Confirmed with Link: Brouwer waived for buyout (edit: cleared)

[Calculon]

Glencross signed PTO's with Toronto and Colorado but couldn't convert them into one-way deals, so he decided to walk away.

Don't see Brouwer getting more than a PTO at this point. There's still some 'decent-ish' UFA's out there in Chiasson, Stempniak, Matthias, Letestu, Pouliot, Stafford, Jurco, Shore and Wingels. Given that the majority of these guys will be angling for PTO's too, it doesn't bode well for Brouwer. But who knows, all it takes is one GM (McPhee, Bowman) being a fan and offering hima cheap one year deal.

Kind of interesting, of the 67 names on capfriendly's UFA list, 17 are former Flames. Most of them quite recent too.

Also, the Flames will have 43 contracts on the books once Hanifin and Shinkaruk are signed. Flexibility for days.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Honestly having players not want to sign as Free Agents in Canada is fine with me. Free agency is where you screw your team up.

Simply enough. Brouwer didn’t perform. Regardless of contract or location. If you suck, you don’t belong in the NHL.

 

[Mobiandi]

Chicago's been trying to get the gang back together recently. I wouldn't be surprised to see him sign and end his career there

 

[Rubi]

Glad to see this happen as the Flames really needed this cap relief in order to sign Hanifin to a long term deal. Without the cap relief the Flames could only afford a bridge deal, and I don't think Treliving wanted to do that. I figure Hanifin will now get something like a 6x$4.5 mil deal. Lindholm just signed for 6x$4.85 mil so I expect Hanifins contract will be slightly under his.

Also, Brouwer was taking up a much needed roster spot which I totally expect to see filled by Mangiapane, unless he completely shits the bed in training camp.

 

[SmellOfVictory]

A lot of the positive posts in that thread sound almost exactly the same as the ones in the Neal thread

Both not the best contracts, but the pro side for Neal is that he's got a long established track record of being a good goal scoring winger, and a decent (not great) top 6 player in general outside of that. Brouwer's production always had a heavy element of smoke and mirrors to it. At the very least Neal should be worth his money for a couple of years, which is a significant improvement on the Brouwer signing.

 

[SmellOfVictory]

I can't see 5X7, but 5X6 I could see. Only Mony has ever received a 7 year deal. Everyone else was 6 max.

As for Troy, I think there is no need to speak ill of the man. My response shall be as thus:

There weren't a lot of guys signed by Treliving who were worth throwing 7 years at. Giordano was too old when it kicked in to give more term, Backlund's similar (not as old, but you want to avoid big dollars into a guy's late 30s if possible), then there are a bunch of junk signings and bridge contracts for secondary players.

That leaves Gaudreau, who I guaranteffingtee they would have signed for the full eight if he was willing, and Brodie, whose contract may have been kept shorter to keep the cap hit down. I don't think there's necessarily an organizational aversion to longer contracts, and Hanifin is a player with the age, pedigree, and year-over-year improvement that makes him a good bet for locking in as many years as possible.

edit: Forgot Lindholm, but again term was lower to keep cap hit lower.

 

[RedHot]

Mediocre (at best) player signed to a bad deal. Buyout was inevitable.

Flames are finally clearing out the bathwater players on their third and fourth lines, and it looks like they’ll be replaced by speed and skill. And youth. Something every single contending team nowadays does.

 

[1989]

A little off-topic but I like this move as part of the bigger picture (and I didn't hate Brouwer.)

The most important thing, aside from simply a matter of the transaction, is acknowledging that Treliving understands he makes mistakes but is willing to take the steps necessary to try to rectify them; that is, he is very willing to move on from players or staff he deems "bad hires". He fired Gulutzan, he bought out Brouwer, he's willing to speak out on how he feels the team needs to perform, he's very patient with contract negotiations, and I believe he has a real vision for the success of the team. The fact that he and his team were able to establish an "internal cap" based on Giordano's pay grade and use it as a negotiation tactic for all the major signings afterwards is proof to me that he understands the landscape of the managerial game very well.

It can be a little bit ruthless at times, but it's been said that Treliving is extremely active as a GM and is always looking to make the team better. Of course, there are no guarantees but at least the man tries and I personally give him a longer leash than others as I believe he's the best manager Calgary's had since the 80s teams - intelligent, active, and dedicated. It's also worth noting that the Flames position is his first full-time manager position and that he's basically a rookie, although he comes off as a veteran (and yes I understand he's been groomed for the position beforehand.) He's not the best but he's far from the worst.

 

[JPeeper]

Also, Brouwer was taking up a much needed roster spot which I totally expect to see filled by Mangiapane, unless he completely ****s the bed in training camp.

