Speculation: What do the 2024/25 Flames look like?

[Errol Swaghammer]

Any chance Kadri gets traded this offseason? Is his contract tradeable? He has a long deal, but he had very good season, especially after the slow start with fairly pedestrian linemates.

 

[Kranix]

Any chance Kadri gets traded this offseason? Is his contract tradeable? He has a long deal, but he had very good season, especially after the slow start with fairly pedestrian linemates.

NMC. He's not going anywhere. Nor should he.

 

[Potty John]

Hopefully we can move Coleman while his value is high, and take what we can get for Markstrom.
Preferably resign Kuzmenko and trade Backs if he wants to chase a cup at the deadline.

Would be hopeful to start the year like this:

Mangiapane-Kadri-Kuzmenko
Huberdeau-Sharangovich-Pelletier
Zary-Backlund-Coronato
Klapka-Rooney-Pospisil

Weegar-Mironmanov
Kylington-Andersson
Solovyov-Pachal

Wolf
Vladar

 

[joescores]

I don't need to state enough anymore that I am not a fan of Wolf, so I think he will be a great tank commander next year and we will go for the top 5 draft. He will be closely followed by certain Mr Rooney, who will be Wolf's deputy, so to answer the thread question- we will be bottom dwellers most likely (and not just because of Wolf and Rooney) but I will still watch and cheer, however already noticed the main detriments in Wolf, Rooney, Hunt, Duehr, closely monitoring Miromanov as he doesn't do enough but will give him a longer leash. Also not enough group is filled in by Mangiapane, Pelletier, Kylington, Vladar, Pachal, Huberdeau, Backlund's body seems to be checking out...

 

[Flames Fanatic]

Any chance Kadri gets traded this offseason? Is his contract tradeable? He has a long deal, but he had very good season, especially after the slow start with fairly pedestrian linemates.

Only if he says he wants to be moved imo.

 

[Nanuuk]

Kadri is going nowhere, but here. He has been worth every penny of his contract and I don't see any reason why he won't give value for the duration of the contract.

 

[crackdown44]

Hopefully we can move Coleman while his value is high, and take what we can get for Markstrom.
Preferably resign Kuzmenko and trade Backs if he wants to chase a cup at the deadline.

Would be hopeful to start the year like this:

Mangiapane-Kadri-Kuzmenko
Huberdeau-Sharangovich-Pelletier
Zary-Backlund-Coronato
Klapka-Rooney-Pospisil

Weegar-Mironmanov
Kylington-Andersson
Solovyov-Pachal

Wolf
Vladar

Like this but kind of want to develop Zary as a center

 

[Errol Swaghammer]

Kadri is going nowhere, but here. He has been worth every penny of his contract and I don't see any reason why he won't give value for the duration of the contract.

True. I can see him having a Pavelski like aging curve. He's had his two best seasons at age 31 and 33.

 

[SlovakFlame]

People are too obsessed with picks. Re-sign Kuzmenko & Sharangovich, trade Mangi, Marky. Sign veteran defenceman and goaltender (both UFA).

 

[RasmusAndersson]

Kadri is going nowhere, but here. He has been worth every penny of his contract and I don't see any reason why he won't give value for the duration of the contract.

I mean you could argue that he'll defy the aging curve and maintain this level of play (or even a top-6 calibre level of play) until he's 38, which I doubt he will based on years of aging-curve data on thousands of players, but to say you don't see any reason why he would lose his positive value (relative to his contract) is just intentional ignorance.

I've loved and respected Kadri for the way he's put his best foot forward this season and taken a big leadership role on our team, but I would strongly consider moving him at some point in the next 2-3 years before the heavy regression sets in. I wouldn't do it now or even next year, because he brings a lot of value to our team now, but we need to be proactive and manage our expectations while building our asset pool. Like Vegas with Rielly Smith or many other players. Kadri is great, but lets not fool ourselves into thinking a 37-year-old Kadri will be a good top-6C on a playoff team (nevermind contender).

