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Brad Treliving

Pacific Notes: Markstrom, Vancouver, Calgary

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Without an official start date announced for the expanded NHL postseason, it is nearly impossible to guess when the Stanley Cup might be awarded this year and when the off-season may begin. All that Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning cares about is that by the time the off-season does arrive, goaltender Jacob Markstrom is back under contract. “He’s an important guy for us,” Benning told Ben Kuzma of The Province, adding “My intent is to figure out something that works for him and us. I’m hoping to get him signed.” Markstrom is part of a trio of key free agents for Vancouver that includes defenseman Chris Tanev and forward Tyler Toffoli, but the All-Star netminder appears to be Benning’s priority. The GM has been working to extend Markstrom all year, while Markstrom himself has said multiple times that he would like to remain in Vancouver. All that is left is for the two sides to meet on money in the confines of a potential flat salary cap and the Canucks’ hefty payroll. Markstrom enjoyed a career year in 2019-20 and could still boost his stock even further with a strong playoff performance. If the Canucks don’t pay him, someone else undoubtedly will.

  • The city of Vancouver is hoping to have a first-hand look at the coming postseason. The province of British Columbia has put together a formal proposal, designed and approved by its top healthcare professionals, that recommends Vancouver as one of the two “hub cities” for the NHL’s makeshift playoff format. Per the Canadian Press, this proposal will be presented to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for approval and then finally to the NHL. Vancouver was already on the shortlist of possible locations that the league was considering, but are now taking steps to be a front runner for the event. Whether or not the NHL would allow the Canucks to play at home or instead send the Eastern Conference teams to Western Canada remains to be seen.
  • Working against Vancouver’s odds of hosting a postseason tournament is Canada’s continued insistence on a 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the country. If this policy is still in place once the postseason is ready to commence, it would present a holdup that the NHL cannot afford. Before it even reaches that possible breaking point, the quarantine rule is already impacting training camp plans. Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving tells TSN’s Ryan Rishaug that the organization already has a plan in place to hold their July training camp in the U.S. if the quarantine rule is not lifted or an exception is not made. “I don’t want guys coming back to Calgary and sitting on their butts for two weeks,” Treliving stated, “It may make more sense for us to have camp in the U.S. so we can have guys together quicker and being productive. The quarantine issue is a big one.” There is no word yet on where exactly this fallback training camp would take place, but hockey-centric cities relatively close to Calgary include Spokane, Washington and Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Trade Rumors: Calgary, Baertschi, Sandin

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The Calgary Flames recently opened up significant salary cap space by trading away veteran forward Michael Frolik and his $4.3MM cap hit. The move occurred on Thursday and by Saturday the word was out that Calgary GM Brad Treliving was already on the hunt to fill that space. The Flames would like help up front and now have nearly $5MM to make and addition or perhaps even two. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Treliving and company are not interested in the rental market. The team’s preference is to add a player with term as opposed to using up their newfound cap space on a short-term commitment, especially as they continue to sit outside the playoff picture in the Western Conference. Friedman feels that, if the Flames are comfortable with Elias Lindholm remaining at center, their trade focus will be on adding a right wing. While it is often hard to predict which term players may be available, some top-six right wing options that Calgary can afford and may be available could include New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri, Montreal’s Joel Armia, Anaheim’s Ondrej Kase, or the Rangers’ Pavel Buchnevich. Of course, the team could also look into negotiating an extension with an available rental prior to making a deal, which would open up options like L.A.’s Tyler Toffoli or Florida’s Mike Hoffman or Evgenii Dadonov.

  • While one might assume that the Montreal Canadiens, currently in 13th in the Eastern Conference, would be sellers this season, the team proved otherwise this week by acquiring defenseman Marco Scandella and signing forward Ilya Kovalchuk. Friedman reports that the team was also considering Vancouver Canucks forward Sven Baertschi before pulling the trigger on Kovalchuk, although continued interest cannot be completely ruled out. It’s easy to forget about Baertschi’s availability, as the Canucks have kept him buried in the AHL for all but six games this season and have performed fine without him, currently riding the league’s longest winning streak in fact. Baertschi, who recorded 106 points in 216 games with the Canucks over the past four seasons, has been slowed by injuries in his career but productive when healthy. He has shown as much this year, scoring at an elite pace in the AHL. The risk-reward winger cleared waivers earlier this season, but as he continues to stay healthy and score in the minors, the Canadiens will not be the only team with interest. If Vancouver is willing to retain part of Baerstschi’s $3.367 cap hit through next season, that will only increase the likelihood that another team opts to take a chance on him.
  • While there has been some speculation that the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs could turn to the trade market to add depth on the blue line, especially in light of recent injuries, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston believes that the team may opt to fill the void internally instead. With Rasmus Sandin excelling overseas at the World Junior Championship, Johnston believes that Toronto’s opinion on playing the young defenseman this season has changed. Johnston does not believe that keeping Sandin under ten games of NHL action, so as to allow his entry-level contract to slide one more year, is a priority anymore for the team. He believes that when Sandin returns to Toronto, he will become a viable option for the remainder of the season. Sanin has already played in four games this season, so it would not take much time for him to burn the first year of his contract, but it may be worth it if the Leafs can solidify their back end.

