If you’re a Calgary Flames fan—and you probably are, or you wouldn’t be reading this—I’d bet you’ve seen a lot of hate-on for Brad Treliving over the last little while. I know I certainly have! It got me thinking, though… was he really that bad, or are people still upset with him about the Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk unceremonious exits?
I did some digging into the trades and signings Treliving made during his tenure, and what I came up with may surprise you! Spoiler alert: it wasn’t all bad, but it wasn’t all good. Today, let’s take a look at the trades he made.
Treliving named general manager of the Calgary Flames
Treliving was named general manager of the Flames on April 28, 2014—nearly 10 years ago! He inherited a mess of a team that had recently finished sixth of seven in the Pacific Division and missed the playoffs for a fifth straight year.
In the year or so leading up to his hiring, the Flames traded away Jarome Iginla, Jay Bouwmeester, and Alex Tanguay. To make matters worse, Miikka Kiprusoff announced his retirement shortly before the start of the 2013–14 season.
Karri Ramo did an admirable job holding down the fort in 2013–14. At forward, the Flames had Jiri Hudler and sophomore Sean Monahan; on defence they had Mark Giordano, Dennis Wideman, and T.J. Brodie.
In the pipeline were Gaudreau, Emil Poirier and Morgan Klimchuk (drafted with the first-round picks acquired in the Iginla and Bouwmeester trades), 2011 13th overall pick Sven Baertschi, and 2012 21st overall pick Mark Jankowski—who then-GM Jay Feaster famously predicted would be seen as the best player in his draft in 10 years (another spoiler: he is not seen that way).
Looking at Treliving’s trades as GM of the Flames
March 1, 2015 – The Flames shipped Curtis Glencross to the Washington Capitals for a 2015 second (52nd: Jeremy Lauzon) and a 2015 third (83: Jens Looke). The Flames didn’t keep these picks, as they would flip both in more important deals.
March 2, 2015 – Baertschi was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks for a 2015 second (53: Rasmus Andersson). This trade was an absolute banger for Tre and the Flames.
June 26, 2015 – The Flames acquired Dougie Hamilton from the Boston Bruins in exchange for a 2015 first (15: Zach Senyshyn) and two 2015 seconds (45: Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and the one acquired in the Glencross trade—52: Lauzon). Tre is looking very good at this point.
June 27, 2015 – The Flames acquired a 2015 second (60: Oliver Kylington) from the Arizona Coyotes for two 2015 thirds (76: Adin Hill and the one acquired in the Glencross trade—83: Looke). Hill is becoming a star goaltender for the Vegas Golden Knights, but we love Shilly, so, can we call it a win?
February 27, 2016 – The Flames traded Hudler to the Florida Panthers for a 2016 second (54: Tyler Parsons) and a 2018 fourth (108: Demetrios Koumontzis). Hudler would play only one more season after the trade (32 games), and neither prospect has played an NHL game. This is a loss–loss; in hindsight, the return was fine, but they needed to draft better with that second-round pick. Dillon Dube and Adam Fox were both selected within 12 picks after Parsons.
February 29, 2016 – The Flames traded Kris Russell to the Dallas Stars for Jyrki Jokipakka, Brett Pollock, and a conditional 2016 second (it would become a first if the Stars made the conference finals). The condition was not met, and the Flames received the 2016 second (56: Dube). They got a middle-six scorer with the pick, so this was a fine deal.
June 24, 2016 – The Flames acquired Brian Elliott from the St. Louis Blues for a 2016 second (35: Jordan Kyrou) and a conditional 2018 third (74: Niklas Nordgren). The condition—that Elliott re-sign with the Flames—was not met, and the pick was not transferred to the Blues. Still, Kyrou for Elliott hurts. The Flames could really use a forward like Kyrou.
February 20, 2017 – The Flames acquired Michael Stone from the Coyotes for a 2017 third (78: Stuart Skinner) and a 2018 fifth (136: Akira Schmid). As much as we love Stone, giving up two NHL goaltenders is a hefty price. Tre takes another loss on this one.
June 17, 2017 – The Flames acquired Mike Smith from the Coyotes for Chad Johnson, Brandon Hickey, and a conditional 2018 third (the pick they retained in the Elliott trade—74: Nordgren). The condition—that the pick becomes a 2019 second if the Flames make the playoffs in 2018—was not met. Take your win, Tre, and we’ll move on.
June 24, 2017 – The Flames traded a 2018 first (12: Noah Dobson), 2018 second (43: Ruslan Iskhakov), and conditional 2019 second (57: Samuel Bolduc) to the New York Islanders; the condition—that the pick becomes a 2020 second if the Flames make the playoffs in 2018—was not met. In return, the Flames received a king’s ransom! They received Travis Hamonic and a conditional 2019 fourth (116: Lucas Feuk); the condition—not met—was that this pick would become a 2020 fourth if the condition on the 2019 second sent to the Islanders was met. BIG. PAINFUL. LOSS. Dobson is a bonafide superstar in the NHL.
