NHL Rumors: Calgary Flames crazy summer, and Jason Robertson contract talks
Anthony Scultore
|
Today’s NHL Rumors looks at the busy offseason for GM Brad Treliving and the Calgary Flames. Then we will head down south to Texas to see what’s the latest on Jason Robertson’s contract talks with the Dallas Stars.
NHL Rumors: Calgary Flames
Pierre LeBrun caught up with Flames GM Brad Trelivig to get an inside look into their “roller coaster” summer. To quickly recap, Johnny Gaudreau left for less money to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets in free agency. That was immediately followed by Matthew Tkachuk telling Calgary he would not sign longterm leading to a trade.
“I mean, we went through the season and knew the contractual situations of all the players,” Treliving said. “We had talked all year — you sort of game out potential outcomes for everything. But at the end of the day, our goal heading into the offseason was to sign both players. We went after that shortly after we were done with the season. We went to both camps and tried to be aggressive in getting both signed.”
The Athletic, (Subscription Required)
Treliving didn’t dwell on it and went to work on making some important moves. First, he acquired forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenseman Mackenzie Weegar for Tkachuk from the Florida Panthers. He immediately locked up Huberdeau to an extension and then followed it up by signing free agent Nazem Kadri. Sean Monahan was sent to the Montreal Canadiens to make cap room for Kadri.
What a summer.
Also in the article, LeBrun provides some details into the list of teams Tkachuk provided to the Flames for a trade. They included:
- Florida Panthers
- St. Louis Blues
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Colorado Avalanche
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Vegas Golden Knights
Regarding Kadri, LeBrun notes that he turned down a six-year offer with a higher AAV before signing longer term with the Flames. It’s also said that the New York Islanders were very interested, but the cap likely played a role in their inability to get anything done.
At the end of the day, Treliving deserves a lot of credit for handling this offseason with calm and coolness that should be praised. The Flames were one of the best teams in the league last season, and thanks to his efforts they should stay there.
NHL Rumors: Jason Robertson
The Dallas Stars are in communication with restricted free agent forward Jason Robertson. Despite training camp being just around the corner, GM Jim Nill is hopeful to get a deal done before it opens.
“History has shown any time players miss camp, it usually stagnates their training camp a little bit and their start to the season,” Nill said Tuesday morning during a phone interview. “Our goal is to get him here for training camp, yes.”
The Dallas Morning News
Robertson, 23, notched 41 goals and 79 points in 74 games last season for the Stars. He’s a big part of their offense and is the future of the franchise with both Tyler Seguin (30) and Jamie Benn (33) getting up in age.
The biggest question is what kind of deal is Robertson looking for? Does he want a long term deal or is he willing to take a bridge contract. That’s probably what the hold up is. But Nill is characterizing the talks as “healthy” and believes the closer they get to camp opening the more likely a deal will get done.
