Brad Treliving

When the Flames and Brad Treliving parted ways at the end of the regular season, it seemed likely that his name would surface in the rumor mill before too long, especially with there being a vacancy in Pittsburgh while other teams have been looking to add to their front offices.  However, that hasn’t been the case.

That said, there appears to be a reason why Treliving’s name hasn’t come up as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that the Flames do not want to grant other organizations permission to speak to Treliving until his contract expires.  Even though the announcement that he wouldn’t be back with Calgary came in mid-April, his deal technically doesn’t come to an end until June 30th.

This is a technicality that comes up many times when executives or coaches are no longer with a team (either by firing or, as has come up more recently, mutually parted ways).  Any other team that wants to interview that person officially still has to get permission to speak to them from the organization they no longer work for.  That generally happens without a hitch but as Calgary is still paying Treliving, the Flames are within their rights to do this.

It’s possible that this has to do with the fact that the draft is coming up next month.  Having worked for the Flames throughout the season, Treliving would have been a part of scouting meetings and Calgary might not want to let any information about their strategy, scouting reports, or things they’ve learned about draft-eligible players get to another team this close to the draft.

While an inquiring team – Pittsburgh or otherwise – could make a request to interview with the caveat that Treliving wouldn’t begin in his new role until after the draft, that’s not necessarily the easiest promise to make with there being so little time between the end of the draft and the opening of the free agent market.  The draft finishes up on June 29th and the new league year begins less than 48 hours later which doesn’t leave much time for Treliving to join an organization and be ready to have an influential role when the free agent frenzy begins.  Similarly, another team could ask to interview Treliving with a promise that he won’t be involved in the draft but that’s quite difficult to enforce.

Accordingly, assuming that Flames ownership doesn’t have a change of heart in the coming weeks, Treliving won’t be able to pursue a new position until the 2023-24 league year opens up in July.  At that point, it’s fair to wonder if there will be a spot for him to pursue at that time.  Last month, his decision to leave Calgary raised some eyebrows.  Now, the delayed process of that actually happening is also drawing some attention.

The Calgary Flames were a team with plenty of potential after perhaps the busiest offseason of any team, replacing their dynamic duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk with well-rounded additions that included Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, and Stanley Cup winner Nazem Kadri.

However, the team has struggled with consistency this season. Currently sitting in the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, questions are swirling around what moves the Flames will make to improve their roster before the March 3 trade deadline. Today, TSN’s Chris Johnston talked about what he’s heard about Calgary’s deadline plans.

According to Johnston, Flames general manager Brad Treliving has been looking to bolster the team’s forward group “throughout much of the season.” Johnston says that could come with a top-six forward in mind, unlike the team’s depth additions at the deadline last year.

It’s a thought process likely sparked by the disappointing offensive output of Huberdeau, who’s scored just 10 goals and is well south of a point-per-game pace with 36 in 51 appearances.

There have been some positives among Calgary’s current group of top-six forwards. 24-year-old Dillon Dube is seeing an increased role alongside Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli, and he’s responded with a career-high 33 points in just 54 games.

Jakob Pelletier has also been elevated alongside Kadri and Huberdeau at times. However, he has just one assist in eight NHL games as his minutes remain limited under head coach Darryl Sutter.

He also notes that Treliving could also explore adding a defenseman to shore up their blue line. They could use a more well-rounded partner for Nikita Zadorov on the third pair, as veteran Michael Stone is averaging just 13:07 of ice time per game and has posted poor advanced defensive numbers.

Johnston said he thinks the front office is “as perplexed as the rest of the hockey world” about Calgary’s ups and downs this season. The team has had hot stretches, but they’ve largely been immediately wiped out by losing streaks. As a result, they’ve sat on the fringes of a playoff spot after finishing first in the Western Conference last season.

Given their somewhat uncertain standing in a tight Western Conference wild card race, it makes sense that Calgary would take a wait-and-see approach with eight games left to play before deadline day.

Johnston does believe the team will ultimately make a move. Still, spending assets on an addition could be premature if the team can’t string together wins to solidify a playoff position.