Friends, it’s trade deadline season. So far we have seen three 2023 first round selections traded. The New York Islanders moved theirs for Bo Horvat. The New York Rangers misplaced one of them for Vladimir Tarasenko. The Toronto Maple Leafs just moved theirs to Ryan O’Reilly.
Same with the Calgary Flames probably Still keen to improve their roster before the trade deadline, it’s worth taking a look at Brad Treliving’s story when it comes to moving his team’s first-rounders. He’s done it three times, but always for players with running time.
Just prior to the 2015 NHL draft, the Flames traded their 2015 first-rounder (plus two 2015 first-rounders, one of whom they acquired from Washington for Curtis Glencross) to the Boston Bruins for restricted free agent Dougie Hamilton. At the time, Hamilton was unsigned and had four seasons left before he would qualify for the unrestricted free hand.
Was a first and two second laps a bit steep? Because where the Flames have been in their progression, it’s been a solid gamble. With the Flames poking at Glencross and Sven Baertschi getting extra picks, they had money to play with and Hamilton’s offensive prowess was probably worth pursuing. He was signed for six seasons after the trade – widening his controllable window as an asset – and it made a lot of sense, even in hindsight, to concede a mid-round first-round pick for an asset as tempting as Hamilton lose.
In the 2017 NHL Draft, the Flames traded their 2018 first-round draftsman (plus second-round draftsmen in 2018 and 2019 after some terms in Mike Smith’s trade were resolved) to the Islanders for Travis Hamonic. At the time, the Flames were coming off a playoff sweep against Anaheim and had lost four really close games. They’d been pushed around a bit by the Ducks, and as such they probably appreciated the combination of physicality and stay-at-home style he brought to the table. He was also signed for three seasons with a cap hit of $3.857 million.
Was a first and two seconds an overpayment? Hamonic offered for the offensive shots. He’s also been a minus player in two of his three seasons at Calgary – no matter what plus/minus is worth – and his basic defensive stats have been pretty underwhelming, too. So, yes, it was probably an overpayment for attributes the Flames lacked in their playoff exit. But three years of team control for a player with a pretty tasty cap hit is something to at least take care of.
Finally, six weeks before the 2022 trade deadline, the Flames traded their 2022 first-rounder, as well as a 2023 fifth-rounder, Tyler Pitlick and the rights to Emil Heineman for Tyler Toffoli. Toffoli was signed for two more seasons with a $4.25 million cap hit. Taking him on was a logical choice given his position (right wing), handedness (right) and his past with Darryl Sutter.
(While it doesn’t fit into the drill, the Flames acquired an additional conditional first-rounder from Florida in the Matthew-Tkachuk trade and moved him to Montreal with Sean Monahan to open cap space for the signing of Nazem Kadri. It wasn’t their own First-rounders, but it allowed them to add a tenure player, so it did somehow fits the overall pattern of how Treliving uses first round picks as trading chips.)
In short, friends, if you’re concerned that the Flames might nudge a first-rounder at the trade deadline for a lease, history suggests they didn’t do as well with Treliving at the helm.
(The dynamic regarding the status of their first round players is quite complex. We’ll get into that later.)
Source: www.yardbarker.com
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