June 29, 2017 – The Flames traded Keegan Kanzig and a 2019 sixth (181: Kevin Wall) to the Carolina Hurricanes for Eddie Lack, Ryan Murphy, and a 2019 seventh (214: Dustin Wolf). This deal could be a homerun for the Flames, provided Wolf can fulfill his massive potential.
June 23, 2018 – The Flames acquired Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin from the Hurricanes for Micheal Ferland, Dougie Hamilton, and Adam Fox. Everyone and their dog knew that Fox wanted to sign with the New York Rangers, and Ferland was a depth player who, unfortunately, played just two more seasons after the trade. Meanwhile, Lindholm and Hanifin became integral parts of the Flames for the next five and a half years. I classify this as a win for Tre.
July 19, 2019 – The Flames trade James Neal to the Edmonton Oilers for Milan Lucic ($750,000 retained) and a conditional 2021 third (84: Kirill Kirsanov). The condition—that Neal scored 21 or more goals and also scored 10 or more goals than Lucic in 2019–20—was not met due to a pandemic-shortened season. The NHL controversially ruled that the Oilers send either a 2020 or 2021 third to the Flames. This was two teams trading struggling forwards for each other, but the Flames came out on top as they forced the Oilers to retain salary and give up a third-round pick.
October 6, 2020 – The Flames traded down twice at the draft:
- The Flames traded a 2020 first (19: Braden Schneider) to the Rangers for a 2020 first (22: Hendrix Lapierre) and a 2020 third (72: Jeremie Poirier). Poirier is currently a top prospect in the pipeline, so I’m calling this a win.
- The Flames then traded the 2020 first acquired above (22: Lapierre) to the Capitals for a 2020 first (24: Connor Zary) and a 2020 third (80: Jake Boltmann). Zary has been a revelation for the Flames this year, and if you follow the Calgary Flames Prospect Roundup, you know all about Boltmann. Another win for Tre.
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April 12, 2021 – The Flames traded Sam Bennett and a 2022 sixth (187: Gustav Karlsson) to the Panthers for Emil Heineman and a 2022 second (61: David Goyette). If the Flames still had the pieces they acquired in this trade, they’re sitting pretty. As it stands, both were dealt. It’s still not a bad trade on paper, though.
July 28, 2021 – The Flames made a pair of trades:
- They acquired Nikita Zadorov from the Blackhawks for a 2022 third (90: Aidan Thompson).
- They acquired Daniel Vladar from the Bruins for a 2022 third (91: Ben MacDonald).
It’s too early to judge the prospects, but the Flames received legitimate NHL players. I’ll tentatively say these both look like wins.
February 4, 2022 – The Flames received Tyler Toffoli from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Heineman, Tyler Pitlick, a 2023 fifth (144: Yevgeni Volokhin), and a conditional 2022 first (26: Filip Mesar). The condition—that if the pick is top 10, the Flames can send their 2023 first and 2024 fourth instead—was not met. The Flames got the best player in the trade, so this is a win. Heineman and Mesar are both looking promising, though, so this could come back to bite us.
March 16, 2022 – The Flames acquired Calle Jarnkrok from the Seattle Kraken for the 2022 second previously acquired in the Bennett trade (61: Goyette), a 2023 third (80: Aydar Suniev), and a 2024 seventh (to be determined). This trade looked fine at the time, as the Flames were going all-in. In hindsight, it looks bad. I’m calling it a loss, but Craig Conroy reacquired the 2023 third when he traded Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils.
July 22, 2022 – The Flames acquired Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt, and a conditional 2025 first from the Panthers. The condition—the pick is lottery-protected and could become a 2026 first—is yet to be determined. In exchange, the Flames sent Matthew Tkachuk and a conditional 2025 fourth (if the first sent to the Flames slides to 2026, so does the fourth). Tre’s hands were tied because Tkachuk wanted out and gave a short list of teams he’d want to go to. Tkachuk has flourished in Florida, while the Flames have floundered since the trade. Regardless, this goes in the loss column.
August 8, 2022 – The Flames traded Sean Monahan and a conditional 2025 first to the Canadiens for future considerations. This is already a monster of a loss for Tre and the Flames, and it could get much worse. The conditions on the pick are long enough to warrant their own post, so I won’t list them here.
How Treliving fared in the trades he made
There are some homerun deals here, like Tre acquiring a top-four defenceman in Andersson and a top goaltending prospect in Wolf for dirt cheap. There were also some tough losses, like the cost to acquire Hamonic and the cost to dump Monahan. Tre showed a willingness to swing big, though, and more often than not, he came out on top in trades.
What are your thoughts on Tre’s trades as GM of the Flames?
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