Tuesday, July 04, 2006

 

Flames Roster Check

Alright, enough Oilers/Canucks stuff for the moment. The Flames roster is just about filled out; signing RFAs Tanguay and Lombardi are the biggest items left on Sutter's to-do list. Here, roughly, it is:



Budget/cap-wise, the wild card is Tanguay. His Cap$ figure will depend fairly heavily on the length of contract he signs. Longer term = higher number, roughly the $5M I've shown. If Sutter can't tie him up for 3+ years, the number could be quite a bit less.

I'm pretty sure the 13th F & 7th D will be at or about the minimum; the backup goalie should probably have a placeholder of $1M, which puts the Flames' salary committments at right about $41M.

I've noted before that, even if you easily have the $44M cap to spend, it seems pretty unwise to start the season much above $41M. $41M affords the flexibility during the season to have callups and injury replacements fairly comfortably, AND to address any needs that become glaring over the first few months (e.g. the dreaded Kipper-gets-hurt scenario).

So, adding salary is probably a no-go at this point, meaning that any upgrades/changes need to be salary neutral (or salary-deleted). Besides dumping Iginla for a package of guys (PASS), I don't know that there's many possibilities on that count either. Or is there?

A fascinating (and totally unexpected) consequence of this run on capable defensemen is this: I think Roman Hamrlik has suddenly become tradeable. I'm pretty sure the Flames could put his $3.5M to more effective use; they just need to find a trading partner that fits the following description:
The most obvious candidate here, unfortunately, is a close division rival where Hamrlik wore out his welcome once before, but I'm sure there's more. Plus, he's only got one year left on his deal. Surely, for some teams, paying Roman Hamrlik $3.5M for one season is preferable to paying Jaro Spacek $3.5M for three seasons.

Developing...?

Comments:

What, no mention of Jeremy Roenick accepting a $500,000 one-year stint in Cowtown? I wonder what the history (good?/bad?) between him and Sutter is like.

On the blue line I don't mind younger Regher or Giordano stepping up, and your thoughts about Hamrlik are interesting - d-men are at a premium right now. Personally, I think we should trade that fucking Ference before he travels back from Hockey's Bizzarro World and other teams think he's actually good or something.
 


I would rather see Yanic Perreault in Calgary than Roenick. At the very least he is good in the face off circle, but also showed some playmaking ability during the middle-end of the season with Nashville.

If you could sign JR for 500k it might be worth it, but I have a feeling his contract will likely be worth about $1 million with some incentives written in (probably in T.O.).

I wouldn't mind seeing Hamrlik go, but to repeat jhuck, it might be better just to bring up one of the young guys, and rather than trade Hammer straight up for a cheaper defenseman, try and land a centre or some second line scoring. I'm not sold on Lombardi, having an experienced centreman would be nice.
 


That Hamrlik signing seemed idiotic to me a year ago. Exactly the kind of player that Sutter hates.

But with the new rules terrible defenseman are harder to protect, they can't just ice the puck or flip it over the glass and get out of Dodge when Forsberg comes over the boards. So anyone who isn't Scott-Ferguson-bad has real value nowadays.

And with the insane prices being paid to merely decent Dmen on July 1st ... Hamrlik will have trade value. I mean if Hamrlik is playing on your top PP unit, then it probably isn't very good. And he's soft. Can he play against quality opposition? ... absolutely! So can I! Can either me or Roman have success doing it? ... ah, there's the rub.

Still, some stupid fucker just might take that perennial playoff hero off of your hands yet. Hell, Going by the activities on Canada Day he just might be a hot commodity. It's a mad, mad world, Matt.
 


I think we should trade that fucking Ference before he travels back from Hockey's Bizzarro World and other teams think he's actually good or something.

Bwahahaha...gold.
 


iggy pop and tanGAY eating up at least 12 mil this year doesnt leave ole sutter with alot of options for a decent centre between these two. It looks like a another job for a plumber in cowtown AGAIN this year. but dont worry, I really think you guys will beat the blue jackets in GF this year so #30 is safe.



kipper of bust
 


Yeah, I sure wish we had the Oiler's current depth at 'C'. Oh, wait....
 


If sutters plan to upgrade the offence was to trade leo for tang and add a plumber here and there..... things arent getting any better in cowtown.
 


Yeah the Oilers don't need Hamrlik. I don't think he can handle tough opposition. Neither does Sutter BTW. If he did, he would not have used him the way he did all year.

Just to add to Vic's point - Hamrlik is traditionally horrid on the PP. His 3.8 PPP/hr last year is not a particularly good number especially on a Flames PP that was competent last year. Even worse this was actually a good year for him - his recent 5-yr career average is 3.1 PPP/hr, which is pretty atrocious.
 


...another job for a plumber in cowtown AGAIN...

...add a plumber here and there.....

What the hell does that even mean? Are the Habs signing Mario and Luigi or something?
 


A plumber is a guy who does the dirty work. He bumps, he grinds, he hits, and occasionally, he fights, but generally, he can't score worth shit.

See also mucker, grinder, "hard worker," "character guy"
 


Tanguay $15.75 Mil for 3 years (5, 5.375, 5.375). Add Jeff Friesen at $1.6 Mil for one year to top off the forwards. (source: TSN.ca)

Randy - longtime reader, first time writer, Flames fan (which you appear to need more of...)
 


looks like only 1.2-1.3 for Friesen...

(also longtime lurker, first time writer flames fan)
 

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