Calgary Flames Offseason To-Do List

The Calgary Flames will certainly have their work cut-out for them this summer, as a plethora of moves need to be made.

Don’t blame Brad Treliving if his back-swing still looks jerky in September, as it looks like the Calgary Flames GM will be the only Flame not golfing this summer. From signing contracts, to trading bad ones, to the NHL draft, Treliving won’t have to complain about being bored this summer, as he has a lot to accomplish.

Here is a look at what’s on the Flames off-season to-do list:

New contracts for young stars

It’s no secret that Calgary relies on their young players, so it should come as no surprise that both Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan finished one-two in scoring for the Flames. Signing them to new deals is paramount, but Treliving has to be weary of getting the proper deal done instead of just doling out tons of money and term.

Sure both the young players are part of the core of their team, and need to be compensated as such, and locking them up long-term would only help the organization. But Brad Treliving must set a precedent for all future contracts by not over-paying his young stars.

If he could lock both players up at 6 years and around 6 million, then chalk it up as a win for the Flames, but don’t expect to hear any news on a new deal for a little while.

Move out the dead-weight

Calgary young players stepped up and proved not only that they can play in the NHL, but they can play better than some of the aging veterans on the team. The quartet of Dennis Wideman, Ladislav Smid, Mason Raymond, and Matt Stajan all are grossly overpaid, and under perform consistently.

With the combined salary of around 15 million dollars, Treliving must find a way to get rid of some of these players, as signing Gaudreau and Monahan will likely be costly as mentioned above. Getting rid of these players also creates new opportunities for players like Garnet Hathaway, Hunter Shinkaruk, Freddie Hamilton, Tyler Wotherspoon, and Derek Grant.

While it will be nearly impossible to move out all the bad contracts on the Flames, getting rid of two of these deals could be massive.

Finding a number one goalie

The Flames were dead-last in save percentage this season, not to mention the fact that bad goaltending cost them several games throughout this season. While you can’t squarely blame Calgary’s goalies, you have to draw the line somewhere.

Acquiring a number one goalie would likely lift the Flames NHL worst penalty kill, goals allowed, and team save percentage. Not to mention their meager win totals.

The free agency market is thin with the likes of Cam Ward, James Reimer, Anton Khudobin, and Antti Raanta available. Hardly any mouth-watering names. With several picks and prospects at their disposal, the trade market may be the way to go as Calgary could be in a position to acquire a goalie like Ben Bishop, Brian Elliott, or Frederik Andersen.

Especially with the potential expansion draft that would only allow teams to protect one goalie.

Find a right-winger to play with Johnny and Monny

Bob Hartley has put essentially every breathing human being that wears a Flaming C on the top-line. None of them have had consistent success, not even Brandon Bollig. I’m surprised as well.

The fact that Calgary has a severe lack of right-shots with top-six potential in the organization is something that really hurts their chances of finding the coveted winger internally. So Brad Treliving must look externally to find a winger who shoots right, has some size (hopefully), and enough skill and speed to play in Calgary’s top-six for next season.

Easier said than done.

Reports are that Calgary is interested in Czech winger Daniel Pribyl who has size, speed, and shoots right. But even if Calgary does sign him, what are the chances of him coming in and immediately making a difference. About the same as they were with Roman Cervenka, remember him?

The free agents available include: Kyle Okposo, Troy Brouwer, and Chris Stewart. Some interesting name especially with Okposo, but unless Calgary can free up some cap space, they wont be able to out-bid teams.

Add a good young player at the draft

Calgary can pick anywhere from 1-3, or 5-8 in the upcoming 2016 NHL entry draft. While this years draft isn’t as deep as last years, there is still a lot of great players available in the top-ten, which is good news for Flames fans.

It will be hard to go wrong for Brad Treliving as he will likely add a player like Pierre-Luc Dubois if Calgary picks at number five, or one of the big Finns at 2-3. If by some stroke of bad luck Calgary falls in the draft, there is trio of good defenders and some good forwards like Julien Gauthier or Alex Nylander available.

Bottom line, Calgary still needs a few pieces up front, and the Flames must make their pick count this year, as who knows when they’ll have another top-ten pick to work with.

It’s shaping up to be a busy summer for Treliving and company. But if the Flames want to be successful next season, than they have to do their best to add a goalie, get a top-six winger, and sign their top players, which can’t be done until you move out some bad deals.

Next: 5 Reasons Why The Flames Struggled This Year

Don’t forget about the 2016 NHL draft either, which could accelerate the Flames rebuild if done properly.

While the Flames have a great young core to build around, there is still much work to be done. It’s a good thing Brad Treliving is known as being one of the hardest working executives in hockey. To accomplish this off-season to-do list, he’s going to have to be.

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