Keys to the Calgary Flames offseason
ESPN: Looking at the keys to the Calgary Flames offseason.
Assess their goaltending – Mike Smith had a good playoff, but the pending unrestricted free agent only posted .898 save percentage during the regular season.
26-year old David Rittich is a pending RFA. One-time goalie of the future Jon Gillies had a terrible AHL season.
Do they go looking for a goalie this offseason?
Sign Matthew Tkachuk – Sam Bennett‘s contract shouldn’t be hard to get done. Tkachuk is going to get a big deal. Will he end up making more than Johnny Gaudreau‘s $6.75 million?
Find a bad contract in exchange for James Neal‘s contract – Neal has four years left on his contract at a $5.75 million salary cap hit. Neal had never scored less than 20 goals in a season. He recorded seven goals and 12 assists in 63 games this past year. Can the Flames find a taker?
Phil Kessel for James Neal trade speculation?
Could the Flames and Sabres work out a deal?
Brian Costello of The Hockey News: James Neal in Calgary needs to find an end. It hasn’t worked since day 1 and ended with a healthy scratch.
Would the Flames be able to find a partner for a bad contract-for-bad contract trade?
Would a Neal for Kyle Okposo trade work? Okposo has four years left as well but at a $6 million cap hit.
It’s a deal that could work for both players and both teams.
If the Jets move on from Maurice, the Sabres should be interested
Lance Lysowski: If the Winnipeg Jets were to fire Paul Maurice, he should be at the top of the Buffalo Sabres list of potential head coaches.
Pending free agent forward Jeff Skinner also happens to love Maurice as a coach.