Flames GM Brad Treliving Confirms He's Not Done After Acquiring Kadri, Trading Monahan
Few, if any, GMs have made savvier moves than Brad Treliving so far this summer. Net-net, Treliving swapped Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau (and a fourth-round pick) for Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, Mackenzie Weegar, a first-round pick, and Kevin Rooney. That is insanely diligent work, turning a trajectory-changing series of events into a net-positive.
After signing Kadri and trading Monahan, Treliving confirmed in today's press conference that he remains active and intends on adding another piece before season's beginning. Full presser:
[ Treliving confirms he intends to add: --> 13:30 ]
While he doesn't outright say it, if you read between the lines Treliving basically says he wants to add a winger. When asked about his summer, Treliving admits it has been a busy one (hardly news), but he also goes through the lineup, saying he is happy with his defense, his goaltending, his center group, but 'we can still tweak some things up front.' Ipso facto, winger.
2023 Lineup per dailyfaceoff.com:
Blake Coleman - Nazem Kadri - Andrew Mangiapane
Jakob Pelletier - Mikael Backlund - Dillon Dube
Milan Lucic - Kevin Rooney - Trevor Lewis
Noah Hanifin - Rasmus Andersson
Mackenzie Weegar - Chris Tanev
Nikita Zadorov - Oliver Kylington
Jacob Markström
Dan Vladar
I can see Treliving looking to improve on the wings, so I don't blame him for being dissatisfied in that regard. Ideally, Blake Coleman is on your third line and I don't think anyone wants to pay Milan Lucic ($5.25M) and Trevor Lewis ($800k) a combined $6 million.
*stares at Milan*
Judging by his moves so far, I don't think it is out of the question for Treliving to move Lucic and another draft pick to secure a top-six left winger. He could trade for one, but there are free agents available on whom he could take a flyer. Target #1: Sonny Milano
Milano's underlying numbers are seriously impressive. His talent is legendary, dating back to a viral YouTube video, and he is coming off his best season to date, scoring 34 points in 66 games for Anaheim. He could really buff Calgary's offense, giving them a dose of flash and/or razzle-dazzle that they don't really have. Darryl Sutter might healthy scratch him for 40 games, but that is neither here nor there.
That's it. That's the list.
As far as trades go, I suppose a player like Anthony Beauvillier could be had, as trade rumors have surrounded him lately. He is a player who makes Calgary's top-six much scarier. Otherwise, pickings are on the slimmer side. Phil Kessel remains unsigned, but how much better are the Flames with Kessel?
Treliving has already hit a couple home runs this summer, if he is able to maneuver one last deal to bolster his top-six, I think he has the unofficial 'best-summer' title in the bag.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||