Offseason plans, Predators will look to get younger and move on from Johansen and Barrie, while Calgary has big decisions on players in final year of their contract and their goaltending situation.
Nashville Predators
Significant Pending UFA:
LW,RW Z.Sanford 2-1-3 16GP
C,RW A.Angello 0-0-0 0GP
Significant Pending RFA:
C C.Glass 14-21-35 72GP
LW,C R.Asplund 2-6-8 46GP
LW,RW J.Leonard 1-0-1 6GP
LW I.Ratcliffe 0-0-0 0GP
RD C.Foote 2-5-7 50GP
RD J.Livingstone 0-1-1 5GP
RD A.Carrier 2-7-9 43GP
Current draft capital for Predators in 2023: 13
1RD NAS, EDM
2RD PIT, NAS
3RD SJ, NAS, TB
4RD NAS, TB, TOR
5RD NAS, TB
6RD NAS
What lead the Predators to missing the playoffs this year: now Nashville was a team some people thought would be challenging for a playoff spot this season, but after they had a bad start to the year they became sellers and moved a bunch of players and surprisingly the team was able to turn things around with the young players they got to fill out the roster and move up from a bottom dwelling team to only missing the playoffs by a mere 3 points, so the Preds showed some crazy resiliency this year but I definitely think there were some reasons the Preds found themselves on the outside looking in when it came to the playoff picture.
Number one has to be the fact that the Predators offense fell flat this season as they were a bottom 10 and almost bottom 5 team in goals for this year. Now the Predators in the 21-22 season were able to squeeze into the final playoff spot and had some monster seasons offensively from their big time players in Johansen, Duchene and Forsberg and some other players also had career years and that team was able to click on all cylinders offensively, but fast forward a year later and their offense was nearly non existent. Now the Preds leading point player this year was defensemen Josi which isn’t too surprising but with only 59 points after his monster season last year, and the production from their forwards also went down as Forsberg, Duchene and Johansen all had worse seasons then the 21-22 season and before being dealt even Jeannot, Niederriter and Granlund didn’t have the best seasons, and only Duchene hit the 20 goal mark this year while only 7 players (including Granlund who was dealt at the deadline) hit the 30 point mark so they had to rely upon their defence and solid goaltending to help them win games and they were able to get some key saves down the stretch but it wasn’t enough to push them into the playoffs and at the end of the day I think the lack of offense put up this year by Nashville was one huge reason as to why the Predators wound up missing the playoffs this year.
Next up would be just the plain fact of how many injuries the team went through throughout the season and to key players. Now on the forward group as we talked about the Predators weren’t able to really gain much traction offensively and although players did have down years some of if had to do with Injuries, as Forsberg missed over 30 games and Johansen close to 30 due to injuries, then Duchene and Cole Smith missed around 10 games due to injuries and Luke Evangelista who was called up after the team sold off pieces also missed a handful of games due to injuries and those injuries to the forward group, especially bigger names like Johansen and Forsberg I think really did hurt the offense, now on the defensive end the Predators were also plagued with injuries as offensive powerhouse in his rookie year in 21-22 Alex Carrier only played in 43 games this year due to injuries, while top end defender Josi, and solid defensemen McDonagh and Lauzon all missed about 10-15 games due to injuries this year and while the Predators do have one of the better defences in the NHL, they are not the deepest and losing some good defensemen really did hurt the team so injuries in my eyes played a big role for the Predators missing the playoffs this year.
And lastly would be the Predators poor start to the season as they didn’t have that great of a start to the year this season, as they started out the year losing 5 straight games and starting out 0-4-1 this year and by December 17th at the 29 game mark they were still bellow .500 at a 12-13-4 and they were able to recover and hover around the .500 mark until late February and early March when they moved on from guys like Granlund, Jeannot, Niederriter and Ekholm and gave the reigns to their young players who carried the team to almost making the playoffs when most thought the Predators were down and out for the count, but even after battling hard all season long they just couldn’t overcome the bad start they had this year and I think the poor start was another reason why the Preds missed the playoffs this year.
