the deal and one from Winnipeg in the trade.
The true definition of poor asset management.
Monahan’s post-Flames career still stings for Calgary
Back in November, when Monahan got off to a hot start, I overviewed how much regret the Flames could have over their trade of Monahan. It unfortunately became a reality this morning.
Now at the time of the deal, the Flames were under the assumption that Monahan would not be able to return to form in his career. Suffering from a cornucopia of injuries, the team assumed it would be lucky if he ever played in the NHL. Instead of keeping him for just one more season, and then assessing from there, the team opted to move his contract with a first-round pick to make room for Nazem Kadri’s signing.
This season, Monahan has been back to his usual self. Now some will debate his actual impact, based on his numbers being all over the place:
Montreal got everything and more from Monahan
He put up points and was a key piece in the Canadiens lineup, but how he translates to the Jets lineup remains to be seen. Regardless, that is beside the point as from a pure asset perspective this was masterful by Kent Hughes. Even if many are looking at Monahan and questioning what his actual value is, the market has been set and teams are looking to add. You take what you can get.
For teams that are rebuilding, this is the model you follow. Montreal got two massive assets, and a few strong seasons out of Monahan, which is exactly how you should handle this situation.
Calgary on the other hand looks like a pylon in this situation. They not only missed out on this potential return if they kept Monahan, they gave up a first-round pick that could become disastrous, they signed Kadri to a long-term deal as they look to now re-tool, and they gave up on one of the franchise heart and soul players.
A cautionary tale to other GMs, especially Brad Treliving in Toronto, to not repeat this.
