With the Golden Knights rolling into town on Wednesday (which may include Jack Eichel’s first appearance in black and gold*), a topic worth discussing seems to be one that is burning it’s way through the NHL rumour mill.
What do the Golden Knights plan to do in order to fit Eichel under the cap?
For Flames fans, that topic translates to:
What would one consider a fair premium in order to help a divisional rival out of a cap situation?
Over the next few off-day articles we’ll cover various teams within the Pacific Division and what the Flames could potentially do to benefit both teams.
First, let’s talk about the Flames.
With a projected 5,558,250 in cap space by the trade deadline on March 22, 2022, the Calgary Flames sit in a position to add a contract of significant value. While the answer will be clear around 4pm Mountain Standard Time on the 22nd, the question remains:
what kind of acquisition are the Flames brain trust interested in making?
The first line is playing dominant hockey, the defence is about as insulated as it can be, and three very solid goaltenders are lined up on the depth chart. Although GM Brad Treliving is consistent in expressing that the only time he’ll pay up solid assets is to acquire a player with long term qualities to their contract or RFA status, the Flames will need cap space going into the offseason.
Gaudreau is looking at an extension in the +10 million range, Tkachuk is likely earning around 9-10 on a long term deal, and Mangiapane’s agent has hinted towards a bridge deal that takes him to market sooner than later, but will still likely be in the 4-5 million dollar range.
As of today, here is the Flames lineup. In bold are players meeting expectations or turning the corner in regards to their role.
Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk
Mangiapane-Backlund-
Coleman
Dube-Monahan-Ritchie
Lucic-Ruzicka-Lewis
Hanifin-Andersson
Kylington-Tanev
Zadorov-Gudbranson
Markstrom
Vladar
It has been good to see Mikael Backlund heat up in terms of scoring of late, but it’s fair to say he hasn’t had an ideal season as the Flames’ 2C. One target could be a second line center. Similarly, UFA addition Blake Coleman was quiet to start, but has come into form of late with five points in his last five games.
The fourth line, while not offensively strong, has done an adequate job and isn’t often the reason the Flames lose.
It’s no secret that the Flames third line is not meeting expectations. Dillon Dube’s development is struggling. He projects a 22 point, eight goal season. He projected 35 points over 82 games last season. Criticism of Sean Monahan has been prevented by his 12 powerplay points.
The once first line center has seven points at 5v5 over 42 games. Seven. Brett Ritchie has dealt with concussion issues and may deserve a pass, but he still is having unacceptable offensive production to the tune of
zero points in 21 games.
Suffice it to say that, Milan Lucic aside(who frequently plays the third line), the third line isn’t carrying it’s own weight. A playmaker on the right side would most likely be the best option. Ideally a player that can do work in the corners. Not many of those, but Reilly Smith out of Vegas could certainly do wonders.
Which brings us to the arch villain of the Western Conference. The Las Vegas Golden Knights. They have some difficult decisions to make with very little time to make them.
Vegas
Jack Eichel, 10 million dollar cap hit, and first pairing defenseman Alec Martinez, 5 million dollar cap hit, are both set to come off LTIR in the next few days. Per capfriendly.com, the Golden Knight will need to clear 4.3 million in space to get Eichel on the active roster.
Suffice it to say that within the 5.73 million in projected space with Martinez out— there is room for the defenseman’s return, but not much for the 5 million-some pro-rated hit that Eichel will require for the rest of the season.
Here’s what Golden Knights President of Hockey Operations, George McPhee, had to say on the subject in a phone interview with the Fan 590:
“We’ll see where we are whenever (Eichel’s) ready. If we have injuries, that’s one thing. If we don’t, then we’ll have to make a few decisions, that we’ve already sort of mapped out. We’ll see where it goes. But we’ve been aggressive so far, and we’ll continue to be, and we’ll figure it out when we get there.”
While there are players on IR in Vegas, it’s only Zach Whitecloud (725k) and Nic Hague (792k)— their replacements may even cost them slightly more.
The three most likely situations to play out are:
1.) Vegas shuts down a core player similar to what the Lightning did with Kucherov
While this certainly could happen, it’s hard to imagine the two most likely choices, Mark Stone or Max Pacioretty accepting this path. Despite the two constantly going on and off LTIR this season.