So in my eyes the fact that the Predators had to deal with a ton of injuries with both forward and defensive group, the fact that they had a atrocious offensive attack this year and the bad start that was difficult to overcome all lead the Predators to missing the playoffs this year for the first time in a while, but I liked what I saw from them especially in the 2nd half of the season and I think with some tinkering they should once again be in contention for a playoff spot next year.
5 ways of how the Predators can improve in the offseason.
.1) Continue to add youth to their forward group.
Now toward the end of the season, following the deadline and them moving Granlund, Jeannot and Niederriter, the Predators gave the reigns to some of their younger players to take over to finish the season and the Preds have drafted and developed really good defensemen and goalies but not very many forwards, but the young guys really carried the team to finish the season and I think they should continue to give the younger players more opportunities at the NHL level.
Now the Predators gave these four players: Tomasino, Novak, Parssinen and Evangelista all a look at various points this season and all of them showed flashes of NHL potential. Now for both Parssinen and Evangelista, they both had never gotten into a NHL game before this year, Parssinen was a 7RD pick back in 2019 for the Preds who had played in Liiga before this year and impressed in training camp and started in the AHL and after a pretty good first months he was called up and did go in and out of the lineup but finished with a solid 6 goals and 25 points in 45 games in his first NHL season, and I think Parssinen should be able to play consistent NHL minutes in the Preds bottom six next year after his good showing, while Evangelista was a 2RD pick in 2020 and after playing in the OHL, played his first pro seasons this year and started in the AHL and after some solid numbers there he was called up and was able to get into 24 games for Nashville down the stretch and get 7 goals and 15 points in those games and looks like a extremely talented forward who I think should be a every day top 9 forward next year for Nashville. Then you had Tomasino who was able to get a full season of NHL action in the 21-22 season and looked good putting up 32 points in 76 games in his rookie year, but the Predators decided in training camp that he would continue developing in the AHL to start the season, and after being a nearly point per game player in the AHL he was called up halfway through the season and had 5 goals and 18 points in 31 games which isn’t as productive as the year prior but was still a solid season and I would be shocked if he wasn’t a top 9 forward to start next year, while Novak also got his first taste of NHL action in the 21-22 season when he put up a goal and 7 points in 27 games and started this year in the AHL too, but after having over a point per game in his first 25 AHL games he was called up and played a significant role down the stretch for Nashville and got into 51 games and put up a astounding 17 goals and 43 points and was a monster offensively for the Predators and I would be quite surprised if he wasn’t a solid middle six forward next year for Nashville.
So the young talent on the forward group helped Nashville rise from the dead and compete for a playoff spot and in my opinion you have to continue letting the young guys play in Nashville, as I think Tomasino, Evangelista and Novak should all be top 9 forwards and Parssinen a bottom six forward next year for Nashville and they even have some other guys who I could see get looks next year in Kemell, Schaefer, L’Heureux, and Svechkov who All seem to have high top 9 potential at the NHL level for Nashville, so the offense looks to be in good hands and while I wouldn’t bring all of them up at once, I think you have to at least put a couple in the roster next year if I am Nashville.
.2) Move or buyout Ryan Johansen.
Now the Predators made a huge deal a number of year ago moving Seth Jones to Columbus for Ryan Johansen and signed him to a long term deal, and Johansen hasn’t really lived up to expectations and that long term $8 Million dollar AAV is not looking to good for the Predators, so in my eyes I think they will probably move on from him this offseason and I could see him either be dealt to another team or be bought out by the Predators.
