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Roger Millions of Sportsnet recently did a Calgary Flames AMA (ask me anything) on Reddit and touched on several interesting topics.

Here are a few of the notable things he said with some thoughts on each.

Monahan and Gaudreau are a whole different matter. Monahan I believe will be signed soon. So many examples already like McKinnon, Barkov etc that have shown the way....I think it will come in 6 to 8 years at about 6.5 million per.

Monahan's underlying numbers - particularly on the defensive side of the puck - haven't been good but he has proven to be a high-end point producer and goal scorer. At 21 he is at least a couple seasons away from entering his prime so $6.5 million on a long-term deal is something the Flames can probably happily live with; especially because he doesn't just rely on the power play to score.

This quote also makes it sound like Johnny Gaudreau isn't close to signing a new deal, which is not surprising. The Flames probably want to give him similar term/dollars as Monahan will get while Gaudreau surely wants more - and rightfully so.

Still think they will find an experienced guy on defence. A lot won't be signed and others will come to teams on PTO's will be opportunities.

This is interesting because there are some quality vets still on the open market. If the Flames are serious about bringing someone in I think Barret Jackman and James Wisniewski would be the two best options.

Jackman doesn't bring much - or anything - to the table offensively but he is physical, is a good penalty killer and his shot suppression numbers have consistently been very good. The term defensive defenseman is thrown around a lot but most guys labeled as such are not actually good. That's not the case with Jackman.

Wisniewski is more of an offensive presence on the back end. I don't know that the Flames are looking for anymore offense on the blue line but if they are Wisniewski would be a great choice. He will make the occassional head scratching turnover but he can put up points and has proven to be pretty good at driving play up ice.

(when asked about Matthew Tkachuk's chances of making the team) Great question. No real good answer. A lot depends on this summer and if Matthew can prove he is up to the physical needs of the NHL. He has the smarts..will he have the speed to compete this year?? Not sure. Think the Flames will give him every chance in the world. Its all up to him

I really like Matthew Tkachuk but I think he could use another year of development in London. He isn't a physically dominant player but he lives around the net and like's to get in people's faces. I'm not sure he is physically ready to play that kind of game at the NHL level. He could use some more explosiveness in his stride, too, as Millions mentioned.

Obviously a strong summer could wipe away some of those issues but at this point I'd say sending him back to London is the way to go. Let him dominate another year, play on Team USA at the World Juniors, bulk up, etc. and we'll revisit this next year.

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