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Reviewing the Calgary Flames' deadline trades

February 25, 2020, 12:01 PM ET [36 Comments]
Todd Cordell
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Monday was a busy day for Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving.

He was quite active, pulling off trades for a pair of defensemen. It sure sounded like he was in the mix on more.

There’s a lot to get to so let’s dive right in on the moves he made, and the moves he didn’t.

On the Derek Forbort trade

For the second time in as many years, Treliving has turned his attention to the LA Kings to address a need for depth on defense.

He bought Oscar Fantenberg on the cheap last deadline and, in my opinion, he played some pretty good hockey down the stretch. The Flames are hoping for the same from Forbort.

He is not somebody who is going to ‘wow’ you with rushes up ice, or contribute much on the scoresheet. He’s a defense-first – check that, defense-*only* – defenseman.

Over the last couple of seasons he’s positively impacted the Kings’ ability to suppress shots and chances; at the price of his own team’s offense, though.

I don’t expect Forbort to move the needle a ton but he wasn’t brought in to do that. He’s supposed to be responsible in his own zone, bring some edge, and take minutes away from guys like Michael Stone, Alex Yelesin, and Brandon Davidson. I don’t mind giving up a 4th rounder for him.

On the Erik Gustafsson trade

Gustafsson is the polar opposite of Forbort. He is an offense-only defenseman. He’ll help transition you from defense to offense with a good first-pass, and his in-zone playmaking is very, very good. That’s what makes him so effective on the power play. I think having Mark Giordano quarterback one unit, and Gustafsson the other, will make the Flames quite dangerous on the man advantage.

All that said, there’s a reason the Flames only had to part with a 3rd rounder. He is a defensive liability. He’ll need to be sheltered at 5v5 and/or partnered with a defensively-sound guy like Rasmus Andersson – particularly on the road. If the Flames were to pair him with a fringe-NHLer and he gets caught out against Boston’s top line, for example...it won’t end well.

In aggregate, I really like this move. Gustafsson’s not the top-6 winger Calgary was after but he should help improve the team’s offense and, again, filling the bottom pairings with guys like Gustafsson and Forbort – as opposed to Stone, Yelesin, and the gang – makes them a much better team.

On the non-existent top-6 forward trade

Simply put, the prices were very high for any remotely impactful forwards. J.G. Pageau just surpassed 40 points for the 2nd time in his career and he commanded a 1st, 2nd, and conditional 3rd. Blake Coleman (one year remaining) cost Tampa Bay a 1st round pick and A-level prospect Nolan Foote. Tyler Toffoli fetched a 2nd and a quality prospect. The asking price for Chris Kreider before an extension was rumored to be a 1st and a big plus. By now, you get it.

I’m sure the Flames did their due diligence on a lot of guys. But given where they’re at, they can’t justify going all-in and paying a premium for what could be a few months of hockey.

Johnny Gaudreau is looking more like Johnny Gaudreau on the top line. A revitalized Mikael Backlund has looked great between Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane so the Flames have a real 2nd line again. Heck, even some of the depth players have been more productive of late.

Patching some holes on defense – particularly with someone who can bring the heat offensively like Gustafsson – rather than paying ridiculous prices for forwards is a perfectly reasonable course of action.

Recent posts:

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Flames sign Rasmus Andersson to long-term extension
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