Now Johansen came over from Columbus after having two solid seasons and the year he was dealt was also a solid season as he had hit at least 60 points in 3 consecutive years and then in his first year in Nashville he had a solid 61 point season that lead the Preds to sign him to a 8 year contract extension with a AAV of $8 Million dollars, and then after signing that deal his production went a bit down as the two seasons following were pretty good as he hit over 50 in each of those seasons but then during the COVID stoped and shortened seasons he had extreme down years, only getting 58 points in 116 games in the two years combined and that’s when the trade rumours started circling around him, then he had a strong season in the 21-22 year putting up 26 goals and 63 points in 79 games and looked a bit like his old self helping the Predators to the playoffs, but this past year only had 28 points in 55 games and that contract still looks awful and he is not producing to that level right now so I feel his time in Nashville has come to a end.
Now the Predators really seemed like they tried to move him before but there was too much term on that contract at that cap hit for teams to be interested in getting him, but with only two years left, if the Predators were to move him at a bit of retained cap I think there would be teams interested as Johansen is still a good middle six forward, and if there aren’t able to move him, then a buyout would make some sense as instead of a $8 Million cap hit for the next two years they would have a $2.6 Million dollar cap hit for the next four which is a huge advantage as it gives them some cap flexibility, so I don’t think that the Johansen contract has aged all that well, and I think the Predators are going to try and move on from him and I think this might be the year that they finally part ways with him.
Sergei Belski USA Today Sports
.3) Move Barrie if they don’t see a future with him.
Now the Predators acquired Tyson Barrie at the trade deadline from the Edmonton Oilers in the Mattias Ekholm trade and he is a really good offensive defensemen, but I could see the Predators trade him if he doesn’t have too much of a future with the team.
Now the Predators were able to get a haul at the deadline for top 4 defender Mattias Ekholm, and that haul included highly skilled offensive defensemen Tyson Barrie, who I think was someone who the Oilers didn’t really want to part with but to get Ekholm they needed to do it and did, and now he is in Nashville. So following some really productive offensive year in Edmonton, Barrie finished the season with 12 points in 24 games with Nashville which isn’t half bad but not to the way he has been producing with the Oilers the past couple of years or with Av’s a few years ago, so I do wonder if the Preds will keep him beyond the offseason. Now the Predators do seem to be heading towards a retool of sorts and Barrie is heading into the final year of his contract at a reasonable $4.5 Million dollars, and I do think the Predators could keep him as a good veteran to mentor the young guys throughout the season and see where they stand at the deadline, but Barrie is a offensive powerhouse and for a team who needs a top 4 defender and some more scoring from the backend, I think there would be a handful of teams who would be intrigued by the prospect of adding Barrie, and I don’t expect Nashville to be overly good next year and I find it hard to believe that Barrie would want to extend with the Predators, so in my eyes maybe at the deadline but more likely in the offseason the Predators will move Barrie somewhere else as I don’t think he would remain in Nashville long term and also the package they could get for Barrie may also convince them to move Barrie, so in my opinion Barrie is a player who will likely be a name to keep an eye on this summer as I feel he will probably get dealt.
.4) Add one or two top 9 forwards.
Now the Predators moved on from 3 top 9 forwards at the deadline in Jeannot, Niederriter and Granlund and although I do see the team going in a more younger direction and looking to give the younger forwards more playing time, I do think that the still need some veterans around the team to finish up their roster, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were to sign a couple of top 9 forwards in free agency.
Now as I talked about before I do feel that guys like Evangelista and Tomasino would both be top 9 forwards for the Predators next year, but I think that Nashville could use some more help on their roster because besides Forsberg, Duchene, Sissons and Trenin they really don’t have tant other top 9 forwards with NHL experience, so I think adding a couple of forwards could be good for the team. Now the Predators do have a lot of draft capital and some nice prospects and if they were to go out and get a top 6 forward who can help their team long term such as DeBrincat, Meier or Crouse then I think they would be open to doing so as I think they could benefit a ton from adding a solid top 6 forward who is young and can help the team score at a high level again in the not too distant future, and in free agency you do have too 6 guys like Killorn, Tarasenko or Bertuzzi who may intrigue the Predators, but I would see them going after lower end middle six forwards that maybe didn’t play overly well last year and could benefit from more playing time such as Nyquist, Kerfoot, Pacioretty or Tatar as all four didn’t do particularly well last year due to injuries and just not playing the greatest and I think in bumped roles on the Predators they could not only produce well but also help the young players grow, so in my eyes whether they are adding a top 6 forward in free agency or with some of their draft currency, or they add a lower end top 9 forward I think it is safe to say that the Predators would benefit from adding a couple of forwards as it would help their low end offense from this past year and would help the younger players grow into bigger roles so don’t be too surprised if the Predators are looking at adding top 6 forwards this year.
