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The Calgary Flames Should Trade Kris Russell |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
With the Calgary Flames sitting eight points out of a playoff spot at the all-star break - and just two points out of last in the NHL - it seems more likely than not they'll be sellers when the trade deadline rolls around in a month's time.
As such you'd expect that pending unrestricted free agents like Jiri Hudler and Kris Russell would be among those moved.
With Hudler that probably will be the case but it sounds like the Flames would prefer to hold onto Russell and lock him up long-term.
On the surface it's not surprising teams covet Russell. He is a fluid skater, his counting totals (aka points) have been pretty good in recent years and he has a history of logging big minutes on a consistent basis.
If you dig a little deeper Russell is not nearly as appealing.
On a per game basis his point totals are respectable but his efficiency is not; especially at 5 v 5. Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season Russell is holding some bad company in terms of producing offense at full-strength.
View post on imgur.com
This is over a 2.5 seasons, too, so it's not as if we're looking at a small sample size here. McBain is the only player listed with fewer than 2,100 5 v 5 minutes in that span.
It doesn't look any better for Russell when looking at possession and scoring chance numbers.
View post on imgur.com
Generally more bad than good happens when Russell is on the ice and, at 28, that's unlikely to ever change. It's not a good idea to have guys like that taking up a significant portion of your cap.
I think the smart move would be to thank Russell for his service, trade him to the highest bidder, and pocket the money it'd cost to keep him around long-term.
We'll find out soon if GM Brad Treliving agrees.
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