Backlund seems like the more likely target for the Sabres.

I'm not sure why Lindholm isn't the number 2 Center, as another poster noted.
- kingcong39

I would be open to backlund for the right price and if we were to run lindholm down the middle.

I believe the reason for lindholm not playing Center is because that would create a huge hole on our top six RW. We would have to be seriously open to A - consider mangiapane as a legitimate option at the position long term and either B - acquire another player somehow to play RW or C - consider moving Gaudreau there permanently (he played RW in college). The A and C options I don’t think management is super on board with since they’re both lefty’s and lindholm takes a lot of draws for monahan to reduce the toll on his hands.

Wondering if Hamonics injuries are not more serious than previously thought.

Having a down year, missed time. Tre went out and got 2 Dmen at TDl.

I would be open to backlund for the right price and if we were to run lindholm down the middle.

I believe the reason for lindholm not playing Center is because that would create a huge hole on our top six RW. We would have to be seriously open to A - consider mangiapane as a legitimate option at the position long term and either B - acquire another player somehow to play RW or C - consider moving Gaudreau there permanently (he played RW in college). The A and C options I don’t think management is super on board with since they’re both lefty’s and lindholm takes a lot of draws for monahan to reduce the toll on his hands.
- RedC21

On the bolded...???

On the bolded...???
- kingcong39

I believe it was the off-season they traded for lindholm that monahan had surgery for wrist injuries that were related to the hacking that takes place during face-offs

I would be open to backlund for the right price and if we were to run lindholm down the middle.

I believe the reason for lindholm not playing Center is because that would create a huge hole on our top six RW. We would have to be seriously open to A - consider mangiapane as a legitimate option at the position long term and either B - acquire another player somehow to play RW or C - consider moving Gaudreau there permanently (he played RW in college). The A and C options I don’t think management is super on board with since they’re both lefty’s and lindholm takes a lot of draws for monahan to reduce the toll on his hands.
- RedC21

Well again, let's say hypothetically we acquire Anderson(for just sake of conversation, the main piece going back was Bennett) from Columbus & were able to score Hall in free agency. You put Hall with Lindholm at Centre & Chucky can play RW, he did in junior. You put Josh Anderson on RW with Monahan & Gaudreau. Backlund would have to be moved down to 3rd line Centre. $5.3 mill per for a 2nd line centre is a good deal but for a 3rd line centre, its too pricey in a flat cap. Ryan is more than capable of centring that 3rd line, maybe Janko or Dube can step up for the spot. The negative I see is we lose some depth at centre for someone to step up in the top 6 if we get injuries to Monahan or Lindholm.

Don't forget, Valimaki will be healthy for next season, so he'll be in the mix for a defensive position, too (though he won't be playing in the play-in round or actual playoffs if the Flames advance).

Brodie has paired well on his off-side with Gio for years and he has versatility to stay put or slide to another D-pairing and still be effective.

Was Hamonic a bust? Maybe. In the games I've seen over the past few years, Hamonic brought grit (and the Flames could certainly use all of that they can get), but never lived up to the deal Tre made with the Islanders to get him. Honestly, he does a better job of screening Flames goalies than opposing teams' forwards. I bet he walks after the season is done and signs on with Winnipeg.

Hall is overrated. Sure, he has the ability to put up points, but he's not a team player - we saw that throughout his time in Edmonton, and he's a defensive liability (-42 for his NHL career) - that's because he doesn't backcheck, doesn't have great puck-possession stats, and there's no grit to his game. At 28 years old, he's simply not good enough to merit a long-term contract upwards of $8M.

If the Flames choose to continue the Ritter-Talbot tandem in net, then they need to hire a bonafide goaltending coach to figure out why Ritter's game takes a sabbatical every spring and get him in the right frame of mind to succeed, or move on.

Well again, let's say hypothetically we acquire Anderson(for just sake of conversation, the main piece going back was Bennett) from Columbus & were able to score Hall in free agency. You put Hall with Lindholm at Centre & Chucky can play RW, he did in junior. You put Josh Anderson on RW with Monahan & Gaudreau. Backlund would have to be moved down to 3rd line Centre. $5.3 mill per for a 2nd line centre is a good deal but for a 3rd line centre, its too pricey in a flat cap. Ryan is more than capable of centring that 3rd line, maybe Janko or Dube can step up for the spot. The negative I see is we lose some depth at centre for someone to step up in the top 6 if we get injuries to Monahan or Lindholm.
- Kevin R

Even hypothetically, there's still a salary cap that the Flames would be way, way over in your scenario. Anderson is at least 5 million and Hall is at least 7.5.

