Revisiting Brad Treliving’s Trade History
I look back at every trade Brad Treliving has made in his career, and how it was affected the Flames.
As we approach the seventh year of Brad Treliving’s tenure as Flames GM, (Hired April 28th, 2014) I am going to look back at every trade he has made while at the helm.
There are some good trades, and some bad trades, so let’s get into it:
2014 TRADES:
Treliving’s first trade was with the Chicago Blackhawks on June 28th, 2014, that saw the Flames give up a 2014 3rd round pick (Matheson Iacopelli) to the Hawks in exchange for F Brandon Bollig. Bollig played two seasons with the Flames, adding leadership and toughness to the youthful Flames team. While a 3rd round pick was high for Bollig, Iacopelli didn’t pan out to anything, so this trade gets a B from me.
2015 TRADES
Glencross: Treliving’s next significant trade would be sending Curtis Glencross to the Washington Capitals in exchange for 2015 2nd and 3rd round picks (Jeremy Lauzon and Jens Looke, respectively). Glencross played a total of 28 regular season and playoff games with the Capitals, notching 8 points, before retiring. This draft picks were later traded in the Dougie Hamilton and Oliver Kylington deals, so this deal gets an A from me.
Baertschi: Next, Treliving sent struggling forward Sven Baertschi packing to the Vancouver Canucks, in exchange for a 2015 2nd round pick (#53 overall) that turned into Rasmus Andersson! Baertschi has played on parts of six seasons with the Canucks, but now finds himself in the AHL to save the Canucks some cap room. While Rasmus Andersson has had his fair share of struggles this year, he is young and signed to a long term contract with the club and projects to be with the team long term, so for that reason this trade gets an A from me.
Hamilton: At the 2015 NHL draft, Brad Treliving swung for the fences and dealt his 2015 1st and 2nd rounders, as well as the 2015 2nd rounder previously acquired in the Glencross trade (Zach Senyshyn, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, and Jeremy Lauzon, respectively), to the Boston Bruins in exchange for D Dougie Hamilton. That was a lot to give up for Hamilton given the deep 2015 draft, however none of those picks have turned into everyday NHLers, and Dougie Hamilton played three seasons with the Flames before being moved in an even bigger deal which we will get to. I give this trade an A+, a home run by Treliving.
Kylington: Also at the 2015 draft, Treliving packaged his own 2015 3rd ( G Adin Hill), as well as the 2015 3rd acquired in the Glencross trade (F Jens Looke), to move into the 2nd round and grab D Oliver Kylington. Jens Looke is currently lighting up the Swedish league, but has yet to come over, and G Adin Hill who projects to be the Coyotes backup next year. Kylington on the other hand, has been in and out if the lineup for years but is still young. I give this trade a TBA, as Adin Hill, Jens Looke and Oliver Kylington still have work to do to cement themselves as NHLers.
2016 TRADES:
The first trade of 2016 saw the Flames ship out F Markus Granlund, to the Vancouver Canucks F Hunter Shinkaruk. At the time of the deal, the Flames were getting a prospect, from Calgary, who projected to be a good player in the future. Unfortunately, Shinkaruk only played 14 games with the Flames, getting 4 points before heading to the AHL and now is in the KHL. Granlund played in four seasons with the Canucks, averaging 0.32 points per game, not bad. It made sense to acquire Calgary product Shinkaruk at the time, but since he did not work out and Granlund had some productive years, this trade gets a C- from a Calgary perspective.
Five days later, Treliving sent 1st liner Jiri Hudler to the Florida Panthers, in exchange for a 2016 2nd (Tyler Parsons) and a 2018 4th (Demetrios Koumontzis). Hudler had 12 points in 25 regular and playoff games with the Panthers, before signing with the Stars, so Hudler was just a rental. Kuomontzis is currently on the Flames reserve list, so the jury is still out if he will sign with the Flames, but it is unlikely. Parsons was projected to be the Flames future starter, but injuries have derailed his career to date. Parsons is a long shot, but is only 23 years old, and if he can get back on track, he might end up being an NHL goalie. I would give this trade a C from a Flames perspective, it was the right move to trade Hudler and to draft Parsons, right now it is not looking like anything will come out of this deal for the Flames.
Two days after trading Hudler, Treliving made a couple deals on deadline day.
