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As you are all aware, I write for both the Flames and Maple Leafs for this site, have followed both teams my entire life and as such believe that I may be able to offer possible scenarios which could transpire over the summer months.
There appears to be a constant level of bias from most articles that I read which tries to offer “insight… into potential trade targets or player acquisitions league wide. It’s seemingly harder and harder to find plausible scenarios out in the hockey world of late as most typically write in the favor of one team, while not always considering the needs of the other.
What I would like to offer, if I may, is a potential target or two which the Calgary Flames may have strong interest in from the Toronto Maple Leafs who will likely be looking to free up some room as they try and improve upon their own roster and cap space.
As things stand, Toronto has about $22M available to them and are committed to 12 players for the 2014-15 NHL season. The Calgary Flames, however, have $32M available to spend and have 14 players committed to their roster for this upcoming season. All things considered, Toronto is likely going to be tight when it comes to the negotiation of their four RFA’s, six UFA’s, and the need for improvements.
In comes Brian Burke.
Of the players who Toronto has to sign, there will be some clear interest from Brian Burke and recently hired Brad Treliving to try and acquire the likes of Nikolai Kulemin, Mason Raymond, Jake Gardiner, Cody Franson, and possibly James Reimer.
All of these players, save for maybe Raymond, were players who Burke helped bring in to the Leafs organization and as such, would be coveted if their respective team could not come to terms on contract extensions.
While Toronto has until the 1st of July to extend their UFA's, I believe that Burke will try and use his relationship with Dave Nonis to get a feeling for how things are going and potentially inquire about scooping up the rights to a player or two for himself.
Of those listed above, Kulemin and Gardiner are two who I feel that the Flames should try and pick up. The Flames wouldn’t need to offer up too much to acquire the negotiating rights to Kulemin given his current UFA status, however picking up the rights to Jake Gardiner could cost them. I'm sure a few of you are wondering - Why bother trade for Kulemin at all if he's going to be a free agent in a few short weeks?
If Burke learns that the negotiations are not moving along very well because the player wants more cash than the team has to offer, he may use his previous relationship to try and acquire/sign Nikolai to the Flames for a late pick/prospect, rather than having to bid for his attention come free agency period. While I suppose the Flames have cash to spend and might outbid a few teams, why not try and save a few bucks when you can.
With respect to Gardiner - I’ve expressed my sentiments towards Jake before and I truly believe he could be a very good top four defenseman in this league if properly groomed. I do not believe, however, that the way in which Toronto is using this young defenseman will benefit either party.
With that in mind, Toronto needs more defensive players who play a steady, safe, defense first game given that they already possess offensive guys like Cody Franson, Morgan Rielly, and Dion Phaneuf.
While I would rather avoid any possible trade discussions between the two organizations as there is likely some animosity remaining from the Phaneuf trade a few years back, I do see some opportunity to make a good hockey deal between the two clubs.
The only real concern I have here is that I feel as though the Leafs will continue to inquire about the availability of captain Mark Giordano who has been the backbone of the Flames and will be very important in terms of developing their upcoming prospects. Burke has publicly stated that there are only a few players who he considers "untouchable", and Mark was one of them.
That said, Burke has advised a few times now that the Flames will be busy this summer and he is not one to sit back. He is known to make bold moves, and could very well influence Treliving to speed up the rebuild of this club.
What do you think? Could you envision anything happening between the two teams which you feel would actually benefit both parties?
Keep in mind that while Burke is not the GM of the Flames, he will certainly continue to inquire about certain players with former co-workers around the league, especially a good friend in Dave Nonis.
Thanks for reading!