2.) The Golden Knights expect someone to get injured in the next week and bring Eichel in then
The safest bet if you’re putting money on what will happen. They’re constantly dealing with injuries this season. They rank 2nd in man games lost to Montreal and lose at least one player every two weeks.
Or the most interesting.
3.) The Golden Knights move out 4.3 million in contracts
Buoyed by Paul Cotter’s offensive dominance in the AHL, the Golden Knights could afford to move out a 5 million dollar player without too much loss in on-ice quality. Here are options that the Flames could take on.
Reilly Smith — Cap Hit: 5 million — UFA at season’s end
RW — Age: 30
44GP 12G 18A 30pts
Smith would be the ideal addition, but also the least likely given his contribution to the Golden Knights’ signature second line of Marchessault-Karlsson-Smith. This line has been clicking since year one of the franchise’s history. That said, he will likely be earning a raise to the 6 million dollar range in free agency, so the Knights will likely have to say goodbye sooner or later.
The offer:
Given that Smith is the best one-piece solution the Golden Knights have, a trade may look something along the lines of this:
2022 2nd round pick (CGY)
For
2022 5th round pick (CHI)
RW Rielly Smith
A player like Reilly would normally garner a return of a 1st, but it’s no secret that the Golden Knights are in a bind. GMs around the league weren’t eager to help GM Kelly McCrimmon get a former Verona winner Marc-Andre Fleury off the books. It’s likely teams aren’t going to be jumping at the chance to help McCrimmon out of the Eichel situation either.
Evgenii Dadonov — Cap Hit: 5 million — UFA after next season
RW — Age: 32
44GP 10G 11A 21pts
Dadonov’s extra year makes his acquisition more difficult, but he would be a great addition to the Flames otherwise. His use of above average speed makes him a dangerous weapon in transition. He would be a functioning example of what Dillon Dube needs to model his game after.
His 38 point projection doesn’t raise too many eyebrows, but he’s been relegated to the third line for most of the season. He gets a decent 2:28 in power play time per game but has only four points to show for it— more of a product of usage. Dadonov is excellent at gaining the zone, but the overall PP strategy for unit one is right side dominant with Shea Theodore being the quarterback while Dadonov takes the other side of the blue line. Mind you, DeBoer changes up the powerplay strategy depending on injuries.
The offer:
With another year of term tied to Dadonov, less teams will be interested in tying up their cap situation for a depth offensive player. It would be surprising if Dadonov brought back more than a 3rd round pick.
2023 4th round pick
For
RW Evgenii Dadonov
Matthias Janmark — Cap Hit: 2 Million — UFA at the end of the season
C/W — Age: 29
41GP 7G 10A 17pts
Janmark would be a perfect addition to a Darryl Sutter team. He provides meaningful shifts from anywhere in the lineup and can play center or wing. He plays like a harder hitting Marcus Nilson. Perhaps including lineup insulator and brother of captain Mark Stone, Michael Stone at a 50% retained salary would entice them, but it doesn’t seem to solve their problems well enough. A retained Stone replacing the absent Whitecloud wouldn’t clear enough pro-rated cap to be substantial.
Unfortunately Janmark’s departure wouldn’t solve the Golden Knights’ cap problems. The trade would need to take advantage of salary retention rules outlined within the CBA.
The offer:
2022 2nd round pick
2023 3rd round pick (BUF)
C Mattias Janmark — 2 million
G Laurent Brassoit — 2.35 million
D Ben Hutton — 750k
For
G Daniel Vladar (50% retained) — 375k
D Michael Stone (50% retained) — 375k
W Brett Ritchie (50% retained) — 375k
This would fit Vegas under the cap with minimal impact to both rosters. Vegas gets to keep both Smith and Dadonov, gets a quality backup to replace a more expensive one, and shaves down the cost of replacement level players. Calgary gets a proven depth playoff performer and a couple decent draft picks for working out an optimal solution with a divisional rival.
After all, what kind of NHL season would it be if Vegas didn’t trade at least one goalie?
Would you support Brad Treliving accommodating the Golden Knights through this conundrum? Do you agree with the offers? Which one would you prefer?
Trevor Neufeld
*Eichel is now practicing without a yellow “no contact” jersey. Albeit on the reserve line with Mike Amadio and Nolan Patrick. He is also getting practice on the powerplay according to Jesse Granger of the Athletic.
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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