Calgary Flames MEGA THREAD 2017-2018 Edition

[Sonic]

Good riddance....

[ThePlaymaker]

Flames sign Stone to 3-year, $10.5M deal
http://www.tsn.ca/flames-sign-stone-...-deal-1.793575

[spikerS]

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Flames sign Stone to 3-year, $10.5M deal
http://www.tsn.ca/flames-sign-stone-...-deal-1.793575

while that is a pay cut for him, 3.5M a year for 18 points a season? Not sure how I feel about that...

[asp integra]

That is a very well paid #5 D man. Too much if you ask me. So are we not lining up to add any young guys to the D core this year (andersson, kulak)?

[btimbit]

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while that is a pay cut for him, 3.5M a year for 18 points a season? Not sure how I feel about that...

He had a really bad injury in 2015 that had him out for a long time, followed by a rough recovery that led to him having a so-so start to last season. I'd bet he has 25-ish points next year

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That is a very well paid #5 D man. Too much if you ask me. So are we not lining up to add any young guys to the D core this year (andersson, kulak)?

Anderssen or Kulak likely complete that bottom pairing. It does seem like a lot of money but he's a 4/5 guy that can move up the roster if someone gets injured.

I'm a fan of the deal.

Look at it this way, he's better than Russell, makes less money and signed for less term.

Flames D also are going to cost less going into next year with Hamonic and Stone, that it did with Wideman and Engelland

[spikerS]

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He had a really bad injury in 2015 that had him out for a long time, followed by a rough recovery that led to him having a so-so start to last season. I'd bet he has 25-ish points next year



Anderssen or Kulak likely complete that bottom pairing. It does seem like a lot of money but he's a 4/5 guy that can move up the roster if someone gets injured.

I'm a fan of the deal.

Look at it this way, he's better than Russell, makes less money and signed for less term.

Flames D also are going to cost less going into next year with Hamonic and Stone, that it did with Wideman and Engelland

I dunno man, he has been in the NHL for 6 years now, totaling 102 points. That works out to 17 points a season, which is pretty close to his numbers each year. 2 years ago with Arizona he had a year that justifies this kind of salary with 36 points. Before that, his best year was '13-'14, and that was 21 points...

I think that Stone and his agent realized that that was going to be the best deal he was going to get, even as a FA, and why he signed before the 1st.

[btimbit]

Maybe he'll convince his brother to sign here next year

[Kavy]

Having a #5 that good is a luxury and Calgary will benefit. Being able to play your top 4 19-20 minutes and your 5 15-16 minutes makes a huge difference. This allows Brodie to come off of the PK and allows Hamonic to take his place. They will be less tired near the end of games and it will allow Brodie and Hamilton to really push the puck on their shifts knowing they aren't required to play 26 minutes because two chumps are playing in the 5-6 role.

[Quizzes]

That is a potent, but expensive top 5 defense. I was in the camp of letting the kids and Bartkowski round out the bottom pairing for low low dollars. Stone can move up and down the lineup should there be injuries and such, which is a good thing come playoff time. $3.5M for 3 years is a good contract for Stone, who's more of a middle-pairing guy.

Curious why 3 years as that is when Brodie, Hamonic, Andersson and Kylington all need to be re-signed. 2021 will be a very expensive summer.

[Kavy]

If you look at the entire top 4 it comes in around 4-6 million under most other teams top 4s because of the cheap Brodie and Hamonic contracts. Having them allows that flexibility to spend a bit more.

I also wondered about the term, I imagine that's the expectation now to be cup ready in two.

[kertejud2]

It may seem like an expensive Top 5 but it's still cheaper than what we had going into last year (Wideman and Engelland were just over $8M combined, Hamonic and Stone are just under $8M combined).

[colinxx235]

Not sure why anyone would complain about that D-core/signings... Stone is probably a legit 3/4 D-man on most teams in the NHL, plays a good solid game. They are currently sitting at 25 mil in D-man contracts + will probably bring up kulak or andersson for the season @ another 7-800k. Compare that to some teams such as Jets 29 mil, detroit 26.6, oilers 24 mil, hell even the canucks are paying 21 for that joke of a blue line.

