Elliotte Friedman's always informative 30 Thoughts piece came out on Wednesday and there were no shortage of Calgary Flames tidbits.
Let's start with the coaching carousel.
Randy Carlyle interviewed with both the Ducks and Flames at the NHL combine on Tuesday.My guess is he’s a more serious candidate in Anaheim than Calgary. Remember Bob Murray begrudgingly fired Carlyle.
This is good news for the Flames, I think. Obviously Carlyle and Bob Hartley have their differences but they both tend to overplay heart and soul players and their teams are known for being routinely out shot, out chanced and out possessed. That's not a recipe for success.
I think the Flames would be better off going with a younger, more forward-thinking coach (like Travis Green or Geoff Ward, for example) and it's starting to look like they will do that.
As for Calgary, the Flames interviewed Ralph Krueger at the Worlds. I think GM Brad Treliving is paring down his list.
Krueger's time in Edmonton was nothing short of a disaster but the Oilers haven't iced anything close to a complete roster for a decade so he really didn't have much of a chance.
Since being let go Krueger has worked with Southampton FC in the English Premier League and been named head coach of Team Europe at the Worlds. He continues to land high-profiled jobs - in multiple sports no less - so he's clearly doing something right.
He wouldn't be my top choice but I think the Flames could do a lot worse.
Now to the draft.
It’s worse news for Vancouver and Calgary at five and six. The likelihood of Tkachuk dropping to those slots is nearing infinitesimal. The Flames, in particular, crave a power winger. (A few teams suspect the Canucks like Dubois if the above four are gone.)
I don't think Tkachuk was ever going to be available at 6th overall. I also don't think it's a big deal for the Flames because Alex Nylander will almost certainly be available and I happen to think he is better, although I think the gap is very small.
Tkachuk's overall point totals blow Nylander out of the water but he benefited from a) a ton - emphasis on ton - of secondary assists and; b) playing on the best line in the OHL.
In terms of even-strength production Tkachuk recorded just four more primary points than Nylander. That's not much over a 57 game span; especially when you factor in Tkachuk played with a pair 115+ point players.
I happened to track quite a few games Nylander and Tkachuk played this season and their underlying numbers are very similar, too.
In six games Mississauga controlled 61% of the shot attempts with Nylander on the ice at even-strength. In 12 games London controlled 64% of the shot attempts with Tkachuk on the ice at evens. Both totals are excellent, obviously, but given Tkachuk had better linemates to work with Nylander's numbers may be more impressive.
I get the hype around Tkachuk. He is a fantastic player, he has great bloodlines - although Nylander does, too - and he just played a key role on a championship team, but Nylander isn't the complimentary prize many make him out to be.
I think Nylander has more pure skill and, when all is said done, will be the better of the two players.
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