Rumors V: Draft Notes – Flames and Flyers

“Obviously we’ve become popular in the sense we’ve got picks,” Treliving said. “When you look at this year’s draft, it’s unique in the sense you have six teams without a first-round pick. That’s a lot of teams without a first-round pick. Subsequently, you have a number of teams without a second. When you come in with three seconds, you become a little bit more popular.

“When you’re talking specifically on draft, you talk about different scenarios. We’re at 15. What are the teams sitting above us that may want to move down? Vice versa; who’s below us that may want to move up? You frame those so when you get closer you’ve got the work done prior to . You’re also looking at those . To say we’re going to be active and make any deals, it’s tough to predict. We could not make any.”

“This is a very critical draft for us,” Hextall said during a news conference Friday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. “I think one of the more critical drafts in years. We’ve got to hit. We have to hit here. We do have a lot of picks, and we have some holes to fill. We need to keep young players coming.”

It’s unlikely that Hextall will look to move up in the draft. Mikko Rantanen and Ivan Provorov both could be available when the Flyers pick at No. 7 and both might be able to play in the NHL immediately. Hextall has to deal with cap issues caused by former GM Paul Holmgren. Hextall wants to build through the draft.

“I think it’s the only way to be successful over a long period of time,” he said. “Free agency is a tool, but it’s only a tool. You can’t build a team through free agency. We have a cap. We have a hard cap. I think you look at Chicago, you look at L.A., you look at Tampa, they’re built through the draft. Draft and develop. We’re not reinventing anything here. It is what I believe in and it’s what I’ve always believed in.”