The only real tough ones on the flames right now in terms of value/$ would be Brouwer if he plays like he did last year and Stajan. Well that and Johnny played like shit last year, hopefully its a bounce back season. It sucks that Sharp didn't sign here, they were rumoring that one and then the Hawks sniped him back up for virtually nothing... Flames really need a 1st line player, tough to get though

[btimbit]

I'm willing to bet Brouwer has a much better season. Probably at least plays like he did before he got injured.

So many people upset that Vegas didn't take him, but he's far from by biggest concern on the team

[Quizzes]

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I'm willing to bet Brouwer has a much better season. Probably at least plays like he did before he got injured.

So many people upset that Vegas didn't take him, but he's far from by biggest concern on the team

I don't know... With Wideman off the book, Bouma gone, Chiasson probably not coming back, there's really no one else left to point your finger at other than Stajan, and even he will be off the book next year.
Brouwer is still the biggest concern given his cap hit and the value he brings. Goaltending is still up in the air for finger pointing, but lowering the expectation would be best.

[btimbit]

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I don't know... With Wideman off the book, Bouma gone, Chiasson probably not coming back, there's really no one else left to point your finger at other than Stajan, and even he will be off the book next year.
Brouwer is still the biggest concern given his cap hit and the value he brings. Goaltending is still up in the air for finger pointing, but lowering the expectation would be best.

For sure, but people haven't seen the value he brings yet. They saw him play the worst year of his career with a broken finger. If he plays like he did 2 years ago, or even like the first 2 months of last year, fingers will quickly get pointed elsewhere.

I predict Stone becomes the new whipping boy, the "That's too much for a guy on the bottom pairing" crowd will get louder and louder

[asp integra]

TSN pre season power rankings released today:

1. Pittsburgh
2. Nashville
3. Anaheim
4. Edmonton
5. CALGARY!!!
6. Toronto
7. Columbus
8. Tampa Bay
9. Washington
10. Dallas

[colinxx235]

I'm not sure why you guys are ripping on Stone for numbers and that he'll be the whipping boy or over paid. Did you actually watch the hockey last season and before or just instantly look at his points/game and are mad he doesn't have burns/karlson type numbers?

He has played on one of the WORST teams in the NHL the last 5 seasons. In the 4 seasons that he was averaging ~20:20 in ice time, his numbers versus what the team did were pretty decent. In 15-16 he finished -10 on a team that was minus 36 while averaging 22:29 on the ice. Last season when he left the coyotes he was playing 20:13 a game, -5 on a team that finished -63. If guys are expecting a $3.5 million defencemen to be putting up 50+ points a season give your head a shake unless they are a young rising star who is under a team friendly RFA deal. His numbers sit well when compared to guys in his salary range, and at the end of the day he will be expected to play a solid 3rd line role and in the event of an injury can very easily step up to the 2nd line.

[asp integra]

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I'm not sure why you guys are ripping on Stone for numbers and that he'll be the whipping boy or over paid. Did you actually watch the hockey last season and before or just instantly look at his points/game and are mad he doesn't have burns/karlson type numbers?

He has played on one of the WORST teams in the NHL the last 5 seasons. In the 4 seasons that he was averaging ~20:20 in ice time, his numbers versus what the team did were pretty decent. In 15-16 he finished -10 on a team that was minus 36 while averaging 22:29 on the ice. Last season when he left the coyotes he was playing 20:13 a game, -5 on a team that finished -63. If guys are expecting a $3.5 million defencemen to be putting up 50+ points a season give your head a shake unless they are a young rising star who is under a team friendly RFA deal. His numbers sit well when compared to guys in his salary range, and at the end of the day he will be expected to play a solid 3rd line role and in the event of an injury can very easily step up to the 2nd line.

Not ripping him at all, I love that we have a #5 guy that can move up to the 2nd line at a moments notice and we wont be handicapped like we would have been moving up a wideman for example. I love the blueline this year. Can't wait to get the season started!

[max_boost]

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TSN pre season power rankings released today:

1. Pittsburgh
2. Nashville
3. Anaheim
4. Edmonton
5. CALGARY!!!
6. Toronto
7. Columbus
8. Tampa Bay
9. Washington
10. Dallas

What?! Really? lol

[Maxx Mazda]

I'm more surprised to see Dallas on that list! Hahaha