Don't forget, Valimaki will be healthy for next season, so he'll be in the mix for a defensive position, too (though he won't be playing in the play-in round or actual playoffs if the Flames advance).

Brodie has paired well on his off-side with Gio for years and he has versatility to stay put or slide to another D-pairing and still be effective.

Was Hamonic a bust? Maybe. In the games I've seen over the past few years, Hamonic brought grit (and the Flames could certainly use all of that they can get), but never lived up to the deal Tre made with the Islanders to get him. Honestly, he does a better job of screening Flames goalies than opposing teams' forwards. I bet he walks after the season is done and signs on with Winnipeg.

Hall is overrated. Sure, he has the ability to put up points, but he's not a team player - we saw that throughout his time in Edmonton, and he's a defensive liability (-42 for his NHL career) - that's because he doesn't backcheck, doesn't have great puck-possession stats, and there's no grit to his game. At 28 years old, he's simply not good enough to merit a long-term contract upwards of $8M.

If the Flames choose to continue the Ritter-Talbot tandem in net, then they need to hire a bonafide goaltending coach to figure out why Ritter's game takes a sabbatical every spring and get him in the right frame of mind to succeed, or move on.
- WrySatyr

Or we could just sign Lehner instead of Hall for less money

Well again, let's say hypothetically we acquire Anderson(for just sake of conversation, the main piece going back was Bennett) from Columbus & were able to score Hall in free agency. You put Hall with Lindholm at Centre & Chucky can play RW, he did in junior. You put Josh Anderson on RW with Monahan & Gaudreau. Backlund would have to be moved down to 3rd line Centre. $5.3 mill per for a 2nd line centre is a good deal but for a 3rd line centre, its too pricey in a flat cap. Ryan is more than capable of centring that 3rd line, maybe Janko or Dube can step up for the spot. The negative I see is we lose some depth at centre for someone to step up in the top 6 if we get injuries to Monahan or Lindholm.
- Kevin R

In the hypothetical event we were to get Hall and move lindholm to C I agree with your thought process. Only thing I would change is that due to the cap Bennett would likely need to be traded for picks and I think we could keep mangiapane in the top 6 for cheaper than an Anderson extension anyway. I also don’t think we should give Janko a qualifying offer this year

In the hypothetical event we were to get Hall and move lindholm to C I agree with your thought process. Only thing I would change is that due to the cap Bennett would likely need to be traded for picks and I think we could keep mangiapane in the top 6 for cheaper than an Anderson extension anyway. I also don’t think we should give Janko a qualifying offer this year
- RedC21

Well seeing we're going down that hypothetical rabbit hole. If Backlund can still fill that 2nd line centre, which at 31 he should, we sign Hall, we trade Gaudreau for for a kings ransom & we can probably get a pretty darn good return for Monahan & have many pieces to fill that 2nd line with & have cap space to burn. But that would be if we really sh!t the bed in this play in round & Tre really wants to shake up the core. haha

Well seeing we're going down that hypothetical rabbit hole. If Backlund can still fill that 2nd line centre, which at 31 he should, we sign Hall, we trade Gaudreau for for a kings ransom & we can probably get a pretty darn good return for Monahan & have many pieces to fill that 2nd line with & have cap space to burn. But that would be if we really sh!t the bed in this play in round & Tre really wants to shake up the core. haha
- Kevin R

It’s funny, I proposed something very similar alongs those lines a few weeks ago and got roasted by 1 or 2 people for it. This of course if as you said we really sh!t the bed.

Another thing to consider with backlund as well is he has a NTC while Monahan doesn’t have one until whenever the next contract year starts.

It’s funny, I proposed something very similar alongs those lines a few weeks ago and got roasted by 1 or 2 people for it. This of course if as you said we really sh!t the bed.

Another thing to consider with backlund as well is he has a NTC while Monahan doesn’t have one until whenever the next contract year starts.
- RedC21

If we could land Hall we can trade JG. It would be a huge haul. I am all for it.

