HockeyBuzz Hotstove: Thoughts on the blockbuster trade between the Flames and Hurricanes?

I am with Tanner.

After watching DH in Cowtown for a few years, as a fan, I am eagerly willing to move on to the next chapter. Dougie played well offensively, but was prone to dumb penalties, and wasn't a physical presence either.

On a side note, Carolina can enjoy having a player who has alienated not one, but two dressing rooms in his short career.

Good deal for both sides IMO.

Giving up the best player and giving 3 for 2 is not going to win you a trade. Hamilton is complete stud and is going to thrive in the East and no picnic himself to play against and Ferland is a total pain to play against which is what Carolina has been looking for a guy that can skate, score and play on the edge. Fox in an unknown but people think at the very least he is 3rd pairing guy.

Hanafin and Lindholm are both Soft soft soft ....2 top 5 picks and they gave up on them already ... man that doesn't say much about them to my mind.

Calgary just got a lot easier to play against

I'll be brief now and and expand on many points later because I'm busy at the moment.

Dougie Hamilton openly said he DIDNT CARE whether the team won or lost, he was getting paid either way!!!! Red flag #1

He also started doing stupid things to piss management, trainers and teammates off after they put his brother on waivers because he was pouting about it.

Ffs hot stove, use your heads!!! Nobody wants a player with a lack of character like that in your locker room.

Please pull your collective heads out of your asses. Thx.

Calgary won this trade IMO if you include off-ice factors as well...they wouldn't have made the trade otherwise...Carolina made the trade out of necessity..Calgary didn't (not to the same degree)

The gap between Hamilton and Hanifin isn't nearly as big as people seem to think. And when I see people say Hamilton is a strong producer on the PP, they clearly are just making things up. There's no metric that supports Hamilton is a strong PP producer. His stats don't back it up and watching him live on the PP isn't impressive at all. The major problem is decision making. He's always looking to shoot and repeatedly opted to shoot when a cross-ice pass was clearly the better option.

Hanifin can be as good as Hamilton as early as this year. Hamilton's first 40 point season came at 21 and there's really no reason to think Hanifin won't continue to improve.

How does this Tanner writer not know the difference between their there and they're. What a goof this site has employed

Hamilton is still developing and maturing. Hasnt reached his peak yet and is the best player in this trade.Canes are better now for sure because of this trade and im not sure Flames can say the same.in 3yrs though Hanifin could surpass Dougie. Other 2 players dont matter so much but i like Ferland and his physical play something canes were looking for. Flames still need secondary scoring after this trade not sure why they did this .

Does this trade make Calgary a better team?
Adam Fox: Simple. Calgary GM says he was "informed" that Fox would not sign with Calgary. Based on past successes signing NCAA players (Gaudreau, Gillies, Jankowski) the only reason BT would give up with so much time left to work a deal is because he realised/was told a deal would never happen.
Dougie Hamilton: No brainer. See Flamin_Irishmin's explanation above.*
Michael Ferland: Possible explanation: MF was the only pending UFA. By moving him, the Flames eliminate the possibility of contract problems that could affect not only Ferland but the rest of the team at playoff time. (Personally, I thought he was either great or invisible last year - maybe motivation is an issue for him.)
Hanifin and LIndholm are both RFA's and negotiations were reportedly difficult/at an impasse due to monetary issues. Based on the interview I heard, they're both anxious to play in Calgary and obviously signing won't be an issue.
Imo, Brodie being able to play where he's always played his best will be a big plus for the Flames.
Hanifin and Lindholm only have to be as good as they've been in the past for this to be a toss-up. If better teammates make them better players then this trade makes Calgary a better team hands down.
From Carolina's perspective:
Hamilton is now the second highest paid player on the Canes. He's also (imo) extremely immature for someone his age and therefore unsuitable as a leader. It'll be interesting to see how that combination sits with the rest of his team.
If Ferland has a good year Dundon will have to fork out big bucks or lose him for nothing (or trade him by the deadline. If Ferland has a bad year then Dundon loses anyway - apart from the acknowledged entertainment value when he's in hitting mode.

