It’s been three days since NHL free agency opened. It’s uncomfortable to say, but the Flames and their fanbase left that day feeling the worst of any fanbase. Their most talented player essentially dumped the city of Calgary and the Flames organization. Taking 6-some million dollars less after taxes according to play on a team with far less cup aspirations. The Flames’ meanest defenceman left with him.
And coming into the organization was, well, Kevin Rooney and Nicolas Meloche.
Not a great summer so far. Here’s a few things General Manager Brad Treliving can do to help the team from this point on.
Re-sign Brett Ritchie and Micheal Stone
Both of these players had strong playoff performances with limited showings. Stone in particular broke out as a shot generating machine who could lay out hits once Darryl Sutter decided to roll with seven defencemen as of game three of the Flames-Stars first round series.
Confused to see Stone as the second highest scoring defenceman for the Flames last playoffs? Well we all are.
Then there is his physicality.
So the best combination of production and physicality goes to the guy who struggled to crack the lineup for most the the season. Fancy that.
It would be ideal to lock up Stone for a couple more seasons— and he’s probably asking for a raise.
On the other end of Sutter’s decision to dress seven defencemen is Brett Ritchie, who became the expendable lineup decision. That said, he played a solid seven games this post season. Most notable was the physical tone he set.
Also impressive was his production against Edmonton. Two goals in three games.
Both of these players remained unsigned and both would play valuable roles at a reasonable price tag.
On the other hand.
Trade Oliver Kylington
The Calgary Flames currently have an abundance of defensemen— and a flyspeck of physicality shared between the top four.
While it’s notable that Andersson and Tanev make their hits count, although this remains a tough stat to track. Send me $300 and maybe I can get the guys at Sportslogiq to give me a stat or two on puck separation per hit. Make that $400 actually; middleman needs a cut.
Say Mangiapane and Tkachuk sign to some estimated value contracts— 5.5 million bridged to the former and 10 million long term to the latter in annual average value— and assuming Lambert, Mackey, Valimaki are sent down, the Flames will have 4.3 million to re-sign Kylington, Ritchie, and Stone.
Tkachuk-Lindholm-Toffoli
Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman
Lucic-Ruzicka-Dube
Lewis-Rooney-Monahan
Hanifin-Andersson
Tanev-Kylington
Zadorov-Meloche
Markstrom
Vladar
Cap room is available for Kylington, who had 31 points in 73 games last season, but would it be advisable to start next year with such a soft top four?
Kylington would likely fetch a decent return in either draft capital or prospects. The cap room made by replacing him with Mackey or Stone could be used to sign one of the compelling remaining UFAs. One free agent in particular would be a great addition.
Sign Micheal Raffl
Those against bringing in Micheal Raffl as an unrestricted free agent probably didn’t catch much of the Flames-Stars series. Raffl played an absolutely pivotal role in getting the Stars to game seven— as well as eventually bringing down the Flames through the repercussions of his style of play.
While that may sound extreme, it’s not that out of line. Let’s recount two playoffs altering plays.
Tkachuk breaks his hand after Raffl sticks up for Dallas defenceman John Klingberg
Breaking your hand in game one wasn’t an ideal start for the Flames star. Credit to Tkachuk for fighting when requested, but that fight altered the Flames’ hope for a deep playoff run. Ten points over 12 games is respectable, but there was certainly potential for more out of the 24 year old.
One would think this is the most significant impact Micheal Raffl had on the seven game series. Unfortunately for the Flames, it wasn’t.
Raffl performs a falling crosscheck on Tanev
The 6’1 205lb Austrian managed to be the last person to touch the puck before Flames defenceman Chris Tanev gloved the puck into his own net to put the Stars up 2-0 in game six. Immediately after Tanev redirects the puck, Michael lands stick first diagonally across Tanev’s trapezoid and neck, catching him just under the shoulder blade.
Debate what you will about whether the sequence was intentional, but the results were undeniable. The Flames fell apart with injury as the second round began. Raffl played a major part in making that happen
On top of almost twice the hits any other Star logged, Raffl tied for fifth in scoring during the series with three points in seven games. His seven goals and nine assists over 76 games weren’t anything to write home about, but keep in mind that those totals were influenced by Bowness’ defensively reserved system.
Another aspect is Raffl’s faceoff acumen. Small sample size warning, but Raffl put up a solid 53.9% over 24 draws. He posted a 66.6% in the defensive zone winning four of six.
While that seems like a non-factor, insulating UFA signing Kevin Rooney with a veteran who can pinch hit would be advisable. Generally deemed as the one weakness to Rooney’s fourth line arsenal, the center lost 223 of his 404 faceoffs last season, putting him at 44.8%. That figure got worse in the playoffs. The Canton, Massachusetts native won 50 of his 114 draws— or 43.5% of them.
There is plenty to like about Rooney’s game, particularly his physicality, but some insurance may be needed in the dot when he’s out there. Provided Trevor Lewis is in the lineup, the 35 year old veteran can cover for Rooney as well.
If the Flames were to pursue Raffl’s services, general manager Brad Treliving would do well to lock up the physical left winger to something in the range of a 2-3 million dollar AAV contract for the next three years. That kind of term for a 33 year old would be hard to turn down.
While it’s disappointing to lose a star like Johnny Gaudreau, there is still a very solid core that contributed to finishing first in the Pacific Division last season. Provided that Mangiapane and Tkachuk sign without issue, it’s reasonable to say that another strong season is ahead. Time will tell what Brad Treliving will do to adjust the build the team takes into next year. There are certainly some options remaining to bring the roster closer to what Darryl Sutter would find as ideal.
Trevor Neufeld
@Trevor_Neufeld
Stats via naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, and nhl.com. Graphics courtesy of nhl.com.
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