If we could land Hall we can trade JG. It would be a huge haul. I am all for it.
- DuranDuran

Would the huge haul for JG in a trade be mitigated at all if it is well known he will be joining the Flyers when he hits the UFA market?

Would the huge haul for JG in a trade be mitigated at all if it is well known he will be joining the Flyers when he hits the UFA market?
- kingcong39

The word HUGE is subjective but Johnny has 2 x 6.75 remaining before UFA and in the hockey world 2 years is a long time. Look at the Duchene (Col to Ottawa) Karlsson (Ott to SJ) and Hall (NJ to ARI) trades for an indication on what the expectation would be if the Flames traded JG. Duchene, Karlsson and Hall were all traded with less than a year to UFA so its perfectly reasonable for the Flames to expect more than those trades brought back!

Would the huge haul for JG in a trade be mitigated at all if it is well known he will be joining the Flyers when he hits the UFA market?
- kingcong39

In reality, if the Sabres knew Gaudreau was available they should be going all in for him to play with Eichel. Those two could be one of the top 3 tandems in the league, similar to Mackinnon & Rantenan. You can cheap out all you want but what is it worth to making your franchise player happy? Both are yanks, both went to Boston College & Gaudreau is still pretty young. If they both thrive off of each other, why wouldnt Gaudreau resign with Buffalo after 2 years?
The price will be expensive but you would undoubtably get the best player in the deal. Just saying

In reality, if the Sabres knew Gaudreau was available they should be going all in for him to play with Eichel. Those two could be one of the top 3 tandems in the league, similar to Mackinnon & Rantenan. You can cheap out all you want but what is it worth to making your franchise player happy? Both are yanks, both went to Boston College & Gaudreau is still pretty young. If they both thrive off of each other, why wouldnt Gaudreau resign with Buffalo after 2 years?
The price will be expensive but you would undoubtably get the best player in the deal. Just saying
- Kevin R

With all the discussions and offers that has gone on the last 4 months between the sabres and flames fans I can’t recall a trade that actually made both teams happy...Seems like the sabres wants JG without really giving back and it obviously doesn’t work that way...

With all the discussions and offers that has gone on the last 4 months between the sabres and flames fans I can’t recall a trade that actually made both teams happy...Seems like the sabres wants JG without really giving back and it obviously doesn’t work that way...
- Cruzn’Oost

Yup & they say we are typical Flame fans. The return would be huge & should be & the only reason why I would trade 26 year old top 10 scorer is because I know he is not about to give us a hometown discount after having to holdout right to the last day on the last deal. He had no leverage & I do think he felt he was ground down by Treliving who was doing his job. Is what it is.

In reality, if the Sabres knew Gaudreau was available they should be going all in for him to play with Eichel. Those two could be one of the top 3 tandems in the league, similar to Mackinnon & Rantenan. You can cheap out all you want but what is it worth to making your franchise player happy? Both are yanks, both went to Boston College & Gaudreau is still pretty young. If they both thrive off of each other, why wouldnt Gaudreau resign with Buffalo after 2 years?
The price will be expensive but you would undoubtably get the best player in the deal. Just saying
- Kevin R

Their by far biggest need is Center. That is the position they need to badly fill.

Spending valuable assets, especially a lot of assets, on anything but Center doesn't make much sense for the Sabres.

Finally, should Buffalo really be paying their top 2 LW players let's say $18M combined annually against the cap? Probably not.

Their by far biggest need is Center. That is the position they need to badly fill.

Spending valuable assets, especially a lot of assets, on anything but Center doesn't make much sense for the Sabres.

Finally, should Buffalo really be paying their top 2 LW players let's say $18M combined annually against the cap? Probably not.
- kingcong39

Guess you didnt answer my question, what would you pay to find a a player that would bring out the best of your "franchise player" Not our problem your past GM's give guys like Skinner & Okposo whacko money. Skinner didnt even play with Eichel last year. You guys have the assets get rid of of cap that doesnt improve your team. Just because your GM's screw up other teams wont gift you players that can be huge pieces of the puzzle. Oh well sometimes you get what you pay for & in hockey sometmes you dont get what you pay for.