Flames in difficult spot at NHL Draft after trading top three selections
Acquisitions of Hamonic, Smith leave Calgary picking 105th
RELATED: [Complete 2018 NHL Draft coverage]
Past trades have left the Flames without a pick in the first three rounds at Dallas on June 22 and 23. General manager Brad Treliving traded what will be the No. 12 pick, plus Calgary's second-round pick, to the New York Islanders for defenseman Travis Hamonic on June 24, 2017. The Islanders also received a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, and the Flames received a fourth-round pick in 2019.
Calgary's third-round pick this year, No. 74, was packaged with goalie Chad Johnson and defenseman prospect Brandon Hickey to acquire goalie Mike Smith from the Arizona Coyotes on June 17, 2017.
The result is that the Flames are scheduled to make their first pick in the fourth round, at No. 105. They have another pick in the fourth round (No. 108) and picks in the sixth (No. 167) and seventh (No. 198) rounds.
"Would we like to get into the first round? Yeah," Treliving said Friday. "I'd like a helicopter too.
"There's a price. We're not going to do something just so we can call a name on Friday. It takes a fairly good price to get in there. Are we trying to manufacture some more picks? Sure. We're looking it."
A lack of early selections has not changed the lead-up for the draft, Treliving said.
"Our scouting, our preparation and building our list is just like any other year," he said. "You have to do that because things can change and you have to be prepared. The cost of getting into Round 1 is steep right now. It would take a real good young player to do that, and does that put you further ahead? As it sits, it doesn't necessarily look like it will happen, but we'll see."
Treliving said the Flames understood the past choices that have led to this unusual situation.
"It wasn't something that we just woke up to today," he said. "You evaluate these things when you make deals, that there might be a year where you're light [at the draft]. You don't like doing those things, but we made that decision at the time and now we'll try to see if we can add to the number of picks we have."
In a wide-ranging interview with NHL.com, Treliving also discussed Calgary's offseason coaching change and other pending issues related to improving on a disappointing finish in 2017-18.
How is new coach Bill Peters going to give your team a reset, have an impact?
"Adding Bill, and [assistants] Geoff Ward and Ryan Huska, one of the things they want is to play quicker. That's an emphasis. We made a coaching change, but as I said to our players, that was not to put all the blame at the feet of the coaches. Myself and players stand at the front of the line of why it didn't go the way we wanted it to go. I think Bill is a demanding guy. I think there's going to be not only a strong push but a focus on tempo, and some of that's connected to your roster as well. It certainly helps when you've got footspeed in your lineup, but playing quick doesn't necessarily mean you are individually fast. Playing quick, that's one of the things Bill's been able to do [with the Carolina Hurricanes]."
In all your time for reflection, have you been able to put your finger on any reasons for such a poor final five or six weeks of last season? You were in a playoff spot, third in the Pacific at 32-22-9, on Feb. 24. Was it just injuries?
"It was a couple of things. We ran into some injuries at the end, which everybody does. We relied on too few to accomplish too much offensively. The season started that way. Our third and fourth lines, in the first 18 games or so of the season, we weren't getting any production there. It bounced around for 30 or 40 games then, and the last bit, it dried up on us again. It was our depth scoring. Some of it was youth and those players maturing, but we have to become a deeper team. It may be internally taking a step, or we may add. Positionally, our right wing, we haven't gotten production and we need to address it. It doesn't mean we're airlifting eight new bodies, but we're focusing on this area now. Overall, we need to get more depth and not put everything on the backs to carry us offensively."
Do you have any updates on the health of some of your players who were injured and out at the end of the season?
"Everybody has a clean bill of health. Matthew Tkachuk (concussion, last 12 games of the season), Sean Monahan (four surgeries: wrist, two hernia and groin, last seven games), TJ Brodie (concussion, neck, last nine games), Mike Smith (lower body, last three games) and Travis Hamonic (upper body, last four games) were all out at the end of the year. But all have been cleared and are back training, doing their regular stuff. Touch wood, no issues as we look forward to training camp."
You got 17 goals from Mark Jankowski as a rookie last season, which is promising, and you have some developing players in your system. Who are you high on and which of them could you see on your roster this fall?
"On our defense, I think Rasmus Andersson is pushing now to be a full-time NHL guy. He's had two good years in the [American Hockey League]. It's a big summer for him, to get ready to come in and show he's ready to be a full-time guy. Juuso Valimaki, our first-round pick from last year, had a real good year. He's still a young guy (19) but is big, strong and moves the puck and skates. I don't think he's that far away. Oliver Kylington (No. 30 from 2015 NHL Draft) is still a young guy (21) and has had three full years in the AHL. Up front, two guys in particular are Andrew Mangiapane (No. 166 pick of 2015 draft) and Spencer Foo (free agent signed July 1, 2017). Andrew is coming in ready to push, and Foo came in last year and it was an adjustment for him in the AHL, but in the second half he was a real dominant player at times. Skilled, quick and competitive guy, but he had four years of school and is a little more mature. I expect good things from him and other guys who are pushing. We are starting to get some of that push, and you need it."
