Calgary Flames Roundtable: Post trade deadline, playoff hopes

Question 1: How do you think the Calgary Flames fared on trade deadline?

Jonathan Boulanger

Not well at all. I understand their hands were tied in terms of picks and assets that they were able to give up but I believe it was a disappointment. There was an opportunity, at the least, to get a goalie upgrade as insurance before Mike Smith returns. Now, the team is hanging on by a thread without solid goaltending or an addition of a much needed top six forward (especially now that Micheal Ferland is hurt).

Ian Gustafson

Management did about as much on the deadline as I expected them too. I knew Treliving wasn’t going to sacrifice picks for a rental player so that eliminates a lot of possibilities. I think they added a lot of size, toughness, and grit acquiring Stewart and Shore at the deadline. Although the problem is that they aren’t franchise-altering players that are going to transform the Flames into a playoff team.

Tom Oppolzer

I was disappointed. It was good that they didn’t spend any assets on a rental that would be leaving in the summer but I think it would’ve been wise to try and bring in a player (like a Mike Hoffman or Tomas Tatar) who has term and could help the team now.

Benjamin Prokopy

Really badly. In a vacuum, the additions of Chris Stewart and Nick Shore do very little to make the Flames better. I’d call them depth players if I truly thought they added any.

Something may come of Shore. Perhaps Brad Treliving sees him a possible piece of the Matt Stajan succession plan. Stewart, on the other hand, appears to be the latest in a series of Flames reclamation projects that has included names like Setoguchi, Grossman, Lazar and even Jagr.

Put in the context of the playoff race, the outlook does not get brighter. Competing teams made moves to better themselves. San Jose acquired Evander Kane. The Kings got Dion Phaneuf who, in his first 4 games with the team, decided he wanted to start scoring goals again.

The Flames were likely never interested in either of these players. But they both represent marked improvements to the teams that acquired them. Thus, it feels like teams in the race for a Western Conference playoff spot got better, and the Flames stayed the same.

Given the generally inflated prices on trade deadline day, along with no early-round 2018 draft picks to deal, Treliving was effectively going to Bloomingdales with an empty wallet. As such, no fan could expect miracles. We were never coming out of deadline day with Rick Nash or Erik Karlsson

Still, one hopes for improvement. And I’m afraid I just don’t see any.

Dan Raicevich

I think the Flames did alright. They didn’t overpay for a veteran goaltender, but they also didn’t add some scoring. So it’s not like they lit the world on fire with their moves. I wished they added a player like Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman or Max Pacioretty.

Ramina Shlah

I didn’t expect the Calgary Flames to make a big splash since Treliving hinted they wouldn’t be, but I was still underwhelmed. It’s that whole “I expect nothing and I’m still let down.”

I agree with getting Mike Hoffman, I was somewhat expecting it and was hoping for it. And while his contract isn’t so expensive for what he contributes, I’m not sure the Flames would have been able to afford him right now with Troy Brouwer’s contract and Matt Stajan. If they were to acquire him in the off-season, I wouldn’t be totally opposed.

I don’t think the Flames did that well but at least they didn’t give up a lot. I like the Nick Shore trade. Like Ben said, I think they’re looking for a Matt Stajan replacement and Shore is cheaper, younger, and better than Stajan at this point for that role. Sure he may not put up a lot of points, but he’s great at faceoffs, he’s decently fast, he’s good at battling for the puck, and he’s great at penalty-killing. That’s all you can really hope for from a fourth-line centre. As for Stewart… I’ll get to that in the next question.