For me this is the bigger thing over the cap hit. Before free agency we could have held onto the cap hit until at least next year, but with trading for Hanifin and Lindholm, both of whom needed new contracts and then signing Neal as well, we just couldn't afford it. How ever giving Brouwer a roster spot for me was just bad, like he was terrible last year in every role (yes even the 4th line duty) and I'd rather they put a rookie/Czarnik/Ryan/Frolik there. Like how much worse is a rookie going to do? He'll learn and has potential, Brouwer won't learn anything new and has no room to grow.

Sucks that Brouwer didn't work out cause now we have to face this buy out which now gives us $1.5 mil of dead capspace, but it's over with and now we can focus on better things.

Michael Stone and Frolik will be next to be nixed from this team, to sign Tkachuk next year. I don't see either player with the Flames by the trade deadline.

 

[Skobel24]

Now sign Shore please.

 

[Corpus X]

Is the nightmare over?

 

[Kanye]

Now sign Shore please.

What's the point?

We need this space for Hanifin, not some middling 13th forward.

 

[Lunatik]

What's the point?

We need this space for Hanifin, not some middling 13th forward.

I think very little if any of the space gained goes towards Hanifin's new deal. When Hanifin signs, it would have eaten all the available space without leaving room for a 14th forward (650k-950k), bonuses (Tkachuk, 850k)), as well as in season cap space (the remaining 1.2-1.5 million) for injury recalls and a possible deadline deal.

 

[Tofveve]

This seems like a positive. Go Flam.

 

[Anglesmith]

I'm surprised to hear this. I guess I hadn't really thought about it, but we're very young up front and throughout our lineup.

This is the exact reason I thought it was hilarious whenever main-boarders last year claimed the Flames were "all-in" and that last year was "must make the playoffs" for the Flames.

 

[super6646]

Thank goodness. Hopefully we get something on Hanifin asap.

 

[Lunatik]

I'm surprised to hear this. I guess I hadn't really thought about it, but we're very young up front and throughout our lineup.

This is the exact reason I thought it was hilarious whenever main-boarders last year claimed the Flames were "all-in" and that last year was "must make the playoffs" for the Flames.

We were one of the youngest in the NHL last year, I think it was 3rd or 5th youngest, I'd look but I forgot where I saw it

 

[Mobiandi]

We were one of the youngest in the NHL last year, I think it was 3rd or 5th youngest, I'd look but I forgot where I saw it

Jagr brought us down to the bottom half so people on the main board still think we're this aging team stuck in NHL purgatory. Kind of funny really

 

[Mobiandi]

Christ...

 

[Baxterman]

That headline is awesome!

 

[Anglesmith]

Wow, that's extremely distasteful.

 

[Kahvi]

Wow, that's extremely distasteful.

Yeah. What ever you think about the Brouwer buyout, he is not the scapegoat to blaim all the problems Flames had in the last two years

 

[The Gnome]

Because money means everything right? You know damn well the things said about him doesn't just stay online, you can guarantee that people say things to his family too. The way our fanbase reacts to overpaid players is exactly why FAs don't like to sign with Canadian teams

What? We just signed one of the bigger UFA fish this year. As long as you have elite talent like Gaudreau around, live in an attractive city (which we do for many reasons), and have respectful management...I don't see that being an issue for us, the only deterrence is tax compared to the states, or young guys wanting to play in larger party places like NY.

For players with a wife and a young family, Calgary is probably a top place to play. Great city for a family to come to.

At the end of the day, it's talent like Gaudreau, Monahan, Gio...These guys are what make coming to Calgary desirable. Most big name players would love to play with them.

 

[The Gnome]

hopefully Tre puts the space to good use. Would like a veteran backup with a decent track record. Hanifin can go either way, risk with a bridge or long-term, I won't be overly pleased or annoyed with either, but at least this gives Tre flexibility.

 

[Lunatik]

What? We just signed one of the bigger UFA fish this year. As long as you have elite talent like Gaudreau around, live in an attractive city (which we do for many reasons), and have respectful management...I don't see that being an issue for us, the only deterrence is tax compared to the states, or young guys wanting to play in larger party places like NY.

For players with a wife and a young family, Calgary is probably a top place to play. Great city for a family to come to.

At the end of the day, it's talent like Gaudreau, Monahan, Gio...These guys are what make coming to Calgary desirable. Most big name players would love to play with them.

You missed my point. It is extremely common to hear that players don't want to play in Canada. Sure some FAs will still sign here, but if you think the fishbowl effect doesn't limit FA options on Canadian NHL teams, you are lying to yourself.