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The Calgary Flames have made a couple moves over the last week in attempt to upgrade the roster and improve their chances of qualifying for a playoff spot.
The first move, which was made with the expansion draft in mind as much as anything else, was inking defenseman Matt Bartkowski to a two-year contract.
The second move saw the Flames part with a 3rd round pick and a conditional 5th for defenseman Michael Stone.
Despite riding a four-game point streak, and posting underlying numbers that suggest the Flames are a legitimate playoff team, it would seem they're not done making moves.
With regards to adding a forward, from what I gather, the Flames are apparently looking for a physical, Western Conference-type guy who can play in the top-9. Given the way Micheal Ferland has played, the amount of money they spent to sign Troy Brouwer, and that their bottom-6, and 4th line, in particular, is loaded with physical forwards I'm not so sure there's a pressing need.
I think adding another top-9 guy would be a smart move but I don't see why the Flames would specifically target a physical player. Someone like P.A. Parenteau, who is on pace for almost 20 goals and can help drive play, could be had at a reasonable price and seems like a more appropriate fit.
The latter part of the aforementioned tweet is interesting and lines up with what TSN's Bob McKenzie reported
in the latest edition of Insider Trading:
"By no means is it guaranteed the Calgary Flames will make a deal for a goaltender by the deadline, but they're most certainly scanning and looking at the marketplace. Obviously, in Elliott and Johnson, they've got guys that are on expiring contracts. They want to make sure they would get an upgrade over what they currently have but if the acquisition price is prohibitive they'll continue to go with what they've got."
Should the Flames be able to legitimately upgrade their goaltending at a reasonable price it makes sense to pull the trigger, obviously, but I'm not sure there are many guys out there who make sense.
The big names on the market are Ben Bishop and Marc-Andre Fleury. Bishop is a pending unrestricted free agent and would take a lot to re-sign. The asking price in a trade likely isn't too cheap, either. I think he'd be an upgrade, but he has a .911 save percentage on the year, which is below league average, so we shouldn't assume he'd give the Flames the Vezina caliber goaltending he provided the Bolts last season.
Fleury also has big-name pedigree but since the beginning of the 2013 season, he has a matching .917 save percentage with Elliott despite the horrific year the latter has gone through. Fleury would be an upgrade, however, Elliott's game does seem to be heading in the right direction so a trade may not be all that necessary.
If Brad Treliving can land one of those guys at a cheap cost, go right ahead, but that seems unlikely. That's why I think the Flames' might be best-served trading for a top-9 forward, riding things out in goal and hoping for the best.
We'll soon find out if management feels the same way.
Recent posts:
Revamped top line powers Flames past Predators
Examining the Michael Stone trade
On the Bartkowski signing, Bennett's usage, a PP change and more
Pacific Division bold predictions
Pacific Division breakout players
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