Free agency might not be on July 1st this year but we still could see some fireworks.
The Calgary Flames are heading into the open market with some money to spend – no team in the Pacific Division has more cap space – and an appetite to do it. At least it appears that way.
Calgary has seemingly been linked to every big name set to hit the open market at noon EST. I mean, they’ve been connected to Alex Pietrangelo, Taylor Hall, and Jacob Markstrom; just to name a few.
Obviously, the Flames are not getting all of those players. They may not even get one. But it’s not from a lack of interest, or effort, on their end.
We’ve heard for months GM Brad Treliving wanted to seriously shake up this team. He hasn’t made a trade involving NHL players yet and what feels like half the team is heading to free agency. It’s only a matter of time before he starts bringing in some players.
Of the three big names mentioned, I think they have the best chance of luring Hall. The Flames have coveted him for a while – they tried to get him from New Jersey last season – and I don’t think they’ll be messing around now that he’s on the open market.
They’d likely be willing to pay up on a long-term deal and, with the current state of the NHL, not as many teams will want to do that. It could help tilt things in Calgary’s favor.
I don’t think the Flames should be looking to trade Johnny Gaudreau by any means but, if Hall were to sign, they *could* at least consider it. That is, if he’d help patch up other holes with high quality players.
Whatever the case, GM Brad Treliving has never been shy of making sizeable moves and – one way or the other – I think he’ll be looking to do that in the coming days and weeks.
Buckle up. This could be a fun ride.
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