The Calgary Flames have acquired centerman Corban Knight from the Florida Panthers in exchange for their 4th round selection in the upcoming 2013 NHL Draft.
Knight was unable to come to terms with respect to an extension with the Panthers, and between him and his agent felt it would be best for the young center to hit the free market or request a trade.
“After my season finished, we had talks with Florida and negotiations took place, but it turned out it wasn’t going to work out for both parties. We told Florida we were going to wait until free agency (Aug. 15) or a trade”
The Panthers have more depth at center than do the Flames with Jonathon Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck, Nick Bjugstad and Quinton Howden who are all recent draft selections. Given the list of competition for Knight, he felt it would be best for him to take his talents elsewhere to a team like Calgary who are in more need of a center.
Knight was a 2009, 5th round draft selection from the Panthers and has played college hockey where he just finished his 4th season at the University of North Dakota. The 6’2, 200lbs center has been an above PPG player at the college level and was first in assists (33), second in goals (16) and third in penalty minutes (40) with the Fighting Sioux last year.
Corban is the type of player who gets under the skin of opponents. He is a strong skating forward who can be very creative with the puck and has a hard work ethic. Corban uses his size to his advantage to create plays and at times punish players, though he is not considered a dirty player. He has soft hands for a player his size in addition to a quick release. Knight is a promising prospect to add to the Flames rebuild, especially one where they are not very deep at center. Feaster will continue to stockpile young prospect to the Flames organization like Knight who brings a high level of hockey sense and promise for the franchise in upcoming years.
"Corban Knight is a player our scouts have been watching closely throughout his collegiate career," said Flames General Manager Jay Feaster. "When Florida did not sign Corban this spring we contacted them and asked for permission to speak with him. Florida granted teams, including ours, that opportunity on the condition that we were prepared to trade for his rights. During the past ten days we spoke with Corban and his agent, and were pleased to learn Corban wanted to start his pro career in Calgary. We were able to consummate the trade today with Florida, and are confident we will get Corban signed when permitted in July. We are thrilled to add him to our organization, and look forward to his debut in a Flames’ sweater this Fall." NHL.com
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The Calgary Flames have been reportedly speaking with former NHLer Brendan Shanahan about potentially replacing Ken King as team President. Bob McKenzie of TSN, however, states that no job offers have been proposed to Shanahan during his recent visit to Calgary, despite the rumored conversations.
It shouldn’t be to anyone’s surprise that the Flames are looking to shake things up anywhere from their draft selections to their management group. While I am not entirely sure we will see any big changes in office for Calgary this summer, I do expect their phones to be busy just the same. With that being said, Flames fans may have breathed a sigh of relief during Feaster’s most recent press conferences and interviews when he wholeheartedly acknowledged that his team is in a rebuild and not a retool and that further, there will be no shortcuts made by his team.
“I don’t think there’s a quick fix,” Jay Feaster, general manager of the Flames, said Friday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome. “The fact of the matter is, we have to do a better job as an organization in drafting. There’s not enough players that are pushing through right now. We have to do a better job of developing players.
“And we have to continue to add assets. We can’t keep trading away high draft picks and trying for that solution that gets us into the playoffs ... at the expense of the foundation”.
While I certainly respect this thought process from the Flames GM, it seems as though he may be a little confused by what it means to “continue to add assets". It has been noted by several, including Elliotte Friedman, that Feaster and the Flames have been looking to move up in that draft and that they have tabled an offer with all three of their first round draft picks for Colorado’s first overall selection. Sorry, but what was that about not trading away draft selections again Jay?
“We have had extensive conversations with teams about trying to move up in the draft — into the top five,” said Feaster. “We at least know which teams are willing to do something, and, if they are, what it would take to do that. There’s a good understanding of which picks are in play.”
Now don’t get me wrong, being able to add a guy like Mackinnon to the Flames organization depth would do wonders for Calgary, but at what price? Giving away three selections to pick first overall when your team is arguably toward the start of a rebuild may not be so wise. The Flames need to stock pile assets and develop as many prospects as they can get their hands on. Having three first round selections from this year’s ostensibly deep draft, in this writers opinion, would serve the team far better in the long run than selecting first overall and then nothing again until the 3rd round, given their lack of a 2nd round selection this year.
With their 6th overall selection, I have held that the Flames would be best suited to select Ottawa 67’s captain, Sean Monahan. Given their lack of depth down the middle, the Flames will certainly be looking hard at Monahan with their first selection and rightfully so. The big bodied center has the ability to not only be a play maker, but he is also gritty, plays an aggressive style hockey, gets into the corners and isn’t too bad at the faceoff dot, either! While not necessarily a strong offensive prowess, Monahan provides a very solid two way game and leadership qualities which are key to a long and successful NHL career.
Despite not being known for his offensive game, Sean has put up two 78pt seasons during his last two years in 58 and 62 games with Ottawa, respectively. Not bad for a guy who is known as a two way centerman, no? It is still uncertain if Monahan can be the first line center that the Flames have been seeking for years, however there’s only one way to find out – draft him, develop him, and give him a chance to earn it.
Conversely, Calgary has another big forward who could be available at the 6th overall selection in Aleksander “Sasha” Barkov. The 6’2, 210lbs center has shown his ability to be not only creative with the puck, but also a strong hockey sense and composed game which has been noted to be an important quality by the Flames management group. As previously noted, Sasha is already playing against older and bigger players with his current Finnish squad, so his game could potentially crossover to the NHL better than previous prospects have shown. Additionally, and like Monahan, Barkov is a two way center who understands his responsibilities to defend in addition to scoring, which should be another big point for Calgary.
By electing to keep their current draft selections, the Flames have the potential to select the centerman they need at 6th in either Monahan or Barkov or even a guy like Lindholm, grab some solid defensive depth with a guy like Josh Morrissey with their 22nd selection, or pick up one of Kerby Rychel or Valentin Zykov if they are still around. The Flames could then complete their 1st round by grabbing some added depth in a guy like Steve Santini or Dillon Heatherington with their final selection. Best case scenario, the Flames walk away with Monahan, Morrissey and Santini.
So, you tell me hockey fans – would acquiring the first overall selection and drafting Mackinnon be worth giving up three potential prospects in Monahan, Morrissey and Santini? Heck, even if they were to acquire Lindholm, Rychel and Heatherington instead…would they be worth giving up?
What do you guys think? If the trade is available make the move for that first overall selection, or keep your three picks and stick it out?
Also, out of curiousity, who do you fans feels the Flames will draft in the first round?
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