First, Treliving sent D Kris Russell to the Dallas Stars, in exchange for D Jyrki Jokipakka, F prospect Brett Pollock, and a 2016 2nd (Dillon Dube). Russell had 8 points in 23 regular season and playoff games before leaving as a UFA. As for the Flames side, Jokipakka (one of the best names in hockey!!) played parts of two seasons with the team, before being shipped out in a trade with the Sens, that we will get into later. Brett Pollock never played an NHL game in his career. The best part of this deal is F Dillon Dube, who they drafted with the 2016 2nd. Dube has already played in parts of three seasons with the Flames, and currently has 16 points in 32 games this season. Dube has seen top line action, as well as second and third line, and projects to be a part of Calgary’s future for quite some time. Since the Flames got Dube in this deal, and Russell was only a rental for the Stars, this deal is a solid A from me.
Treliving’s second trade of the deadline saw F David Jones sent to the Minnesota Wild, in exchange for G Niklas Backstrom, and a 2016 6th rounder (Matthew Phillips). Jones had 3 points in 16 regular season games, as well as 1 assist in 6 playoff games with the Wild, and has not played in the NHL since. Backstrom, the famed Wild goaltender, saw 4 games of action with the Flames, posting a 3.35 GAA and a 0.881 Sv%. Since the Flames were not close to being a playoff team that year, you cannot fault Backstrom and it was a good story for the seasoned veteran before he left the NHL. As for the 2016 6th, Calgary used the pick on Calgary’s own Matthew Phillips. The forward has quickly become a fan favourite, despite not even playing a game with the team yet, due to his deep connection with the city, and outstanding numbers at the AHL level (33 points in 38 games last year). Although Phillips has not played a game with the big club yet, one can assume he will get his shot at the big show soon. Given the minimal piece they lost in David Jones and acquiring a good story in Nicklas Backstrom as well as the untapped potential in Matthew Phillips still, I give this trade a B+ for the Flames.
The last major move of 2016 happened at the 2016 NHL Draft, where the Flames sent a 2016 2nd round pick (Jordan Kyrou) to the St Louis Blues, for G Brian Elliott. Elliott played only one season with the Flames, where he posted an impressive 0.910 Sv% and 2.54 GAA in 49 games. However, Elliott posted a 0.880 Sv% and a 3.88 GAA in 4 playoff games when the Flames were swept by the Anaheim Ducks. This lead to GM Treliving to look in a different direction for a goaltender, which we will get too later on in this article. As for the Blues side of the deal, they drafted F Jordan Kyrou, who is looking like an exceptional player in his breakout season this year. Kyrou currently has 24 points in 35 games so far this season, playing up and down in the Blues lineup. I look at the Flames, who have an obvious need for a right shot right wing, and Kyrou would have been the perfect fit. Given Kyrou’s success with the Blues, and Elliott’s short stint with Flames, this trade is a D- from me. It made sense at the time, but in hindsight now, giving up Kyrou for one season of Elliott is not good.
The last trade of 2016 saw the Flames ship D prospect Patrick Sieloff over to the Senators, in exchange for F Alex Chiasson. Sieloff only played 1 game with the Sens, putting up one goal in his only NHL ever (That is pretty neat!). As for Chiasson, he put up a reasonable 24 points in 81 games in his only season with the Flames, before leaving as a UFA and signing with the Washington Capitals. Since Chiasson did put up respectable numbers in his season with the Flames, and Sieloff only ever played one game with the Senators, this trade is a B from me.
That was a busy year for Treliving, now off to 2017!
2017 TRADES
In an attempt to shore up the blueline ahead of the playoffs, Treliving sent a 2017 3rd round pick (Stuart Skinner) and a 2018 5th rounder (Akira Schmid) to the Arizona Coyotes, in exchange for defensemen Michael Stone. Both of the pieces Arizona acquired were flipped in later deals, but it does not look like anything will come out of the deal for the Coyotes. Michael Stone however, was re-signed by Calgary, and has played in parts of five seasons with the club. Even though he has fallen off recently, he still has provided value for the Flames. For that reason, this trade is a B- for the Flames.