How does this Tanner writer not know the difference between their there and they're. What a goof this site has employed
- Flamesfan_34

There's not a single professional writer who doesn't make mistakes like that from time to time. Why do you think copyeditors exist?

The gap between Hamilton and Hanifin isn't nearly as big as people seem to think. And when I see people say Hamilton is a strong producer on the PP, they clearly are just making things up. There's no metric that supports Hamilton is a strong PP producer. His stats don't back it up and watching him live on the PP isn't impressive at all. The major problem is decision making. He's always looking to shoot and repeatedly opted to shoot when a cross-ice pass was clearly the better option.

Hanifin can be as good as Hamilton as early as this year. Hamilton's first 40 point season came at 21 and there's really no reason to think Hanifin won't continue to improve.
- Hunkulese

Hanifin at this time is nowhere near DH as a defender ... now that may change. However He played 4 less minutes a game than Dougie and more sheltered minutes at that. DH while not perfect is a top pairing shutdown guy and Noah just isn't right now. Ferland was and is a nasty piece of business to play against and though he benefited from playing with Johnny H and Sean they also benefited from playing with him and the space he created, like I said Flames just got a lot easier to play against.

The gap between Hamilton and Hanifin isn't nearly as big as people seem to think. And when I see people say Hamilton is a strong producer on the PP, they clearly are just making things up. There's no metric that supports Hamilton is a strong PP producer. His stats don't back it up and watching him live on the PP isn't impressive at all. The major problem is decision making. He's always looking to shoot and repeatedly opted to shoot when a cross-ice pass was clearly the better option.

Hanifin can be as good as Hamilton as early as this year. Hamilton's first 40 point season came at 21 and there's really no reason to think Hanifin won't continue to improve.
- Hunkulese

Yeah I read somewhere they both had exactly the same point total (86) by the same age. Food for thought for the haters.

Who would be your FA target this off-season and why?

Yeah I read somewhere they both had exactly the same point total (86) by the same age. Food for thought for the haters.
- Flamin_Irishmin

Not so much haters just wondering why Calgary would trade this guy considering this.


In his three seasons with the Flames, when Hamilton was on the ice at five-on-five the team controlled 53.9 per cent of the shot attempts, 54.4 per cent of the shots on target, 52.1 per cent of the goals scored, and 53.4 per cent of the expected goals. Paired alongside Mark Giordano predominantly over the past two years, that combination was arguably the most dominant duo the league had to offer. All of those figures skyrocketed to jaw-dropping splits of 56.9 per cent, 56.9 per cent, 58.1 per cent, and 56.2 per cent. It was a symbiotic partnership with Giordano’s own individual excellence certainly playing a role, but it’s also worth noting Hamilton’s presence lifted the Flames captain to whole new heights as well.

Despite the fact that Hamilton’s coaching staff was still routinely underusing him in favour of significantly inferior options, you can count on one hand the number of blueliners who generated more total offence during that time:

There's not a single professional writer who doesn't make mistakes like that from time to time. Why do you think copyeditors exist?
- Hunkulese

I sent my answer to Todd seconds after waking up, before even taking a sip of my coffee! I say blame Todd for not editing my DM hahahaha

Calgary won this, it was addition by subtraction, tre got rid of two problems and brought in 2 high ceiling young players.

Fox wasn’t going to sign in Calgary because of their d depth and you could argue Carolina has better young d depth than Calgary. He will be pulling a Vessey no doubt.

Ferland had almost zero physical presence last year so if they use him on a checking line he will not come close to the points he put up last year.

I'd rather be Calgary in this trade.

What's the over/under...Dougie gets traded AGAIN in 3 years.
To who...perfect for the Rangers.

Not so much haters just wondering why Calgary would trade this guy considering this.


In his three seasons with the Flames, when Hamilton was on the ice at five-on-five the team controlled 53.9 per cent of the shot attempts, 54.4 per cent of the shots on target, 52.1 per cent of the goals scored, and 53.4 per cent of the expected goals. Paired alongside Mark Giordano predominantly over the past two years, that combination was arguably the most dominant duo the league had to offer. All of those figures skyrocketed to jaw-dropping splits of 56.9 per cent, 56.9 per cent, 58.1 per cent, and 56.2 per cent. It was a symbiotic partnership with Giordano’s own individual excellence certainly playing a role, but it’s also worth noting Hamilton’s presence lifted the Flames captain to whole new heights as well.

