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As I mentioned over Twitter and in the comments of my last blog, the Calgary Flames have inked forward Devin Setoguchi to a one year, $750k deal.
For those who recall, I wrote about this possible acquisition about a week or two ago. Setoguchi was one player I had my eye on for the Flames, and I felt that it would be a smart move for them to scoop him up. What's more is that I felt the team who did pick him up would pay closer to the $1.5M range, so good on the Flames!
I can’t help but comment on how much I like this move for the Flames, despite the fact that it seems to have confused a number of fans. Here’s the thing – generally speaking, a rebuilding team will either play a higher number of prospects or have a team filled with inexperienced players. That is the general assumption and trend for teams in a similar situation as the Flames.
That said, it would appear that Calgary isn’t interested in how most other teams build and, at least to me, aren’t interested in accepting that “losing” atmosphere which generally accompanies a rebuilding franchise. As I pointed out time and time again over the past season or two, the Flames insist on remaining competitive and speeding up this rebuild of theirs. By bringing in another experienced player like Setoguchi who is down on his luck, so to speak, the Flames have acquired another player who brings with him a low risk, medium reward scenario.
Devin Setoguchi was often thought to be a player who only succeeded as a direct result of the players who he’s played alongside. Case in point – his best season to date was the year in which he played alongside Joe Thornton who is the definition of an assist machine. Since, however, Setoguchi hasn’t exactly proven that he can carry a line beyond being a decent complimentary type player. And despite all of this, what I like about this deal is the level of potential which this player still has.
At 27 years of age, Devin has a ton of hockey left. He’s now considered a “veteran” with his 459 NHL games under his belt, but he still has (at least in my opinion) a lot to prove. Over his previous three seasons, Setoguchi has played the majority, if not all regular season games. He also brings with him 53 playoff games with his days in San Jose and Minnesota.
All things considered, this player brings an added level of experience to the current roster, but what is most important is the added level of compete.
What I mean by this is that Devin is in a similar position as was Mason Raymond last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs…a “prove your worth to us or you’ll have a tough time finding a new contract”.
“We’ve got a lot of pride as hockey players, and, obviously, things didn’t go the right way for me last year,” said Setoguchi. “(I’ve got) the chance to come in and prove I can still be the player that I once was before and have a lot of resiliency this year and have a bounce-back.”
And Flames GM Brad Treliving was on the same page.
“I think he’s a player who, in a lot of ways, is at the crossroads of his career and has realized that he needs to really try to dig in here and re-establish his career,” Treliving said. “We think it’s a good fit, and ultimately the way the contract is structured, it’s a mitigated risk and there’s some upside here."
“Just talking to him and spending some time with him, I think he’s a motivated player"
“What we’ve said we wanted to do since Day 1 is create competition internally,” Treliving said. “This doesn’t force anybody out. The internal competition makes everyone better, it makes the players better and makes our team better. I think this signing helps do that, helps continue that.”
Which is exactly what the Flames have done bringing in Devin. Not only will this create competition for the rookies to “earn” their roles on this team, but it continues the notion that this team will be tough to play against and that at no point in time do they accept any excuses for losing. This is not to try and cover up the fact that they are rebuilding and will need time to get back in the thick of things. This also isn’t a bandaid to try and compete within the Western Conference, either.
This is a move which allows those players who are not NHL ready to continue to develop, creates internal competition as Brad mentioned, and potentially leads to the Flames walking away with an added pick or prospect at the Trade Deadline if perhaps Setoguchi succeeds as a Flames.
It’s all a win/win in my opinion. I see no real reason or way that someone could be upset with this acquisition at the price which they paid. I think this player will come re-focused. After sitting on the sidelines with no contract and realizing that no other team but Calgary was willing to take the chance on him, it tends to open your eyes a little.
I look forward to watching him and the rest of the new personnel try and prove themselves while sporting a flaming C this year. Should be fun!
Thanks for reading!
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