.5) Use their draft capital well.
And finally just a quick thing here but the Predators are one of the teams that have the most draft capital for the upcoming draft and they probably won’t use all of their picks themselves, so they will have to be smart with what they decide to do with all of their draft capital.
Now the Predators as I showed at the start of this post have 2 1st, 2nd and 5th round picks while they have 3 3rd and 4th round picks and that team is loaded with draft capital for this year and I highly doubt that the Predators will use all of their picks at the draft, as I think they could do what we have seen some teams do at the draft and that is maybe use a couple picks to trade up to get someone who is high on their list or trade a pick to another team and in exchange they get a pick for next year which is something we have also seen other teams do at the draft, and they could also look to get some players with that draft currency as I think they could benefit from a top 9 forward as I said above or another solid defender and if they had to move one or two mid round picks lot make it happen I think they would, so in my eyes the Predators will be a team to watch around the deadline cause they do have a boatload of picks and I can’t imagine them using all of them at the draft, so I do think the Predators could be a busy team come draft day.
So in my eyes if the Predators can give some of their young players more opportunities at the NHL level, move on from Barrie if they don’t see a fit long term, either buyout or move Johansen, add a couple of top 9 forwards and make good use of the plethora of draft capital they have this year then I think Nashville will be in a good position for next year, and I think any year they have Saros back there they should at least compete for a playoff spot so while I am not really thinking they would be able to make the playoffs next year, I do think they will at least make it interesting especially if they can do what I laid out above.
If you liked this blog post, then check out my YouTube video on the Predators offseason here. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_CdcLnozPuQ
Calgary Flames
Significant Pending UFA:
LW,RW M.Lucic 7-12-19 77GP
LW N.Ritchie 13-13-26 74GP
RW,C T.Lewis 9-11-20 82GP
LW,RW D.Hunt 3-0-3 37GP
C M.Phillips 0-0-0 2GP
RD T.Stecher 3-11-14 81GP
RD N.Meloche 0-0-0 0GP
RD M.Stone 6-5-11 48GP
LD C.Poolman 0-0-0 0GP
Significant Pending RFA:
C M.E Pettersen 0-0-0 0GP
RW M.Pospisil 0-0-0 0GP
Current draft capital for Flames in 2023: 5
1RD CAL
2RD CAL
4RD CAL
6RD CAL
7RD CAL
Why did the Flames miss the playoffs: now for Calgary it wasn’t a absolutely terrible season for them as they did miss the playoffs this year but they only missed out by 2 points to Winnipeg and they were really close to sneaking into the playoffs this year, but they dropped far from Pacific division winners last year and I do think there were a few reasons as to why the Flames dropped so far this year in the standings.
Now in my opinion there are only two things that went wrong for the Flames this season and one has to be the fact that their offense couldn’t overcome the losses of Tkachuk and Gaudreau. Now both Tkachuk and Gaudreau were top line players last year playing on the wind of the top line with Elias Lindholm in the Center spot and both Gaudreau and Tkachuk hit the 100 point mark for Flames playing together on the top line as Gaudreau hit 115 points and Tkachuk hit 104 and the Flames looked like they were heading in the right direction, but then Gaudreau decided not to re-sign with the Flames and got to Columbus via free agency and Tkachuk said he wouldn’t sign long term with Calgary and was promptly dealt to the Panthers, and in return the Flames got Huberdeau in the Tkachuk trade who was coming off a 115 point season, and they Signed Kadri who was coming off a career 86 point season and basically they brought in Kadri and Huberdeau who combined for 201 points to replace the 219 that Gaudreau and Tkachuk had, and they feel flat as the two former Flames combined for 183 points with their new teams while Kadri couldn’t replicate his career year and Huberdeau’s point total took a huge slash as his point total went down 60 points and the two players Calgary bright in only combined for 111 points which is over 100 points less then Gaudreau and Tkachuk had in 21-22, so the loss of guys like Tkachuk and Gaudreau were hard enough for Calgary and were already going to make scoring difficult, but then having Huberdeau and Kadri have not good seasons really took a toll on their offense and in my opinion not having the production from their two star players last year was a big reason as to why the Flames offense was in the bottom half of the league and why they missed the playoffs.