Despite the fact that Hamilton’s coaching staff was still routinely underusing him in favour of significantly inferior options, you can count on one hand the number of blueliners who generated more total offence during that time:
- dozerD10

There's gotta be some off ice concerns with Hamilton or some underlying negative play that people aren't seeing. A RHD who puts up the numbers he does, at his age, his size, with his contract should basically be untouchable. Not Doughty/Karlsson level but right under there. Yet he's been moved twice before age 26. I think regardless of where he ends up in his career, the Flames honestly feel his character or intangibles were not worth his value on the ice.

There's gotta be some off ice concerns with Hamilton or some underlying negative play that people aren't seeing. A RHD who puts up the numbers he does, at his age, his size, with his contract should basically be untouchable. Not Doughty/Karlsson level but right under there. Yet he's been moved twice before age 26. I think regardless of where he ends up in his career, the Flames honestly feel his character or intangibles were not worth his value on the ice.
- 13sundin13

Thats pretty well the long & short of it & only Management that knows what is happening behind the closed doors can make that value call. The rest of us can debate & spew captain obvious stats, but I would imagine the decision making on this deal was an informed one.

Hanifin at this time is nowhere near DH as a defender ... now that may change. However He played 4 less minutes a game than Dougie and more sheltered minutes at that. DH while not perfect is a top pairing shutdown guy and Noah just isn't right now. Ferland was and is a nasty piece of business to play against and though he benefited from playing with Johnny H and Sean they also benefited from playing with him and the space he created, like I said Flames just got a lot easier to play against.
- dozerD10

Calling Hamilton a shutdown guy is hilarious. He's constantly caught out of position, makes poor decisions in his own end, and takes way too many bad penalties. Pair Hanifin up with Giordano and all of a sudden he's a top pairing shutdown guy too. Hamilton was also given extremely sheltered minutes until he was paired with Giordano, which was only a year and a half ago.

You can use whatever excuse you want to downplay his numbers, but Hanifin's possession numbers were almost as good as Hamilton's last year.

One other perspective for the Flames is that a top 5 pick is generally a lotto pick. That entails suffering for the fan base on going through a horrendous losing year. We got 2 top 5 picks that were in the last 5 years. The Flames in the last 5 years had two horrible losing years that netted us Monahan & Bennett. 2 years we made the playoffs & last year we were a bubble team that was expected to be a playoff team. Yes Treliving misstepped & went all in instead of patiently & properly completing the rebuild. This is definitely a step back but we just added two young future core pieces & a step in the right direction of building something right. Yes Carolina is in the good short term but I like the direction we are going for us. So win win for both teams.

Hanifin at this time is nowhere near DH as a defender ... now that may change. However He played 4 less minutes a game than Dougie and more sheltered minutes at that. DH while not perfect is a top pairing shutdown guy and Noah just isn't right now. Ferland was and is a nasty piece of business to play against and though he benefited from playing with Johnny H and Sean they also benefited from playing with him and the space he created, like I said Flames just got a lot easier to play against.
- dozerD10

In 2015 Ferland got his chance at the end of the year & that infamous Vancouver playoff series where he hit everything in sight. I thought wow. Then the next series he had a big collision with a Duck player & left the game. The following year he was more controlled but in a Philly game he had another big collision & missed a number of games because of a concussion. Since then, he was selective when he played bull aggressively. Has ever since. He has talents to score but you sensed he protected his health. Proof of what Im saying is that he had 24 min in penalties all last year total. Gaudreau had more PIMs. Still loved his game & will certainly miss him but Tom Wilson had more penalties in one game from his aggressive play than Ferland did all year. Just saying.

Seeing the excuses from flames fans is hilarious. It's like watching Oilers fans trying to defend the Eberle trade last year.

Have to agree with Mr. Tanner on this one. Two very good young players coming Calgary's way.