On deadline day, Calgary sent D Jyrki Jokipakka (previously acquired in the Kris Russell deal) and a 2017 2nd rounder (Alex Formenton) to the Ottawa Senators, in exchange for C Curtis Lazar and D Mike Kostka. Jokipakka played in just 3 games with the Senators before heading overseas. As for the 2017 2nd rounder, Ottawa selected F Alex Formenton, who looks to be a decent prospect for the Senators. Formenton had 53 points in 61 games in the AHL in 2019-2020, and projects to be a solid 2nd or 3rd line forward for the Sens in the future. On Calgary’s side, Kostka was acquired for the AHL, where he would play to finish out the season before heading overseas. As for Curtis Lazar, the former 17th overall pick in 2013, Calgary gave up a lot hoping that he would reach his full potential, but unfortunately that did not happen. Lazar only played 70 total games with the Flames, putting up 15 points, before leaving as a UFA and signing with the Buffalo Sabres. Because of the untapped potential in Alex Formenton and Calgary not getting much of anything in this deal, this trade gets a D from me.
In the offseason, Treliving sought to acquire a new starting goaltender. He found one in Mike Smith, who he acquired from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for G Chad Johnson, D prospect Brandon Hickey, and a 2018 3rd rounder (Niklas Nordgren). Johnson was placed in this deal for cap purposes and did not play a game with the Coyotes. Same with Hickey, who did not play a game with the Coyotes or their AHL organization. The Coyotes traded down with the pick they got from the Flames, with the only notable player they received being G Ivan Prosvetov. He has played a few seasons with the Coyotes AHL affiliate, and may be the Coyotes backup in a few years. The Flames got Mike Smith to be their 1A goaltender for two years, where he put up average statistics, before leaving as a UFA and signing with the Edmonton Oilers. Since the Coyotes won’t get much out of this deal, and the Flames got two average years out of Mike Smith, this trade is a B- from me.
This one is going to sting. After Michael Stone fell off to more of a top 6 defensemen rather than a top 4, Treliving went out to acquire a tried and true top 4 D. He found that with Travis Hamonic, who he acquired alongside a 2019 4th (Lucas Feuk), from the New York Islanders, in exchange for a 2018 1st (Noah Dobson), a 2018 2nd (Ruslan Iskhakov) and a 2019 2nd (Samuel Bolduc). On the Flames side, they used the 2019 4th they received to draft F Lucas Feuk, who the jury is still out on, but looks to be an average prospect. Calgary also got a top 4 defensemen in Travis Hamonic, who was signed at a very reasonable 3.86 million contract for three more years when the deal was made. Unfortunately for the Flames, Hamonic played three injury plagued seasons with the club, and only got into 193 total games, before leaving in free agency once his contract was up. Hamonic was a great person in the Flames community and passionate in charity work, but his on ice performance was not worth the acquisition cost. On the Islanders side, they used the 1st round pick to select D Noah Dobson, who looks to be a stud and a fixture on the Islanders blueline for years to come. The 21 year old has already played 62 games with the Islanders, notching 19 points. As for the 2018 2nd, the Islanders selected Ruslan Iskhakov, a small centre who is lighting up the Finnish league with 35 points in 48 games. And the 2019 2nd was used on D Samuel Bolduc, who has already progressed to the AHL this season, where he has put up 7 points in 11 games so far. That is a lot of value that the Islanders got back from the Flames. The Flames acquired a top 4 D for three years, as well as an average prospect in Lucas Feuk, in exchange for a future top 4 D in Noah Dobson, a top 6 D in Samuel Bolduc, and a top 9 forward in Ruslan Iskhakov. While the Flames got some value out of Hamonic, giving up three valuable pieces for the Islanders future makes me give this trade a D-. I look at the Flames current situation and Noah Dobson would really propel this current D core. This one hurts a lot from a Flames perspective. Ouch!
The last bigger trade of 2017 saw the Flames acquire goaltender Eddie Lack, D Ryan Murphy, and a 2019 7th rounder (Dustin Wolf) from the Carolina Hurricanes, in exchange for D prospect Keegan Kanzig and a 2019 6th rounder (Kevin Wall). On the Hurricanes side, Keegan Kanzig did not play a game with the Canes, so he is negligible in this deal. As for the 2019 6th rounder, the Hurricanes selected C Kevin Wall, who is having a good year with Penn State of the NCAA, putting up 19 points in 22 games. He has not signed with the Hurricanes yet, but could be something in a few years. On the Flames side, they immediately bought out D Ryan Murphy, so negligible in this deal as well. Eddie Lack played only 4 games with the Flames before being shipped out later in the year for D Dalton Prout, in order to make room for David Rittich. The real steal in this deal might be 7th round selection Dustin Wolf, who is many years out from the NHL, but currently has a 0.25 GAA and a 0.991 Sv% in 4 games in the WHL (WOW!), as has been the WHL’s goaltender of the year, two weeks in a row! While Wolf still needs 2-3 years in the AHL before heading to the NHL, all signs point to him becoming Calgary’s future starter. Carolina got C prospect Kevin Wall and Calgary got G prospect Dustin Wolf, as well as a few games from Eddie Lack before turning him into Dalton Prout, so this trade gets a B+ from me. This could pay off in spades if Wolf continues on his trajectory.
