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Kevin: Flames' recovery from Gaudreau-Tkachuk exodus is remarkable |
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The Calgary Flames have now completed their NHL seminar on how to overcome adversity and make yourself a more hungry and competitive club in the process.
The signing of Nazem Kadri on Thursday put an exclamation point on their recovery from the loss of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk.
The Flames have dramatically changed the narrative since Gaudreau left and Tkachuk said he wouldn't re-sign. At that point, the Flames were a franchise in crisis. Today, the Flames are a franchise that proved it is strong enough to pull itself back together after a near disaster.
In case you lost track of the Flames' moves after the Gaudreau-Tkachuk calamity, they traded Tkachuk for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, a first-round pick and prospect Cole Schwindt. They then signed Huberdeau to an eight-year deal for $10.5 million per year.
That's the same deal they were willing to give Gaudreau. Huberdeau and Gaudreau, at the very worst, are comparable players. Huberdeau is one year older than Gaudreau.
Weegar will fill a hole on the Flames' defense. Schwindt is not a premium prospect, but he's a player who probably will play in the NHL.
The Flames then used the first-round pick to persuade the Montreal Canadiens to take Sean Monahan's $6.375 million contract. He has one year left. The Flames wanted to move on from Monahan.
That deal then put the Flames in a salary cap position to sign Kadri for seven years at $7 million per season. That's less than Kadri wanted.
Kadri is 32. Tkachuk is 24. But Kadri can give the Flames some of the tenacious and bite that Tkachuk's departure took away. Tkachuk is a more productive goal scorer. But he was going to cost the Flames much more than $7 million.
Some will argue the Flames would have been better off with Tkachuk and Gaudreau. But that's not true. Tkachuk and Gaudreau didn't want to be there. They chose to leave the city. Huberdeau and Kadri proved they wanted to be there by signing on the dotted line.
The other factor to consider is whether the messiness of this summer may add an extra layer of motivation for this team. As soon as Tkachuk and Gaudreau were out of there, many critics thought this team's time as a quality team was over.
Some people used the R word: Rebuild.
If you are Flames player from last season, you have a right to be offended. They had talented players last season beyond Tkachuk and Gaudreau. They could be a better team this season just because they have a chip on their shoulder.
That's why GM Brad Treliving deserves credit for refusing to allow this team to wallow in self-pity. Given the circumstances, Treliving's performance is remarkable. It's hard to imagine a recovery better than this one.
It sure seemed as if the New York Islanders were the favorites in the Kadri Sweepstakes.
Lou Lamoriello was going to pull another rabbit out of his hat. But Lou didn't have any tricks this time.
It was Treliving who had the magic touch.
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