 

[Bounces R Way]

A 7 million AAV in 2024-25 is not the same as a 7 million AAV in 2027-28. Pretty good chance the cap will be up near or over 100 million by then. If the Flames are still relying on Kadri to be a reliable top 6 center by then something will have gone terribly wrong in the rebuild.

 

[Volica]

I think it depends; in terms of roster.
We win the lotto, the team will look a lot different versus if we don't.

It's actually pretty crazy, if the Flames finish 10th, they'll have a 7% chance at a top 2 pick.
If they finish 8th that goes up to 12%; which while it doesn't seem like a lot, almost doubles the chance.

So, let's say 9 just to be in the middle:

5% chance:

Huberdeau - Celebrini - Sharangovich
Posposil - Kadri - Kuzmenko
Zary - Backlund - Coleman
Coronato - Rooney - Jabroni

Weegar - Andersson
Kylington - Some Vet they sign
Some combinations of Russians

95% Chance:

You're essentially going to look at it tonight, and then move some bodies around and add in a vet or two.

 

[Mobiandi]

If there’s an offer for Kadri that could net us assets, you take it and go

 

[Boomstick]

Good question. I have no idea. There will be more turnover in the summer I'm guessing. Maybe a few surprises out of training camp.
Here's a question for people smarter than I am. Are any first round picks in this upcoming draft ready for the NHL day 1?

 

[User1996]

Good question. I have no idea. There will be more turnover in the summer I'm guessing. Maybe a few surprises out of training camp.
Here's a question for people smarter than I am. Are any first round picks in this upcoming draft ready for the NHL day 1?

Besides Celebrini, I can think of two (maybe). Silayev is obviously ready from a size standpoint, also helps that he played KHL to ease that transition. Helenius also played in a men’s league and has a fairly well-rounded game.

In all honesty though, it’s likely only Celebrini. The other two might be passable NHL’ers already, but I don’t think it would be good for their development to do so.

 

[joescores]

I think it depends; in terms of roster.
We win the lotto, the team will look a lot different versus if we don't.

It's actually pretty crazy, if the Flames finish 10th, they'll have a 7% chance at a top 2 pick.
If they finish 8th that goes up to 12%; which while it doesn't seem like a lot, almost doubles the chance.

So, let's say 9 just to be in the middle:

5% chance:

Huberdeau - Celebrini - Sharangovich
Posposil - Kadri - Kuzmenko
Zary - Backlund - Coleman
Coronato - Rooney - Jabroni

Weegar - Andersson
Kylington - Some Vet they sign
Some combinations of Russians

95% Chance:

You're essentially going to look at it tonight, and then move some bodies around and add in a vet or two.

With Ottawa and Montreal currently winning, this is why I am so mad about our Ws against Sharks and Coyotes last week- we could sit in the 5th position from the bottom today. Idiots.

 

[JPeeper]

I never expected to go 3-17, we are something like 5-13 or something since the deadline which is still pretty good (in reference to tanking), we got ourselves into the top 8/9. The team next year is pretty much the same as it was post-TDL and like I've mentioned a ton because it's relevant, but the team is one of the tops in the league in 3rd period comebacks, cut that in half to the NHL regular we're fighting with Columbus.

Old guys will only get older.

 

[Volica]

I never expected to go 3-17, we are something like 5-13 or something since the deadline which is still pretty good (in reference to tanking), we got ourselves into the top 8/9. The team next year is pretty much the same as it was post-TDL and like I've mentioned a ton because it's relevant, but the team is one of the tops in the league in 3rd period comebacks, cut that in half to the NHL regular we're fighting with Columbus.

Old guys will only get older.

I also think Markstrom plays a big role here. If he’s gone in the summer regardless of what we think of Wolf; young goalies behind bad defensive cores have never been a recipe for success in the NHL.

