Just a quick hit for today to keep you guys going…but Tyler Wotherspoon has been recalled by the Flames which isn’t exactly good news for the return of captain Mark Giordano.
Given the sheer number of minutes and assignments that Giordano is responsible for, his absent from the lineup could be detrimental to the team’s playoff chances and consequently, the moves they make going into the trade deadline.
As things stand, GM Brad Treliving says that they don’t have a definite answer with respect to Giordano’s condition and that he’s being evaluated some more, but generally speaking when it takes a team this long to “evaluate… a player’s condition, it’s because they are trying to focus on “How the hell are we going to deal with this….
With respect to being active in the trade market, Treliving offered that they have a few irons on the fire but nothing imminent, well we all know that there is an immediate delay on any moves until they update their captain’s status. Day to day won’t likely affect them too much and I could see them continue “business as usual….
Week to week things get very sticky and their odds are likely to decrease in terms of playoffs, and I don’t feel the team would be dumb enough to try and make a move to make up for this injury.
The team’s long term goal is to remain patient and not make any knee jerk reactions. If Giordano is fine and only misses a few games (if any), go ahead and make a few tweaks if you feel the need to strengthen the team for the postseason.
If, by any means your captain is out for a few weeks, it’s better to be safe than sorry and see how the team responds without him. There is no sense in trying to make a move to recoup what Gio provides to his team, because it’s not something the team can afford to do.
If however Treliving feels that they can bring in a player to improve their chances with or without Giordano in the lineup and acquiring said player doesn’t counteract with any long term goals, then by all means pull the trigger; but I can promise you that if Gio is in fact injured beyond a few games, expect the Flames to sit this one out…that’s how important this guy is to the squad. Do you agree?
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