Like I previously mentioned, Calgary did send G Eddie Lack to the New Jersey Devils for D Dalton Prout, who played 20 games with the Flames before leaving as a free agent. Lack only played 4 games with the Devils before leaving the NHL. A bit of value for the Flames, but this deal is pretty minor.
2018 TRADES
Now for the biggest trade of Brad Treliving’s career so far. At the 2018 NHL Draft, Treliving sent F Michael Ferland, D Dougie Hamilton, and prospect Adam Fox to the Carolina Hurricanes, in exchange for F Elias Lindholm, and D Noah Hanifin.
On the Hurricanes side, they got Michael Ferland for 1 year before he left as a free agent and signed with the Canucks. Ferland put up 40 points in 71 games, not bad at all.
Dougie Hamilton has been on a complete tear since joining the Hurricanes, and by all accounts is one of the top 10 defensemen, league wide. Hamilton had 40 points in 47 games in the 2019-2020 season, and has 27 points in 34 games this season. He is a pending UFA this off-season, so it will be interesting to see if the Hurricanes will be able to hang on to him.
As for Adam Fox, he was not going to sign with Calgary so he was a throw in with this deal, and did not sign with Carolina as well, so he was shipped to the New York Rangers, in exchange for a 2019 2nd rounder (Mads Soogard) and a 2020 2nd rounder (Noel Gunler). The Hurricanes trade down with the 2019 2nd rounder and nabbed a pair of draft picks, selecting Jamieson Rees and Anttoni Honka. All three prospects could be steals for the Hurricanes, especially Noel Gunler. Fox has blossomed in New York, and is coming out with 30 points in 34 games this year, and could also be seen as a top 10 defensemen league wide.
On the Flames side, they acquired two pending RFA’s, Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin. The Flames re-upped Lindholm to a 6 year, 4.85 million dollar contract, and Hanifin to a 6 year, 4.95 million dollar contarct. Thats some amazing value for both players, as Lindholm has fit in Calgary like a glove, putting up 78 points in 81 games in his first year with the Flames, and 163 points total in 188 games so far, which is great! Lindholm has moved around from RW to C and vice versa, but seems to be a fit in Calgary long term.
As for Hanifin, he has really come out as a reliable two way defensemen this season, and is playing his best hockey of his career so far. Hanifin has 66 points in 187 games with the Flames, and has been such a solid addition to the Flames back end.
Giving up Adam Fox and Dougie Hamilton, two arguably top 10 defensemen in the league, hurts a lot from the Flames perspective, but it is worth considering that Fox was not going to sign here.
So in all, the Hurricanes got a year of Michael Ferland, three years and potentially more out of Dougie Hamilton, as well as F prospects Noel Gunler and Jamieson Rees, as well as D prospect Anttoni Honka.
The Flames recieved F Elias Lindholm and D Noah Hanifin, two young stars that are locked into team friendly deals for the foreseeable future.
This deal is hard to trade because there are still factors that need to be played out, like Hamilton signing an extension with the Canes, but from a Flames perspective I would give it a B+. They lost a ton of value giving up Hamilton and Fox, plus a year of Michael Ferland, but in turn received two cost controlled assets in Hanifin and Lindholm. Not bad, Brad.
The only other significant trade that happened in 2018 was Calgary sending D Brett Kulak to the Montreal Canadiens, in exchange for D prospect Rinat Valiev and AHL defensemen Matt Taormina. Valiev played two seasons with the Stockton Heat, Calgary’s AHL affiliate, and is currently unsigned. Taormina only played the one season with the Stockton Heat, before calling it quits for his career. Kulak on the other hand, has played parts of three seasons with the Habs already, and is signed through the 2021-2022 season. He has been a good 6th defensemen for the Canadiens, and since Calgary has nothing to show for this deal anymore, it gets a C from me. Kulak is not a huge loss, but it would have beneficial to keep him as opposed to giving him up for nothing.
