1) With the NHL Draft just a day away there's been a ton of speculation about what each team hopes to accomplish.
It's been reported that the Calgary Flames aggressively tried to move up. It's also been reported they're more than willing to move down.
Despite the rumors Flames GM Brad Treliving expects to stay put at 6th overall.
"I'd say right now, if you're crystal balling it, we'll be picking at 6." - Brad Treliving pic.twitter.com/P3TYcaRF2D
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) June 23, 2016
Assuming Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Jesse Puljujarvi, Matthew Tkachuk and Pierre-Luc Dubois are the top-5 off the board - it seems like a safe bet - I think the Flames best options are center Clayton Keller and winger Alex Nylander. Neither player is the power forward-type the Flames seem to want but they both probably crack the top-5 in terms of pure skill.
Should the Flames elect to go with a defenseman, which seems unlikely, I think Mikhail Sergachev would be the way to go.
He is a smooth-skating puck-moving defenseman who can quarterback a power play and he has a bomb of a shot. He more than holds his own in the defensive zone, too, and he has ideal size at 6'2' and well over 200 pounds.
Whether any of those guys end up being picked at 6 remain to be seen but, barring someone sliding, those are the three guys I'd be looking at.
2) There have been rumors that the Penguins or Lightning would try and pry 6th overall from the Flames in exchange for Marc-Andre Fleury or Ben Bishop.
It sounds like Treliving is having none of that, which is encouraging.
"We like 6." - Brad Treliving when asked if he would consider trading his 1st round pick for a goalie pic.twitter.com/JnPXWf27OL
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) June 23, 2016
This is a buyer's market for goaltenders. Don't pay a premium for a name.
3) As of Saturday morning at 12:01 eastern all 30 teams are permitted to speak to pending unrestricted free agents.
One guy who might interest the Flames is Milan Lucic.
Dreger, asked if #Flames will go for Lucic: "Yeah, they might. He's certainly that prototypical Brian Burke, Brad Treliving type of player."
— Chris Nichols (@NicholsOnHockey) June 23, 2016
On the surface Lucic seems like a good fit. It would cost a ton of money - money the Flames don't have - to get him to sign, though, and power forwards don't tend to age well. I don't think he is worth pursuing and, luckily for the Flames, their bad cap situation may save them from themselves.
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