It’s become clear as day that the Calgary Flames are headed towards a full-on rebuild. Not only will it be the best thing for the team’s future, but it has also been something that the fan base has been looking forward to.
The Flames received unfortunate news announcing that Jonathan Huberdeau would be out for the rest of the season, as he’ll be requiring hip surgery. With Huberdeau’s $10.5 million cap hit inevitably headed to LTIR, and according to Puckpedia, the Flames will now have approximately over $30 million in cap space at the trade deadline.
With that amount of cap space, the possibilities are truly endless. Obviously, the Flames are slated to be sellers, but the idea of weaponizing cap space must be a no-brainer for this team right now. If Craig Conroy and company want to consider this year’s trade deadline a success, they must be willing to take on salary in order to acquire more future assets.
The Flames need to be proactive with their cap space
There frankly isn’t a reason why the Flames shouldn’t be looking to take on bad contracts for futures assets. With their abundance of cap space, any contract they take on likely won’t make a huge difference. Additionally, you get the chance to add to your collection of future draft capital, and who doesn’t want more future assets in the cupboards?
It’ll be quite disappointing if the Flames don’t at least try to make a deal somewhat like this. They should be advertising to all contending teams that they’d be willing to take on bad money for the right incentive. Contenders are always looking to shed salary whenever they can, especially if that team is serious about gearing up for a Stanley Cup run.
Let the sell-off begin
As the trade deadline apporches, the Flames have made it known that they’re pretty much open for business. Given the right deal, a majority of the team’s veterans all have a chance of getting moved.
Names such as Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman headline the bunch, but other names such as Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, Zach Whitecloud and even MacKenzie Weegar have all been floating around.
As for taking on bad contracts, the Flames should be looking at players who don’t have much term left or are pending UFAs. One name that has been mentioned has been Patrik Laine from the Montreal Canadiens. Laine is going to be a pending UFA and has a cap hit of $8.7 million. Given rumors that the Canadiens are looking to move on from him, trading him to Calgary in a cap dump deal may be a solid move.
However the Flames would need a convincing incentive to accept this deal. Whether it’s a bunch of future assets or even a 1st round pick, the Flames would need to ensure they don’t get swindeled despite Laine becoming a free agent this summer.
Either way, I’m looking forward to how the Flames approach this year’s trade deadline. I doubt it’ll be quiet as they’re one of the top sellers in the market right now. It’s time for the Flames to fully embrace what they are.