And secondly would be the fact that although the team didn’t have as good production from Huberdeau and Kadri as they did from Gaudreau and Tkachuk, they’re supporting cast also didn’t help them too much. Now after having a real good season playing in the middle of Tkachuk and Gaudreau in 21-22 and putting up a career high 82 points, Lindholm had a down year and only put up 64 points this past year, and after solid seasons in the 21-22 year, all three of Hanafin, Weegar and Mangiapane had down years as both Hanafin and Weegar were a lot less offensive this past year as they were the year prior, and after a solid season showing his goal scoring talent, Mangiapane took a step back last year and had a down season, so the help on the forward group didn’t come through as only 5 players hit the 50 point mark and only Toffoli, Kadri and Lindholm had more then 20 goals so it wasn’t the best offensive showing from the Flames this past year and I think if some of their players were able to put the puck in the net a bit more, then maybe the Flames get the last wildcard spot in the West and the Jets don’t, but definitely I think the down years offensively for so many players were a huge reason as to why the Flames were the team sitting on the outside looking in.
And I think those two things were the biggest problems for the Flames this season as they had to move on from Gaudreau and Tkachuk and the two guys they brought in were not nearly as productive, while the supporting cast also wasn’t as good as when the Flames won the Pacific and although there goals against was in the top half of the league and they had a top 5 PK, the 19th lowest PP and goals for were a far drop from their top 6 offense and top 10 power play when Gaudreau and Tkachuk were there and I think those two things that hurt their offense as well as the fact that they could never get any sort of momentum going this year we’re huge reasons that this team fell outside the playoffs this year, but I have a feeling that if they can do some tinkering this offseason they very well might be able to get back into a playoff spot.
5 Ways of how the Flames can improve in the offseason.
.1) Figure out which of the players in the final year of their contracts they can re-sign.
Now the Flames are a team who has a lot of key guys going into the final year of their contracts and I think that at some point in the offseason they would like some clarity on who is willing to sign a extension as the Flames don’t want another Gaudreau situation to happen this upcoming season.
Now the Flames have recently hired their new GM in Craig Conroy and he seems to be a good pick to be their new GM, and in his press conference being introduced to the Flames he said that he would not want another situation that the Flames dealt with last year when they kept Gaudreau during the final year of his contract and when he had the chance left for free agency and the Flames got nothing for their best player, so now it seems like they will try and work out extensions or trade anyone who is currently in the final year of their deals. Now the Flames currently have a lot of players about to enter the final year of their deals and that includes Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanafin, Nikita Zadorov and Chris Tanev as the big names entering the final year of their deals, and I think once they are eligible to sign on July 1st that the Flames will try and lock up whoever they can and try to keep them in Calgary. Now I think the more likely players of the 6 to extend around July 1st and remain with the team may be Backlund, Toffoli and Tanev as it sounds like Backlund would like to be Captain of the Flames and from hearing others talk I think that if he becomes the Flames captain he would be much more likely to sign a extension, for Toffoli ever since coming over from Calgary he has fit in quite well with the Flames and had one of his best seasons both goal scoring and point production wise and I think he would at least be open to considering a extension while when Tanev was injured in season the Flames definitely felt the loss of him and I think as a solid veteran top 4 defender the Flames may want to keep him around, and I think there is also a chance that the other 3 could also consider contract extensions as well but I definitely think the Flames would have to get a extension on some of these players because if they don’t sign with the Flames this offseason…
.2) And which players with a year left will they move.
