Calgary Flames Trade Deadline Report Card

After weeks of speculation and anticipation, the 2016 NHL trade deadline has come and passed. So how did Brad Treliving and the Calgary Flames do?

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As you’ll see below, they did quite well.

Some Calgary Flames fans may even be eating at Boston Pizza in celebration of the deals Brad Treliving was able to make.

That’s just how shrewd the General Manager of the Calgary Flames was this past week.

The deals the Calgary Flames made on deadline day were shipping Kris Russell to the Dallas Stars and David Jones to the Minnesota Wild. The Calgary Flames also acquired Hunter Shinkaruk and shipped Jiri Hudler to the Florida Panthers earlier in the week.

Here is a closer look at all of the trades Brad Treliving made this past week:

The Calgary Flames go with the hometown kid with high offensive pedigree in this deal. Acquiring Shinkaruk filled a need for skill on the wings. The Calgary Flames also dealt Markus Granlund from a position of strength, the centre ice position.

Shinkaruk is a solid young player with dynamic offence, who needs to get stronger. If he is able to realize anything close to his full potential this trade will look awfully lopsided for the Calgary Flames.

Granlund was starting to look like a diminishing asset, who put up good scoring numbers in the AHL, but couldn’t find his niche on the Calgary Flames.

He will get a fresh start with Vancouver in a bottom-six role, while Shinkaruk could potentially be playing on the Calgary Flames top-six by the end of the season.

The Calgary Flames get the riskier player, but certainly the player with the higher potential. The fact that Calgary traded an asset in Granlund who wasn’t amounting to much is an added bonus, as Brad Treliving started off his trade week with a bang.

Verdict: A-

Man, I was really hoping for the Calgary Flames to get a first round pick for Jiri Hudler!

Even after his flaming trash can of a season, I was very excited to see what the return for Hudler was going to be and while it’s not overwhelming, Brad Treliving certainly got a good deal under the circumstances.

First off teams are all cap-weary, and few teams can afford to take on an additional four million in salary.

Secondly Hudler just wasn’t very good at all this season. Although he certainly picked up his play over his past 10 games in the Calgary Flames line-up, his stock fell this year when compared to his phenomenal year last season.

Finally, the trade market was weaker than Jonas Hiller’s five hole. Brandon Pirri was traded for a 6th round pick and Andrew Ladd was the only player to receive a first round pick in a trade.

For all these reasons I believe Brad did the best he could under the circumstances, and getting these picks for Hudler is a solid if not unspectacular trade for the Calgary Flames.

Verdict: B+

Love him or hate him, Kris Russell was a warrior for the Calgary Flames who was unfairly criticized by the analytical ‘fans’.

His role with the team is something that cannot be replaced in the short-term, and the team will surely feel the effects of his departure next season. With that being said, the Calgary Flames had to trade Russell.

There was simply no room for him in the Calgary Flames salary cap purgatory, especially with the imminent arrival of shiny new contracts for young stars, Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.

It was better to simply trade a highly coveted asset, instead of losing him for nothing like Cammalleri a few seasons ago. What was Brian Burke thinking on that one?

In terms of the return, the Calgary Flames get a young defenceman in Jyrki Jokipakka. He is very big and still still relatively young at 24; he projects to be a fifth/sixth defenceman who can help ease some of the burden of Russell’s loss.

In Brett Pollock, the Calgary Flames get a big centre/left winger who can put the puck in the net. He was one of my favourite players projected outside the first round of the 2014 NHL draft.

He’s big, has great offensive instincts, has a good shot and has good hockey sense. His skating isn’t the greatest, but it shouldn’t prevent him from making the NHL, hopefully with the Calgary Flames.

With 67 points in 63 games for the Oil Kings of the WHL, he has shown the ability to put up points and should be an intriguing player to watch moving forward.

The Calgary Flames also get a conditional 2nd round pick, that turns into a 1st round pick if Dallas makes the Western Conference finals and Russell plays 50% of those games.

So go Stars go!

Either way the Calgary Flames get another pick for Brad Treliving to work with, and we all know how well it worked the last time the Calgary Flames had a stockpile of second round picks, Dougie Hamilton anyone?

Verdict: A-

When I heard the Calgary Flames had traded for a goalie, I got kinda excited. When I heard the goalie was Backstrom, I was less excited.

While Backstrom won’t be the big goalie splash the Calgary Flames need to improve their game, he is a low-risk player.

The Calgary Flames basically acquired Backstrom to offset David Jones’ salary, so essentially we got a 6th round pick for Jones.

If Backstrom stinks up the net, then great, he is an unrestricted free agent and we are closer to getting a great pick.

If Backstrom turns the clocks around and plays lights-out, then great, maybe he is a back-up option for next season.

But I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

Getting anything for Jones would be a good deal. He has been inconsistent to say the least in his time for the Calgary Flames and I am just happy I don’t have to suffer through David Jones and his inconsistencies anymore.

Verdict: B-

Next: Calgary Flames And Dallas Stars Close To A Deal?

In the span of a week Brad Treliving swapped Granlund, Hudler, Russell and Jones for Shinkaruk, Jokipakka, Pollock, two second round picks, a fourth round pick, a sixth round pick and Niklas Backstrom

The Calgary Flames now head into the 2016 NHL Entry Draft armed with a first round pick, three seconds, a third, a fourth, a fifth, and two sixth round picks.

Whether they use these picks to move up in the draft, package them like they did last year in the Dougie Hamilton trade, or simply use the picks on players; the Calgary Flames are in an enviable position thanks to their GM killing it this past week.

In Brad We Trust.

How would you rate the Calgary Flames 2016 NHL trade deadline? Use the comment section below to voice your opinion!

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