Latest On Bill Peters Investigation, Admission

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Thursday: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet notes that the Flames’ investigation is “reaching its conclusion.” Friedman believes that Peters will be removed as head coach of the Flames.

Wednesday: A letter from Peters to Treliving has been shared by Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. In the letter, Peters admits to using the offensive language described by Aliu during the incident in question. It’s unclear at this point how this admission will impact the ongoing investigation, as well as the Flames’ ultimate decision.

Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters was already on the hot seat after a surprisingly poor start to the season. However, he came under fire this week for an entirely different reason, facing accusations of unacceptable off-ice conduct regarding former player Akim Aliu. The repercussions of an ongoing joint investigation between the Flames, NHL, and NHLPA are already being felt. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that Peters has left the team and there is a chance he may not return.

As of right now, Peters remains the head coach in Calgary. However, he will not be behind the bench for the team tonight in Buffalo and into the foreseeable future. GM Brad Treliving is the only member of the player operations side of the organization staying in contact with Peters, as his coaching staff, and associate head coach Geoff Ward in particular, have take complete control over the team. Seravalli believes that the situation could be permanent, as he reports that “it seems to be trending towards Peters losing his job.”

However, he warns that this is not a simple process. There is no precedent for an NHL coach to be fired for off-ice conduct, making this investigation and the decision on how to handle the results brand new ground for the league and the Flames. There is also legal red tape that Calgary must traverse in order to fire Peters for-cause. Seravalli has spoken with several of Aliu’s former teammates, all of whom have backed up his allegations against Peters, so it is very likely that the investigation comes to same conclusions that the coach is indeed guilty of these accusations. If so, he will almost certainly be fired. However, the parting of ways will be neither quick nor clean for the Flames.

NHL, Flames Looking Into Allegations Against Bill Peters

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This week several former players have come out to speak their mind about interactions with former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock. As part of the wave of stories on social media, former NHL player Akim Aliu spoke out about a Babcock protege, Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters, and their time together with the Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Peters was the head coach of the IceHogs when Aliu was a rookie in 2009-10. The 30-year old alleges that Peters “dropped the N bomb several times” in the team’s locker room because of Aliu’s music choices.

Flames GM Brad Treliving addressed the media after last night’s Flames game:

During tonight’s game I was made aware of a tweet from former player Akim Aliu. Obviously we were playing so I haven’t had a chance to sit down with Bill or our people internally, to talk about this and get to the bottom of it. I would say we take these matters very, very seriously.

Until such time as we have a chance to speak about it internally, we obviously want to address you people – we’re aware of it. Made aware of it during the game here this evening. Like I said, I haven’t had a chance to talk to Bill. I will be doing that and until such time we won’t have any further comment about it but we will address it and get back to you people once we have a chance to speak internally.

The NHL also released a short statement on the situation:

The behavior that has been alleged is repugnant an unacceptable. We will have no further comment until we have had an opportunity to look into the matter thoroughly.

Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the NHL and Flames have been in contact regarding the situation and are expected to have “further discussions” today. Peters was hired by the Flames in 2018 and is under contract through the 2020-21 season.

Frank Seravalli of TSN also spoke to some of Aliu’s teammates who backed up the allegations, describing the incident in detail. Aliu also got on record to explain the situation fully, telling Seravalli that he regrets not standing up for himself and others at the time.

Calgary Flames Not Looking At Coaching Changes

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The Calgary Flames are mired in a six-game losing streak and are now only ahead of the Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division. That’s a far cry from the team that won the Western Conference last season by six points, going 50-25-7. Still, even though the team has faced adversity this season and some are speculating about big changes, GM Brad Treliving isn’t considering one. On Sportsnet radio today, Treliving put his faith in the current group:

This is a good group that is underperforming. We’ve got to find a way to get back to a being a good group that is performing. It starts with myself. I believe fully in this coaching staff. I don’t stay in tune to the social media world, but the last couple of days I’ve been asked about changes.

The coaches aren’t going anywhere. Our top players aren’t going anywhere. While the outside world wants to—and rightly so—count us out, this is when you bunker in and get into the foxhole and try to make your team better.

