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The Calgary Flames recently posted
interview with VP of Hockey Ops Don Maloney on the team website.
Maloney didn't say anything ground breaking but hinted at the team's wish list and how they'll be attacking the off-season.
The whole interview is worth a read but I wanted to highlight some of the notable quotes and share my thoughts.
Let's get into it.
"First thing, you evaluate your team, dispassionately. Then you look at the free-agency market coming up, understanding you can't build your team that way but there might be one or two pieces you'd like to add to make a difference.
I agree that building a team through free agency is certainly not the way to go. Unrestricted free agents are almost always out of their prime, or nearing the end, and you often have to overpay in term and dollars to get signatures. Troy Brouwer is a wonderful example of that.
There are times where you can land a good player at a fair price (Michael Frolik) but it's generally best to avoid notable players and look for undervalued guys. Established name-brand guys create bidding wars, which leads to disastrous contracts.
"Right now we're looking at value. Who's under-priced in today's market and how do we get that player. Might not necessarily be the big names - that home-run guy - but there are players who are interesting to us.
I agree with this 100%. The best route in free agency is finding cheap guys who can play but haven't necessarily had the opportunity. Jonathan Marchessault's rate stats were excellent in Tampa Bay but they didn't give him much playing time. Florida took a chance (before giving him to Vegas) and we saw how that panned out.
This year's crop is pretty bleak but I think a guy like Austin Czarnik is worth a shot. His AHL numbers have been outstanding. In 59 games with Boston over the last two seasons, he posted a 54 Corsi For% and produced points at a similar rate to Sam Bennett while spending a big chunk of his minutes alongside Matt Beleskey, who has tallied eight points in his last 64 NHL games.
A team desperate for bottom-6 skill like Calgary should be willing to take a shot on Czarnik.
"The bigger thing we're doing right now with the pro staff is going through each team and identifying trading partners."
This makes sense. The Flames have a lot of attractive talent on defense at the NHL level and in the system. Going nuts in free agency would do more harm than good. If they want to make meaningful changes, trading is probably the best route. Find a team looking for help on the back end – that shouldn't be hard! – and try to work out a favorable deal.
"We need a little more scoring,'' reckons Maloney, "help on the top couple lines and the lower lines need to be quicker and more productive.
I, for one, am shocked stuffing the bottom-6 with the likes of Tanner Glass, Chris Stewart and Curtis Lazar, among others, did not work out. It's good to know they're intent on adding more speed and skill down there, though. Giving Nick Shore a full time spot would help. Andrew Mangiapane is probably ready for NHL duty. Signing a guy like Czarnik would help, too. No more wasted spots.
"Even the mix on our blueline needs attention. We were a team that looked great on paper in that department, but we did not perform that way.
You can say that again. Mark Giordano is almost certainly untouchable. Dougie Hamilton *should* be untouchable. Other than that, I think any defender currently on the big club is fair game in the right deal.
Recent posts:
Contract projections for the Flames' pending free agents
Revisiting my 2017-18 Western Conference predictions
The Flames should avoid Jay Beagle in free agency
Dynamite U21 seasons from Andersson + Kylington put them in good company
The Brodie - Hamonic pairing was a disaster in Year 1
The Flames should not trade Dougie Hamilton
The Flames should make a play for Ilya Kovalchuk
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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