McKenzie: Flames “very intent” on trading one of two core players.

Flames shaking things up.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
McKenzie: Flames “very intent” on trading one of two core players.
Mike Wulf/CSM/Zuma

When you're a fan of a successful sports franchise you never like to see players moved as a result of salary cap constraints but as is often the case success leads to higher paydays for the players on those successful teams, paydays that make it impossible to sustain any roster for any considerable length of time. 

It seems that this season has been no exception and in fact it sounds like one of the National Hockey League's very best teams during the 2018 - 2019 NHL regular season will be victims of exactly this phenomenon. The Calgary Flames finished with the best record in the entire Western Conference this season but the pending free agency of one of the organization's top stars is now expected to have a significant impact on how the Flames will look come the 2019-2020 NHL regular season. 

It has been very difficult to pin down exactly how much Flames star forward Matthew Tkachuk should earn on his next deal due to just how unique a player he is. It is true he puts up offensive numbers and can be a strong defensive presence on the ice as well, but his intangibles as an agitator and his ability to draw penalties are x-factors that his management will look to extract value from the Flames for. Add to that the fact that he has clearly managed to rattle some of the NHL's very best at times and you have a young man that could command upwards of $9 million per season. 

This likely means that the Flames will have to shed some salary this upcoming summer in order to make it all fit under the NHL's salary cap, and this week TSN insider Bob McKenzie took a look at what that might look like. Surprisingly McKenzie mentioned two players by name and even more surprisingly was one of the names mentioned. According to McKenzie it sounds like either TJ Brodie or Travis Hamonic might soon be playing elsewhere.

"I've been hearing a lot that Calgary is very intent on moving a defenseman, either Travis Hamonic or TJ Brodie," said McKenzie. "Brodie and Hamonic are two names we are hearing a lot of because the Flames have good young defensemen they feel can take over for one of those guys. And they are also as I mentioned when I talked about the Michael Frolik potential trade, they are trying to free up dollars to be able to sign restricted free agent Matthew Tkachuk."

Hamonic has been a staple of the Flames for some time now and is a beloved player both in and out of Calgary. It would be a huge shock to see him traded in the offseason, but if McKenzie says it's possible than you know it's possible.

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