Not only has there been speculation about the coaching staff, but the top players on Calgary have taken their fair share of criticism. Johnny Gaudreau has 18 points through 25 games but just one assist in his last six, while Sean Monahan has scored just five goals all season. This statement from Treliving should calm the trade speculation waters, but there is still a lot of work to be done in Calgary to get them back to contending.

It is interesting that he specified the “top players” aren’t going anywhere, which will leave room for some continued talk about other names like Travis Hamonic. The defenseman is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and has shut down any extension talks, making his a tricky situation to navigate. If the team is not contending for a playoff spot by the deadline, it might make sense to cash in an asset like Hamonic to improve their future.

Treliving also announced that T.J. Brodie would be rejoining the team on their current road trip, but he is still not cleared to play since his collapse at practice recently.

Calgary Flames Extend Brad Treliving

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The Calgary Flames have signed GM Brad Treliving to a multi-year contract extension. His current deal was set to expire at the end of this season, but he now won’t have to worry about his future. Flames’ president and CEO John Bean explained why the team decided to move forward with Treliving:

Over the past five years, Brad has done an excellent job putting a team together on and off the ice. Continuity is important in this role. Brad has earned the trust and respect of our Ownership Group and our fans. We look forward to continuing our work together as we strive for our ultimate goal; another Stanley Cup championship for the City of Calgary.

With the team since 2014, Treliving has built the Flames into a Western Conference contender that took home the top seed last season with 107 points. The team is expected to challenge for that seed again this year and have their core locked up for at least the next three years. That’s the length of Matthew Tkachuk’s new bridge deal, which made him the highest-paid player on the team at just $7MM. While teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs are throwing money at their top few players, Treliving has gone the opposite route and built a deep forward group that has 11 forwards making at least $1.25MM this season.

The deal is expected to be three years in length, keeping Treliving in charge through the 2022-23 season. Not only will that give the organization some front office continuity, but it also gives him the security to make moves to improve the Flames down the line instead of right now. Calgary begins play tonight against the Colorado Avalanche.

Calgary Flames Re-Sign Andrew Mangiapane

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After months of negotiations, young Calgary Flames depth forward Andrew Mangiapane has finally signed a new contract – his qualifying offer. The Flames announced that Mangiapane has agreed to return on the minimum one-year, two-way contract worth $715K that they had initially extended to him in June. It’s a win for GM Brad Treliving and company, who get a capable, developing winger back under contract at a bargain price as they continue to maneuver through a tight salary cap squeeze.

This is a classic case – although not as common with restricted free agents nowadays – of a team holding tight to their leverage with a young player. Mangiapane, 23, did not have any arbitration rights this summer, nor had he earned the right to demand a higher salary because the team could not survive without him. In fact, it is no surprise that Mangiapane finally caved with training camp just getting underway. The player and his camp had to know that the more training camp he missed, the less likely his chances were of earning a spot on the team. Although Mangiapane took a big career step last year with a career-high 44 NHL games played and 13 points, he didn’t yet have the job security to risk missing too much of training camp and preseason action. Calgary knew that they could assist with a difficult salary cap situation by forcing Mangiapane to accept their minimum offer. This is now very much a “show me” season for the Barrie Colts product, who will look to earn a more regular role and improve his offensive totals ahead of another round of restricted free agency next summer, this time with arbitration rights.

With Mangiapane now signed, and projected to be on the opening night roster, CapFriendly lists the Flames as having just over $75MM committed to 22 players. That leaves approximately $6.3MM to sign that final 23rd player, unsigned RFA forward Matthew Tkachuk. However, coming off a 77-point season at just 21 years old, the team may find it impossible to re-sign their young star with just that amount to work with. Treliving still has plenty of work to do before the season starts to re-shape the roster in a way that allows the team to re-sign Tkachuk.

Early Notes: Mangiapane, Rantanen, Okhotyuk

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The Calgary Flames have had countless headlines written about their ongoing negotiation with Matthew Tkachuk, but they actually have another restricted free agent still unsigned as well. Andrew Mangiapane is in danger of missing the start of training camp if something can’t get done, which is likely more important for a player that has just 54 NHL games under his belt and is fighting for a full-time roster spot. Eric Francis of Sportsnet reports that the two sides are $200K apart on a one-year deal, with the Flames offering $800K and Mangiapane “looking for closer to $1MM.”

Calgary GM Brad Treliving told Francis that the team isn’t waiting on Tkachuk to sign Mangiapane, but with such a small difference in offers you can bet the team is trying to make sure they don’t overpay even the slightest, knowing they don’t have a lot of wiggle room under the cap ceiling. The Flames currently project to have just over $7.7MM in cap space, though there are a few ways to create some extra room, like placing defenseman Juuso Valimaki on long-term injured reserve.

