Flames update

Breaking news - I have been told that the Wings offer for JBO is Jonathan Ericsson, Valterri Filppula, and a late round draft pick. I am not too sure on the pick ; all we know for sure is that it is a late rounder.

The problem with the Flames' side is that Filppula only has one year left. The Flames want a commitment from him before the they make the deal.

The problem with the Wings' side of the deal is that it is contingent on the Wings losing out on Yandle. The Wings' priority right now is Yandle. The other key factor here is that Jay Feaster is in no hurry to trade Bouwmeester. They don't need to and Feaster won't trade him until Feaster gets what he wants, period. Additionally, Ericsson has not yet waived, and the Wings can't move until he has.

Value Signings & Bouwmeester Rumblings

Value Signings and the Bouwmeester Rumblings

With the NHL free agency signings slowing down, could there be a value signing in store for the Flames?

I know we have just over three million in cap space remaining and we have 23 NHL players signed so one can think that Feaster and the Flames could be done for the summer.

Feaster continuously brings up the words “trade” and “improve”. Of course if he can improve this team through a trade he will do so, and no I do not mean trade Jay Bouwmeester. A lot of rumblings have been circling since the draft that JBo is being shopped by Flames management. True or not, JBo will not be traded for the sake of making a trade. Plus his value is not as high as most fans seem to believe it is. The rumors of Edmonton offering Gagner and a pick for him are bogus. Reality is a JBo trade would look more like the Regehr deal unless we add more to entice the other team.

And why would Jay Feaster make a trade that weakens the team? Especially when this team is trying to win and ownership has instructed Feaster to remain competitive. Eitherway, regardless of what you believe when it comes to rumors some of them are pretty hilarious and entertaining.

Last year Feaster signed Hannan late in the off-season. And for one million bucks Scott Hannan ended up being a valuable part of last year’s team. I believe Feaster could have something similar in store this year. I know we have multiple players signed but competition and depth come camp is something Bob Hartley believes strongly in. Let’s take a look as to who could be that value signing this year.

Daniel Winnik- Right handed shooter that could fill an important role in our bottom six. Winnik is an aggressive penalty killer who plays up tempo game. Winnik has shown he can score the odd goal and seems like a good guy in the room. Reports are out there that he was asking for an annual salary of around $2.25 million. Obviously that cap hit will not intrigue the Flames but with free agency moving along and teams focusing on guys like Doan & Semin. Perhaps Feaster can add him at a more reasonable price.

Dominic Moore- Last year was not a pretty one for the Ontario native. But I would take him on my team.  Great character guy who plays hard and can win the odd face off. Moore has bounced around a lot in his career which could be a bad sign. But Moore is one of those guys playoff teams love to add. Moore has scored 18 goals in the past, but I do not expect that again. I would take Moore over Stajan, Jones, Bouma and Backlund to patrol our third line center position. Perhaps a guy you can sign to a one year one million dollar deal.

Kurtis Foster- I’ve always had a soft spot for him so you can take this as me being biased. Big right handed shooting defenseman who was originally drafted by the Flames back in 2000. Foster has had many downs in his career which has limited him from becoming a solid top 4 guy. Again a guy who you can probably sign to a one million dollar deal who when healthy could help in many areas. I know we have 9 one way d-men but do we really expect Carson, Wilson or Babchuk to be part of the big club come October? I don’t.

These are just my thoughts and ideas as to how we can still improve this team by way of valuable signings without hog tying ourselves.  Plus if Feaster does make a trade like he keeps saying he may, this could close a hole if one is left by a veteran guy leaving for youth.

On a side note: interesting to see Mike Green (local guy) turn down an extension by the Capitals. I will be keeping an eye on that.

Small update on Jbo.

The Flames may not be shopping Jbo, but that is not stopping the list of teams from knocking at Jay's door. So far, we have heard there have been inquiries from the Wings, Flyers, Blues, Isles, Bruins, and of course you have to add the Oilers.

Mr. Feaster continues to tell everyone we are not shopping Jbo, but you have to wonder if Jbo's days are numbered. On a curious note, the Oilers offer will not come until they talk to Jbo. They, of course, will first have to ask the Flames if they can talk to Jbo!

Appearantly, they want to make sure he will waive to play. They are the first team to go this route. The other teams are confident he would. The Oilers are kind of gun shy.

I did some checking into this and was told Jbo was not interested last time they asked. The Oil showed interest before, but Jbo declined. They seem to think the young playes could persuade him to waive.

Fouthperiod.com have been told several teams have shown interest for Jbo's services. So if you were GM, what would you do?