Flames GM Brad Treliving was on Sportsnet radio yesterday discussing the Expansion Draft. Calgary doesn’t seem too concerned about their situation heading into the NHL’s 12th Expansion Draft. Returning from the Rookie Combine, Treliving noticed the impact of the Expansion Draft right away. It was a very active week among NHL front offices.
The combine for me was a little bit unique. The attendance was to the level it was, and busy. It’s busy, in the sense that everybody is trying to make themselves better. You’ve got this Expansion Draft, and you’ve got some activity that’s gonna take place. So, conversation has picked up for sure. -Brad Treliving, Calgary GM, Sportsnet 960
The Flames GM seems well prepared for the Expansion Draft and even discussed running a few mock drafts of his own. (We are still waiting for his entry into the SinBin Expansion Draft Contest) However, he knows it’s impossible to predict how it will play out. One thing Treliving can confirm is George McPhee’s plan to take back as much value as possible.
I think we’ve done three [mock drafts]. I think their view point, and it’s the correct view point, is it’s not so much an Expansion Draft as it’s an accumulation of assets. Future assets for them. Whether that’s picks, prospects. -Treliving
It’s nothing we don’t already know, but interesting to hear it from an opposing GM. Treliving suggested multiple teams will want to pluck from the pool of players Vegas selects. Teams could add the type of player they’re looking for through the assistance of expansion. Treliving makes it sound like an old-fashioned swap meet.
They’re going to have a wide range of goaltenders available. They’re going to get some good defensemen. They’re hard to find in this league. Plenty of number four, five, and six D-men will be available to McPhee. His centers will be flawed, and we should see ‘higher salaries’ on the wings. -Treliving
Eesh! Flawed centers, fourth or fifth defenseman and expensive wingers? That doesn’t sound like a swap meet that sounds more like a consignment store. Fear not, we all know McPhee will gain assets out of his rag-tag roster. Calgary will certainly be one of those teams thrifting players from Vegas.
The players Vegas drafts, not all of them are going to play for Vegas. How can we get a player through Vegas? How do we capitalize on an opportunity here? -Treliving
Oh and just to prove Treliving is a credible guy, here’s his response to the foolish Ovechkin trade rumors. The smart GM tip-toed around the subject to make sure he wasn’t tampering.
I can’t talk about other players. I saw something out there a few days ago. You guys maybe spent too long at Tootsies. Anything from Belarus should be taken with a grain of salt. -Treliving
Don’t expect any reporters from Belarus on the SinBin.vegas podcast anytime soon.
Phisig150
Hope we avoid the higher salaries unless we get draft compensation. We should look at this like an entry draft if we end up with 4-5 long term players we should be psyched. Then a bundle of future picks is icing on cake. Its all house money. Unless we draft Dustin Brown then the Kings take a big steaming shit on top of our expansion cake
Willy702
Good points here about how the expansion draft is a bit of a sham anyways. If they truly wanted to make this a way to give Vegas a strong roster then they wouldn’t have allowed teams to address all their issues after their season ended but before the draft. Since most teams are getting much of their best potential talent out of harms way, what else could GM GM do other than just look at it as a place to facilitate some second rate moves and lock up bonus picks that probably won’t amount to much? Every day that goes by that’s what this feels like, a way to stock the minors. Meanwhile for the existing teams the chance to get a free agent that can truly impact next season matters, for an expansion team locking down a third pairing defenseman makes no difference on the long run. NHL really should have done better here and limited these after the season moves.