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Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving has been very busy this off-season.
Sick of seeing T.J. Brodie weighed down by anchors -- last year he spent 915(!) 5v5 minutes alongside Dennis Wideman or Deryk Engelland -- Treliving went out and acquired Travis Hamonic.
Hamonic battled through injuries for much of the season and certainly didn't have his best year. Still, he is a sizable upgrade over a lot of what the Flames have and should really help solidify the top-4.
For the second year in a row, Treliving also completely revamped the team's goaltending.
Out went Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson, both of whom struggled to find their footing at times last season, and in came Mike Smith and Eddie Lack.
I wasn't in love with the Smith addition but, to his credit, he finished 8th among 37 eligible goaltenders in 5v5 save percentage over the last couple years while playing behind a horrible Arizona team.
I'm not expecting much from Lack, and there's not really a reason to, but the Flames don't need much from him. If he holds his own while making the occasional spot start, they should be fine.
Treliving also managed to extend the likes of Kris Versteeg and Micheal Ferland at very team-friendly prices. I don't like the Michael Stone contract but you could do worse than having him as your 5th defenseman.
The Flames also cut plenty of dead weight in Wideman, Engelland and Lance Bouma, among others, which should help improve the team's depth.
It hasn't been a perfect summer, but I think the Flames are better now than they were a couple months ago so I'll give Treliving a B for his work.
How would you grade the off-season to date?
Recent posts:
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Ranking the top-5 wingers in the Western Conference
On Versteeg, Brodie, and power play shooting
On Gaudreau and Bennett
Kulak should replace Bartkowski on the 3rd pairing
Smith could be a more than adequate solution for the Flames
On Valimaki and his lofty goal of making the Flames out of camp
The Flames shouldn't bring back Iginla
Breaking down the Travis Hamonic trade
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