With the Flames taking up Treliving’s new membership — the Toronto Maple Leafs — on Friday evening, it’s nearly as good a time as any to look again on the professionals and the cons
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Even probably the most beneficiant studying of Brad Treliving’s time with the Calgary Flames must admit that it was a little bit of a blended bag.
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With the Flames taking up Treliving’s new membership — the Toronto Maple Leafs — on Friday evening, it’s nearly as good a time as any to look again on the professionals and the cons.
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Coming to any significant conclusions about his tenure, although, isn’t straightforward.
On the constructive aspect, he guided the staff out of its post-Jarome Iginla slide and constructed a squad that received the franchise’s first playoff sequence since 2004.
The commerce with the Carolina Hurricanes that introduced Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin to Calgary in change for Dougie Hamilton, Micheal Ferland and the rights to Adam Fox labored out fairly properly.
Choosing Dillon Dube, Andrew Mangiapane, Adam Ruzicka and Rasmus Andersson outdoors of the primary spherical of the NHL draft helped bolster the staff’s depth — and Andersson has emerged because the Flames’ No. 1 defenceman.
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On the destructive, there are the signings of Troy Brouwer and James Neal. There was the choice to place Juuso Valimaki on waivers, which price them their former first-round choose. Signing Jonathan Huberdeau to a long-term, massive-money contract appears to be like like a questionable transfer.
Though the Flames believed they’d Johnny Gaudreau dedicated to a long-term deal in the summertime of 2022, that proved to be a pricey miscalculation when he walked away in free company and so they obtained nothing in return.
And, in the end, when Treliving left the Flames for the supposedly greener grass of the Leafs GM job this previous spring, the group was saddled with a lot of costly contracts for gamers who will probably be properly into their late 30s by the point they’re off the books.
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There have been additionally seven key guys set to change into free brokers subsequent summer time.
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With the Flames set to tackle the Leafs for the primary time since Treliving jumped ship, he has properly chosen to keep away from talking about his former employer within the lead-up to the sport.
“I’m not going to touch upon the state of affairs apart from this: There are superb individuals in that group in addition to good gamers,” Treliving informed NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger this week. “I do know they’ve struggled a bit to start out, however I’m assured they’ve the elements to show it round.”
In the end, Treliving will construct a brand new legacy in Toronto. Leafs followers positively received’t care what he did in Calgary if he in some way will get their staff over the hump and to the promised land of successful a Stanley Cup. If he fails, hockey followers in southern Ontario received’t be praising him for the great issues he did throughout his time in Alberta, both.
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And, in Calgary, the controversy will probably rage on about how his time with the Flames ought to be remembered.
Did he skip city with out cleansing up a multitude he himself created? Does that basically matter? What’s necessary now could be what new Flames GM Craig Conroy does with the hand he was dealt when he was employed, proper?
As a result of, in quite a lot of methods, it nonetheless feels just like the Flames are the staff Treliving constructed. Conroy’s solely main transfer this summer time was dealing Tyler Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils in change for Yegor Sharangovich and a choose.
After the primary couple video games of the season, that appeared like a steal for the Devils. However Sharangovich has been getting higher by the sport and has settled in properly on a line with Nazem Kadri and Connor Zary.
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You’ll be able to’t grade a commerce after 12 video games, particularly when the rationale they traded Toffoli was they balked at his request for a long-term contract.
What Conroy does with the Flames’ remaining 2024 free brokers will outline his time period as GM. It has been reported that there was a pause positioned on contract talks because the Flames attempt to get a greater grip on the place they’re and what their future ought to appear like.
That future will belong to Conroy, even when it appears like the current stays outlined by Treliving’s tenure.
And perceptions of the previous GM’s strikes can change, even now. Think about the affect that Zary and Martin Pospisil have already got had on this Flames staff. Keep in mind, too, that they have been Treliving draft picks. He deserves credit score for that, identical to he deserves criticism for his errors.
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The Flames have been in win-now mode for the previous couple seasons. They believed themselves to be contenders.
Ought to they’ve appeared for youth after they dealt Matthew Tkachuk? Perhaps, but it surely’s not as if Treliving was the one one who felt he had saved the Flames within the Stanley Cup combine when he dealt the winger to the Florida Panthers and obtained Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar and Cole Schwindt in return.
And was there strain from up prime to maintain the Flames aggressive? Did hiring Darryl Sutter put Treliving able the place any form of youth motion was unimaginable?
That doesn’t precisely absolve Treliving of duty, provided that it was his choice to convey Sutter again to the Saddledome within the first place.
The previous GM’s legacy in Calgary is sophisticated, however whose isn’t?
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He had 9 years to construct a winner. They obtained out of the primary spherical as soon as.
To be truthful, that’s higher than quite a lot of GMs have managed in Calgary over the previous 33 years. Then again, it could fall in need of a passing grade in most markets.
So, what can we make of Treliving’s time as Flames GM? There’s good and there’s dangerous. A blended bag.
Followers in Toronto can decide for themselves what they make of him as a wheeler-and-dealer.
In Calgary, the one factor that issues is what Conroy does now.
daustin@postmedia.com
Wes Gilbertson and Danny Austin have been protecting the Flames for years and know what makes the staff tick. Have questions? They’ve the solutions – or the contacts to trace them down. Ship your inquiries to calgaryflames@postmedia.com
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