3 players the Calgary Flames need to trade after embarrassing postseason exit
After yet another early exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it’s clear the Calgary Flames need changes. Those changes will have to happen via trades.
The Calgary Flames won the Pacific Division last season, but got upset by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Aside from signing Cam Talbot and trading James Neal for Milan Lucic, general manager Brad Treliving showed faith in his roster by not making any major changes.
After an embarrassing loss to the Dallas Stars, he’s not going to do that again. Whether it’s Treliving or someone else, the Flames general manager is going to have to examine the roster from top to bottom and make some big changes. This team has been given multiple chances to prove themselves, yet have virtually nothing to show for it.
The Calgary Flames core has recently seen the additions of Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm, but their core of Sean Monahan, Mark Giordano, Mikael Backlund, Johnny Gaudreau, and T.J. Brodie has had plenty of chances to do something in the postseason. Yet all they have to show for it is a single postseason series win back in 2014-15.
In six seasons, the Flames core has won a whopping total of eight playoff games. That’s not going to cut it. The Flames have tried surrounding their core with complementary players with minimal results to show for it.
Whether it’s fair or not, the core deserves blame for not taking their team to the next level. Treliving won’t be allowed to stand pat again. He’s going to have to make some serious moves. Either he’ll do it or his replacement will.
No matter who makes those changes, one has to imagine the Flames are going to make some big changes. The stagnant salary cap all but ensures that. But what kind of changes could the Flames see? Here are three players who they should trade.
3. Sam Bennett
Sam Bennett isn’t a member of the Calgary Flames core, but he is a common denominator for their mediocrity in recent years. He was drafted by the Flames in 2013 in the first round and has never really lived up to his hype. Bennett is a decent third-line forward, mind you, but when you draft someone with the fourth overall pick, you’re hoping for more than just an OK player.
Bennett has a $2.55 million cap hit for next season, which is reasonable for the role he plays. The Flames need every ounce of cap space they can get, though, so keeping Bennett is a luxury they likely can’t afford.
A player for player trade could make sense for the Flames. Calgary currently only has three healthy defensemen signed for the 2020-21 season – Mark Giordano, Rasmus Andersson, and Noah Hanifin. You can pencil in Juuso Valimaki for a roster spot, though it’s worth mentioning he’s coming off an ACL injury. They’ll likely re-sign Oliver Kylington as well. But the Flames could use more defensemen.
Swapping Bennett for a third-pairing defenseman is something Calgary could do. Someone like Nick Jensen of the Washington Capitals could make sense, though I’m not sure the Capitals would want Bennett. If the Flames could get a solid defenseman for Bennett, I think that’s a win for them at this point.
2. Mark Jankowski
The Calgary Flames’ bottom six forward group needs an overhaul. Mark Jankowski, much like Bennett, could be left standing without a chair to sit in, so to speak. He’s a member of their fourth line. Last year, Jankowski was great. This year, he took a huge step back, as he only had seven points in 56 games and zero points in six games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Jankowski is an RFA and is likely due a raise from his $1.675 million cap hit this season. If they don’t tender him a deal and re-sign him for cheaper, maybe it works out. But the Flames can’t afford to have someone making about $2 million on their fourth line.
He’s certainly not a huge part of the problem in Calgary, but he’s a part of it regardless. Fourth line forwards are a lot easier to replace than people think. From 2017-18 to 2018-19, Jankowski combined for 57 points in 151 games. That’s pretty good from someone who got roughly 13 minutes of ice time per game. And though he wasn’t that good this year, he has a history of being a pretty solid penalty killer.
If the Flames want to trade Jankowski, I think they wouldn’t have a very difficult time. Someone’s going to want to take a flyer on him and see if he bounces back.
1. Sean Monahan
So far, I’ve only suggested some minor changes to the Calgary Flames. But they’re going to need to make some bigger ones. My guess is either Johnny Gaudreau or Sean Monahan won’t be with the Flames next season. Considering the former has been in trade rumors, that would be my guess. But if the Flames are smart, Monahan will be the guy they trade.
Gaudreau deserves a share of the blame for his past postseason struggles. But this postseason, Gaudreau was a lot better. He had seven points in 10 games and was arguably the Flames best forward. Gaudreau was one of the few Flames forwards to actually show up in Game 6 against the Dallas Stars.
Monahan is a very good player, but he’s no longer the best fit in Calgary. He’s a great goal scorer and he’s never scored below 20 goals in a season, but he honestly doesn’t really bring that much else to the table. Monahan’s not a guy who can win too many puck battles. He’s not good at retrieving pucks. Monahan’s not very good in a cycle offense either.
Also, I’m willing to bet Monahan has more trade value than Gaudreau because Monahan’s a center. Finally, if the Calgary Flames are going to trade Gaudreau or Monahan, they’ve got to replace them. Elias Lindholm could slot in as the number one center. Get a wing who can do the dirty work, win puck battles, and retrieve pucks, and suddenly, the Flames first line looks a whole lot better.
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The Flames could probably even get that wing as a part of the return for trading Monahan. Replacing Monahan is easier than replacing Gaudreau. So that’s why I’d trade Monahan instead of Gaudreau.