  • Though Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen have raised eyebrows during their negotiations by being linked to clubs overseas, the latter decided to put that idea to rest in an interview with Russian outlet Business Online. Rantanen was very clear that the NHL is “the only option” for him this season and he won’t be discussing contracts with the KHL or other leagues. The Colorado Avalanche forward is coming off his second consecutive season scoring more than a point-per-game and has found a home on the top line beside Nathan MacKinnon. Still just 22, he could potentially become Colorado’s highest-paid player on his next contract.
  • The New Jersey Devils won’t be able to get a closer look at prospect Nikita Okhotyuk at the Prospect Challenge this weekend, as the team announced he is out six to eight weeks following surgery on a broken finger. Okhotyuk was selected in the second round in June and will miss regular training camp as well. The 18-year old defenseman is expected to return to the Ottawa 67’s for the 2019-20 season.

Poll: Which GM Will Be Fired Next?

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Despite missing the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, the Vancouver Canucks decided to extend GM Jim Benning today. The reasons for that are complicated—and obviously do not hinge entirely on his postseason record—just as they were when the Minnesota Wild made the decision to fire Paul Fenton just 14 months into his tenure with the team. The inner workings of an NHL front office are almost never made public (unless there is an intrepid reporter like Michael Russo of The Athletic who gets the incredible story), and it is hard to see why some decisions are made.

Still, even the most casual fan can see the seat of specific executives and coaches heating up. When the Edmonton Oilers decided to move on from Peter Chiarelli during another disappointing season, it didn’t come as much of a surprise. On the other hand, it was easy to see why the Carolina Hurricanes recently locked up Don Waddell after he interviewed for another job.

Looking around the league, who is next? Which GM will be let go, either this year or next summer?

It might be easy to look at the teams that have struggled recently, but many of them have replaced their top hockey operations executive over the last few seasons. The Oilers brought in Ken Holland to change the culture in Edmonton, while Steve Yzerman returned to the Detroit Red Wings to bring a new voice to a stagnant team. Florida has gone through quite a bit of turmoil in the front office since their ownership changed but Dale Tallon now seems to be entrenched as a veteran leader.

There are others though that may not be so lucky. The Ottawa Senators are heading in a new direction after shedding their previous core, but if the young talent doesn’t develop as hoped Pierre Dorion could be held responsible. John Chayka was the youngest GM in history when he took over the Arizona Coyotes in 2016, but they still haven’t made the playoffs under his watch and now have new ownership of their own. Jason Botterill was expected to have success in Buffalo after finding so much of it in Pittsburgh, but the Sabres haven’t been able to build a full roster around Jack Eichel despite some outstanding individual players.

Nothing is certain when it comes to front offices however. Cast your vote below and explain just why you think they’ll be the first to go!

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*We’ve used Kelly McCrimmon as the Vegas GM, though he won’t officially take that title from George McPhee until September

Snapshots: Sharks, Prospect Pools, Flames

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The San Jose Sharks are still expected to sign Joe Thornton at some point this offseason according to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (subscription required). That might not be so for the other franchise icon that sits unsigned deep into August, Patrick Marleau who joined his former teammate for a skate at the San Jose facility this week. Kurz examines the situation for both men, pointing out that Thornton is completely committed to the team regardless of how much cap space they have left at the end of the summer.

Just recently we examined that cap space with a breakdown of the Sharks’ salary situation for the upcoming season. With just under $4.7MM to work with they could certainly bring in both Thornton and Marleau if they want to come “home,” but that wouldn’t leave much for upgrades to the rest of the roster. Most notably is perhaps in net where Aaron Dell remains the backup for the time being despite having just one year at $1.9MM left on his contract and the Sharks trying to trade him in the past. An improvement in net might cost the Sharks some of that room if they can’t find a taker for Dell in return.

  • Sticking with The Athletic, resident prospect guru Corey Pronman has started to release (subscription required) his ranking of the 31 farm systems around the league. In last place sits the Calgary Flames, who have had several graduations recently including injured defenseman Juuso Valimaki. In the 2018 draft the Flames didn’t select a single player until the fourth round after trading away several picks, leaving a gap in their system they’ll have to work hard to refill. Pronman has released five other teams and will continue through the summer.
  • Those Flames are now in the process of looking to add a defenseman instead of shopping one after Valimaki’s injury. GM Brad Treliving admitted to Eric Francis of Sportsnet that they hadn’t previously been considering an addition on the blueline, but is now after a depth option to help fill in. The rest of the league obviously noticed the situation the Flames are now in, with Treliving saying that his “30 other GM friends certainly have a lot of ideas for [him].”

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