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Is Feaster Merely Adding Kindling to His Flames? |
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By: Colin Dambrauskas
Is Feaster merely adding kindling, or are there plans for a stronger and longer lasting Flames roster?
With only two days into the free agency, it’s still early for Feaster and his Flames. The signings to date have no doubt infused Calgary’s roster with more skill, but the question still remains; What exactly is Feasters plan?
Of late, Scott Hannan, David Moss, and Olli Jokinen walked out their doors. All three of these players were between the ages of 31-33 and were no longer part of the team’s future plans. In the first 48 hours of free agency, Feaster has signed slightly younger players in Juri Hudler(28), Ben Street(25) and Denis Wideman(29). As I noted last week, it appears that Feaster is looking to bring in younger players, while remaining competitive.
The Flames have not made any “blow your socks off” moves thus far, but bringing in a guy like Hudler who comes from a winning environment in Detroit, certainly adds to the skill level of this club. His 4 year $16M contract is certainly an increase for Juri, but like Feaster said, he has some money to spend and he’s going to make sure he gets the guys he wants. Hudler isn’t very big or physical, but what he lacks in size he makes up for in hockey sense and experience.
Newly appointed head coach Bob Hartley doesn’t sound overly concerned with their current lack of size, either:
“I believe in team toughness. I don’t believe in stupid hockey. If some teams try to be stupid with us, Jiri Hudler makes our power play much better.’’
“I feel like we’re getting the prime of Jiri Hudler and it’s up to us to maximize it.’’
In addition to Hudler, Street brings some quickness and potential for added offense into the future lineup. As a young two-way centerman coming from the Pittsburgh organization, he felt as though he had more opportunity for ice time and development playing for the Flames and chose to sign a two-way contract.
Although Feaster has increased his payroll to $61.9M, one of the top three highest in the league, he seems to be just fine with it and doesn’t seem to be done:
“And, as I’ve said all along, as we move along through the summer, there are going to be trade markets that open up, there are going to be discussions. We’re always looking for ways to improve our hockey team. But we don’t feel the need to start jettisoning salary.”
Given that the free agency has but just begun, there is still plenty of time for changes to this roster. The consensus is that Feaster will still shop Bouwmeester if he can find the right deal for his club, and most feel it will be done soon. Bouwmeester can aid a team in dire need of an experienced defender who may have missed out on free agency signings. And while his cap hit isn’t attractive, a team may be able to look past the numbers with only two years remaining on his contract. Many also maintain that the best option for Feaster would be to move Iginla right away, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to be patient and wait closer to the deadline for desperate playoff bound teams.
The team has certainly improved in talent; however they are still a few larger moves away from being a team to fear. If anything can be taken from the team’s moves so far, is that we should expect less short term impact moves and rather moves which hold a future conscientious mindset, while also remaining competitive today. This team, like many others in similar positions, does not appear to be headed into a full rebuild mode but they are certainly moving in the right direction.
Provided Feaster keeps tweaking his roster with younger talent, this fanbase may have something to cheer about in the upcoming seasons.
Thanks for reading!
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