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1) The Calgary Flames raised a lot of eyebrows when they traded a 2nd round pick in exchange for Curtis Lazar.
Simply put, that was a lot to give up for a forward who had tallied just 36 points in 176 NHL games (16 points per 82 games) prior to the deal and posted horrific underlying numbers to boot.
The Flames, of course, are betting on the former 1st round pick benefiting from a change of scenery and being better than he's shown.
While that could very well end up being the case, I don't know that he'll ever provide enough value to warrant trading a 2nd round pick.
As it currently stands, there is one spot available in the Flames top-9 for the likes of Mark Jankowski, Spencer Foo, Troy Brouwer, and any potential signings, tryouts, or prospects, to fight for.
I'm not betting on Lazar beating out all of those guys -- Jankowski was a near point per game player in Stockton, led the league in WAR, and seems much more promising -- and, if that's the case, he'll be assigned 4th line duty.
The Flames may have better options there, too, but for the sake of argument, let's say Lazar is better than in year's past and can be a useful 4th liner.
Is that worth a 2nd round pick? I don't think so. You can sign useful depth players for pennies every single summer so trading assets for one is not good business. And that's assuming Lazar takes a big step forward and goes from a guy who shouldn't be in the lineup to a solid role player.
If he takes a *huge* step forward and establishes himself as a 3rd liner I think the trade can be justified. If not, I think the Flames wasted an asset. And that's looking like the more likely scenario.
2) The NHL Network ranked the top-20 centers in the league and Sean Monahan (barely) cracked the list.
I don't agree with the placement of several players on this list but I think Monahan's is about right. It may actually be a tad generous.
Joe Pavelski tallied 69 points last season and took more than 850 faceoffs but for some reason wasn't considered a center, which helped Monahan.
You could also argue Nathan MacKinnon, for example, deserved to make the list. He played on a completely inept Avalanche team, had poor puck luck (he shot 6.4%), and still tallied 53 points (just five fewer than Monahan) while driving possession at an elite level.
In saying that, Monahan has certainly done enough to deserve some recognition (he's averaged 28 goals over the last three seasons) so it's far from outrageous that he snuck on.
Recent posts:
On expectations, Hamonic, Lazar and more
ESPN ranks Flames' prospect system among NHL's worst
NHL Network ranks Johnny Gaudreau as 10th best winger
Jagr could be the forward the Flames are looking for
Ranking the top-5 wingers in the Western Conference
On Versteeg, Brodie, and power play shooting
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
Breaking down the Travis Hamonic trade
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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