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Setting the table for the Calgary Flames |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
Draft weekend is finally here, and the Calgary Flames seem poised to be quite active.
For starters, they own a high pick for once. If they stand pat at 26, it'll mark the first time they've picked inside the top three rounds since drafting Juuso Valimaki 16th overall in 2017. They owned no 2nd or 3rd in that draft, and no 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in 2018.
Forwards Jakob Pelletier, Efor Afanasyev, Connor McMichael, and Nils Hoglander strike me as a few names who could be on the team's radar at 26th overall – though it's possible they could move down, acquire an extra pick, and still land one early in the 2nd.
Beyond making selections, I expect them to be in the middle of everything on the trade market.
T.J. Brodie's name is very much out there. The marriage between Michael Frolik and the Flames, which doesn't appear to be on good footing, seems destined to end a year early. GM Brad Treliving will do everything he can to ship out James Neal, too.
I could also see Mark Jankowski or Oliver Kylington being moved in the right deal if you want a couple of wild cards.
In terms of what the Flames might bring in, a legitimate scoring winger – Jason Zucker, for example – and a goaltender to platoon with David Rittich seem high on the priority list.
Though some of that might have to wait until free agency, I'd still expect real activity from the Flames this weekend – as we almost always see with Treliving at the helm.
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