Then I think based on the comment by Conroy the Flames would heavily consider moving any player who is not locked up with the Flames beyond next year.
Now as I said the Flames don’t want a repeat of what happened last offseason with Johnny Gaudreau next offseason with all of these guys who are in the final year of their deal, so if someone who is entering the final year of their contract says they want to wait and see how next year goes before signing or if they say that they want to test the free agent market next year and they have no interest in signing with Calgary at this point, then I think the Flames will for sure look at all possibilities and that would include trading anyone who is not signed and in the final year of their deal. Now the Flames may try and do a quick retool and so I think if the Flames were to move any of these players they would probably want NHL level players in a return and not a futures based package, but I think that if they don’t resign all 6 of these players would have significant interest, as Lindholm is a solid top line Center and would improve anyone’s Center depth, Toffoli is coming off a monster season and would be a significant top 6 upgrade for a contender, Backlund is a good middle six Center with a lot of experience and is coming off one of his better years, Hanafin is a top pairing defensemen who I think would drastically improve most team top 4’s, Tanev is a solid veteran defensemen who I think could provide experience on the backend in a 2nd or 3rd pair role while Zadorov is a big bodied 3rd pair defensemen who is more of a defensive defensemen but has shown some signs of offensive talent (namely his hat trick in the final game of the season) and I think there would be some interest in him as well.
So in my eyes the Flames will have two options for these 6 important players who are entering the final year of their deals, either they sign a new extension when eligible and remain with the Flames or they say they don’t want to sign with the Flames right now and the Flames look to move those players and I think they should be able to get a couple of those players signed, but they won’t be able to bring back all of them and that is why the Flames will be such a interesting team to watch this offseason especially with those players entering the final year of their deals and I would love to hear who you think will sign with Calgaryof these 6 players and who will be dealt down in the comments.
.3) Continue to add young players to the team.
Now the Flames under Daryl Sutter didn’t add much youth to the team and he wouldn’t bring in guys like Pelletier and Phillips on consistent roles, but now that Sutter is gone the next Head Coach in Calgary must be willing to give the younger players some more opportunities at the NHL level.
Now the Flames were I think lacking some solid young talent at the NHL level last year and I think this team could benefit dearly from adding some more younger player to the roster next year, now Sutter didn’t like giving the young players too much playing time and was probably one of the reasons he was fired, but the new coach, whoever it is must give some of the younger players on the team some NHL opportunities next year, and I think there are a few who could make the team. One would be Matt Coronato who signed his ELC late into the regular season last year d only played in the final NHL game of the season for Calgary but looked good and I think he could be a solid 3rd line forward next year, another is Pelletier who had a tough time getting into the lineup this year, but he was able to get into his first 24 games at the NHL level and put up 3 goals and 7 points and I seriously think he should be considered to be a top 6 winger next year, and then also on the forward group you have Zary who was a 1st round pick in the 2020 draft, and played quite well last year in his 2nd pro season, putting up 58 points in 72 games and I think he may be ready for a NHL role next year maybe as the teams 3rd or 4th Center, then you also have young Jeremie Poirier who I feel is less likely to make the roster and could maybe benefit from and other in the minors as the defender is coming off a year where he had 41 points in 69 AHL games in his first pro season, and so while he looks like the best Flames prospect on the defensive side I could see the team giving him one more year on the minors, and finally Dustin Wolf who we will talk about below but has been a sensational goaltender in the minors over the past couple of years and is almost guaranteed to be at least a backup goalie at the NHL level this year, so whether it is Pelletier or Coronato who I think have strong chances of making the team, Zary or Poirier who I think are a bit less likely then the other two or Wolf who is almost a lock to play in the NHL next year, I think the Flames have to give some of their young guys some legit NHL opportunities next year and I think especially on the forward group they should put at least a couple of youngsters in the lineup.