2019 TRADES
At the 2019 deadline, Flames fans were expecting Mark Stone. What actually happened, was Treliving sending a 2020 4th rounder (Juho Markkanen) to the LA Kings, in exchange for D Oscar Fantenberg. Fantenberg played in 15 regular season games, and 3 playoff games with the Flames, registering 1 assist, before leaving as a UFA. The LA Kings used the 2020 4th rounder to select G Juho Markkanen, and since he was just drafted, it is hard to grade this trade, so I will give it a TBA.
The other trade of 2019 was Calgary shipping out struggling F James Neal to the Edmonton Oilers, in exchange for F Milan Lucic (12.5% retained) and a 2021 3rd rounder. Neal had a great first season with the Oilers, putting up 19 goals and 12 assists for 31 points in 55 games. However, this season, Neal only has 6 points in 19 games, and is a buy-out candidate this off-season. Milan Lucic struggled in his first season with the Flames, only putting up 20 points in 68 games, but this season he has picked it up, with 14 points in 37 games. Lucic also brings a physical presence as well as leadership to this Flames team. Getting a 2021 3rd rounder is great, so we will have to revisit and see who that turns into. Right now, the Flames have the better player and a draft pick on top, but Lucic is buy-out proof whereas Neal can be bought out easily, so that circumstance lowers this trade a bit. Overall, this trade is a B+ from me.
2020 TRADES
The first trade of 2020 saw the Flames ship out UFA forward Michael Frolik to the Buffalo Sabres, in exchange for the 2020 4th rounder, who the Flames used to select G Daniil Chechelev. Frolik played 19 games with the Sabres, registering 4 points. Getting a pick for an expiring asset was a good move for Treliving, as he added another goaltending prospect to a pool already featuring Tyler Parsons, Dustin Wolf, and Artyom Zagidulin. This trade gets an A- from me, lots to like about getting an asset back for an expiring player you were not going to re-sign. Who knows what Chechelev will be at the NHL level, but he has put up good numbers so far.
On 2020 NHL Trade Deadline day, Brad Treliving made a pair of moves to add a couple defensemen as rental players:
First, the Flames acquired defensmen Derek Forbort (25% retained) from the LA Kings, in exchange for a 2021 4th round pick. Forbort played in 7 regular season and 10 playoff games with the team, before leaving as a UFA and signing with the Winnipeg Jets. This trade is TBA, since the LA Kings have yet to select a player with the 2021 4th.
Next, the Flames acquired defensemen Erik Gustafsson from the Chicago Blackhawks, in exchange for a 2020 3rd round pick (Wyatt Kaiser). Like Forbort, Gustafsson played in 7 regular season and 10 playoff games, putting up 7 assists in that frame, and playing on the top powerplay unit. Gustafsson signed with the Philadelphia Flyers in free agency this past off-season. Wyatt Kaiser, drafted by Chicago with the selection sent by the Flames, is playing in the NCAA and has 10 points in 27 games. This trade is TBA as well, since we do not know what Kaiser will be at the NHL level.
Later, at the 2020 NHL Draft, Brad Treliving traded down twice in the 1st round, acquiring two extra 2020 3rd rounders in the process:
First, Treliving traded pick #19 (Braden Schneider) to the New York Rangers, in exchange for picks #22 (Hendrix Lapierre) and #72 (Jeremie Poirier).
Second, Treliving traded pick #22 (Hendrix Lapierre) to the Washington Capitals, in exchange for picks #24 (Connor Zary) and #80 (Jake Boltmann).
This was great draft management by Treliving, who still got the player they liked in Connor Zary, while also acquiring the falling Jeremie Poirier and Jake Boltmann. Poirier has 27 points in 24 games with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL and could be a great offensive defensemen at the NHL level. Boltmann is an intriguing pick, not many scouts had him high, but he could develop into a solid two-way defensemen.
That wraps it up. A lot of trades in Treliving’s tenure as GM. Some great trades, some bad trades and some in between.
With the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline only 11 days away, we can assume a trade or two will be added to Treliving’s vault.
All information on trades has been gathered from my good friends over at CapFriendly. If you are interested further, check out the link below. https://www.capfriendly.com/trades/staff/brad-treliving
This was a long one. I hope you enjoyed this look back into Treliving’s trade history.
Have A Blasty Day!
-James Johnson (@JamesJohnsonYYC on Twitter)