Wolf’s solid, we can see that, but there will be ups and downs as most young players feel. Like at Zary who was starting to generate Calder buzz; an injury and he never really found his footing again.

 

[Errol Swaghammer]

I mean you could argue that he'll defy the aging curve and maintain this level of play (or even a top-6 calibre level of play) until he's 38, which I doubt he will based on years of aging-curve data on thousands of players, but to say you don't see any reason why he would lose his positive value (relative to his contract) is just intentional ignorance.

I've loved and respected Kadri for the way he's put his best foot forward this season and taken a big leadership role on our team, but I would strongly consider moving him at some point in the next 2-3 years before the heavy regression sets in. I wouldn't do it now or even next year, because he brings a lot of value to our team now, but we need to be proactive and manage our expectations while building our asset pool. Like Vegas with Rielly Smith or many other players. Kadri is great, but lets not fool ourselves into thinking a 37-year-old Kadri will be a good top-6C on a playoff team (nevermind contender).

Additional context is that this year Kadri has the 5th most points of any forward older than 30. He's tied with Kreider and Nyquist, and only Panarin, Crosby, Stamkos and Hyman are ahead of him. That's it.

That really probably means that you could not have reasonably expected a better season than the one he just had.

Edit: Noticed when I searched it didn't include guys who were currently 30 as well. That adds another couple of guys into the list (Kucherov, Trochek and JT Miller)

 

[User1996]

I’m at least a little bit intrigued with what a Kotkaniemi deal could look like. Carolina has Teravainen, Necas, Guentzel, Drury, Skjei, Chatfield, and Pesce expiring.

Kotlaniemi at $4.7m will look quite a bit better with cap increases over time - if he can return to a ~40 point guy. Can probably give him some more opportunity to find his groove than Carolina. It’s a long contract, but it’s still a cheap buyout for a couple more years.

You’re not going to get a massive asset to take him on with the buyout being so cheap, but the acquisition cost would be next to nothing for a former 3rd overall who has gone from the Habs with a terrible supporting cast to a crowded Hurricanes team.

Huberdeau - Zary - Kuzmenko
Sharangovich - Kadri - Coronato
Coleman - Backlund - Kotkaniemi
Pospisil - Rooney - Pelletier

 

[Some Other Flame]

Flames fans: Bennett only manages ~30 a season, what a bust

Also Flames fans: Kotkaniemi with 27 points and signed longterm? Let's trade for him!

 

[User1996]

Flames fans: Bennett only manages ~30 a season, what a bust

Also Flames fans: Kotkaniemi with 27 points and signed longterm? Let's trade for him!

Please explain how that is at all relevant.

Like, just because neither have performed to expectations does not mean they can’t be valuable pieces.

Should we always pick a players worst statistical year evaluate them? Do we think he’s actually a 27 point forward? Probably not.

At the end of the day, it’s an idea because it could be a buy low option - it has nothing to do with Sam Bennett.

We pay Blake Coleman $4.9m for typical 35 point production, and people rarely complain about that. Is Kotkaniemi at that same range really a bad?

If he doesn’t live up to his deal, his buyout is still $890k - very manageable. If he rebounds to a 35-40 point player you have him signed long-term at a reasonable cap hit, considering cap increases going forward.

 

[Fig]

Good question. I have no idea. There will be more turnover in the summer I'm guessing. Maybe a few surprises out of training camp.
Here's a question for people smarter than I am. Are any first round picks in this upcoming draft ready for the NHL day 1?

Instead of saying, "Let Conroy cook!"
Maybe we should say, "Let Conroy bake!"

Off season turnovers might be good.

 

[Lunatik]

Instead of saying, "Let Conroy cook!"
Maybe we should say, "Let Conroy bake!"

Off season turnovers might be good.

 

[Kranix]

Flames fans:

You're talking about one fan.
I'd take Bennett back tomorrow. I just don't think he's a 90 point 1C like he who shall not be named does.