.4) Move Vladar to make room for Wolf at the NHL level.
Now the Flames as I talked about a bit above have a budding young star in net in Wolf who is almost a guarantee to make the NHL roster out of training camp next year, and with him occupying one of the two goalie slots that means that the Flames would have to move on from one of their two NHL level goalies that they have this offseason and that could be very well be Vladar.
Now Wolf has been goalie of the year in the AHL the last couple seasons and looks like he has done all he can at the AHL level and is ready to start playing NHL games and as I said above it is almost a guarantee that he will be a consistent NHL goalie next year and although he will most likely be the backup next year he is still viewed as one of the top prospect goalies and should be solid in the backup role, but the Flames have two other solid goalies who did alright this year in Markstrom who had a bit of a down year and Vladar. Now Markstrom still had a pretty decent season but given what he is capable of he did have a bit of a down year and I have seen some people say they should trade him, but in my eyes he is still a top end goalie in the league and it would be foolish to move him, plus he is signed for 3 more years at a $6 Million dollar AAV with a NMC, so not only would a team have to be comfortable taking on Markstrom, but Markstrom would also have to approve a trade and honestly I don’t think that would happen so I feel that if the Flames were to trade a goalie it would be Vladar. Now Vladar has had a solid past couple of seasons with the Flames and after taking the backup role in 21-22 and putting up solid numbers, he did have a bit of a down year last season, but was still a solid goalie and I think could still be a solid 1B at the NHL level and with Wolf taking the backup role in Calgary next year I think moving Vladar would be the smart move, as he is also signed for the next two years at a reasonable $2.2 Million dollar AAV and with the amount of teams in the market tor a goalie this offseason, I think the Flames could get a solid return if they were to deal him, so in my opinion I think they keep Markstrom to be the starter with Wolf coming in next year to be the backup and they would move Vladar at some point in the offseason for what should be a solid trade package.
.5) Add a couple top 9 forwards.
And finally one of the Flames problems this year was their offense as without Tkachuk and Gaudreau they had to rely on secondary scoring this season and it didn’t show up and I think that they could look to add some top 9 forwards in free agnecy and trade on top of adding them internally.
Now the Flames did have a lot of depth scoring issues last season and it really hurt the team as their offense was a little bit below average and although it wasn’t bottom 10, it wasn’t top 10 like they were in the 21-22 season and although the loss of Gaudreau and Tkachuk did contribute to that, I think the lack of secondary scoring was also a big issue for the Flames and although I do think they should have some more youth in the lineup next year with guys like Pelletier and Coronato taking top 9 spots, I still think there is room for more offensive bodies and I wouldn’t be too surprised if the team was looking for some more top 9 players this offseason. Now the team I think could use another game breaker on the wings after losing their two superstars last year and although they do have Huberdeau who I think will have a bounce back year next year I think they could benefit from another and if they could get a guy like DeBrincat, Nylander or Keller i think they should definitely consider it, but if they are looking for some lower end options then I think they could look at guys like Boeser, Hall or Crouse if they were to look at the trade market and if they were to look for some middle six forward in free agency then some possible fits in my opinion would be Tarasenko, JVR, Killorn, Barbashev or Brown as all are really good middle six who would really help the secondary scoring in Calgary, so whether it is via trade or free agency I definitely think the Flames will be looking for 1 or 2 top 9 forwards and don’t be too surprised if they are linked to some big names this offseason.
So in my eye if the Flames can make the decisions on the players in the final year of their contracts to either extend or trade them, add some younger players to the team, move Vladar with Wolf NHL ready and add some more top 9 forwards and if they can get some better production next year I have no doubt that the Flames will once again be a team challenging for a playoff spot and I wouldn’t even be too surprised if they were able to make it back to the playoffs, but really does depend on how their offseason goes and I definitely think if they do what I mentioned above they should be in a better situation next year.
And if you like this blog post, then check out my YouTube video about Calgary’s offseason right here. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nP_7ma2_Yps
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