For months its been rumored the Calgary Flames are in the market for a veteran depth defenseman.
While that could very well be true – there's too much smoke to think otherwise – the Flames may have something bigger in mind. Literally.
Pierre LeBrun had this to say during a recent radio hit on one of TSN's stations (transcription via TSN.ca):
“I think both Brad Treliving and Kevin Cheveldayoff make a splashy move,…...
And I think in terms of Calgary, it wouldn’t surprise me at some point in time if they phoned Carolina on Ferland. But some way to get some size up front. They’ve had a great year.
"But here’s the thing: They almost signed Ryan Reaves last summer - a lot of people perhaps didn’t hear that. They actually thought they had him, but then Reaves had a last-minute change of heart and went back to Vegas. But I think when they included Ferland in the Carolina deal, I think they thought they were getting Reaves. So I think they feel probably they need a little more muscle up front, even though James Neal is a pretty rugged offensive player on the third line. So I think that’s the idea for Calgary.
“But I’m telling you right now, I think both of those teams are aggressive.…
Wanting to add a player with some size and physicality is fine. Especially if it's someone like Ferland, who is actually quite good at hockey. He's producing at a 20+ goal, 40+ point pace for the second year in a row. He is effective at 5v5. He nicely compliments stars. He also hits like a truck, and he's a good guy to have around in the locker room.
Ferland would be an expensive rental – we could be talking a 1st round pick – but if the Flames feel like they have a legitimate shot at making a deep run, and they have every reason to believe that, I can understand paying up for a relatively big name, whether it's Ferland or someone else (i.e. Wayne Simmonds, although I think his perceived value outweighs his actual value).
If we're talking more of a role player like Ryan Reaves, the Flames would probably be better off steering clear and playing the depth guys they have like Austin Czarnik and Andrew Mangiapane.
I understand the affinity for players with an edge, especially getting set for the playoffs. Every hit delivered adds up over the course of a series. In saying that, the hope is to out-play and out-score your opposition. Players like Reaves – possession anchors who don't contribute much beyond a couple of hits per game – are often counterproductive to that.
LeBrun thinks the Flames are aggressive in the trade market. And they should be. Let's just hope they're chasing the right pieces.
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