 to a blood clot and the Flames’ prospective defencemen capable of performing at the NHL level already, there just wasn’t quite as much room for him in the lineup. When he did get in, it was in part due to his 6’3, 215 lb. frame – though having 262 games of NHL experience probably helped, as well.
Prout only averaged 13:07 a game when he did play, though, and his 50.59% CF wasn’t comparatively great – only rookies Juuso Valimaki and Oliver Kylington had lower ratings as far as Flames defencemen went. He carried an $800,000 cap hit this season.
But it probably just makes more sense to move on from Prout at this stage, or have him in the AHL but not the NHL. With Rasmus Andersson proving he’s ready for a major NHL role, Valimaki right behind him, and Kylington with a ton of potential and now experience of his own, there just isn’t room, even as an extra defenceman.
And that’s because the extra defenceman role – if it doesn’t go to a recovered Stone who could be set to get a fresh start next season – could very well now be Oscar Fantenberg’s. The Flames’ lone addition at the trade deadline, Fantenberg, 27, drew into the lineup for most games after being acquired, as well as three playoff games. He averaged 15:50 a game over that time, and posted a 56.58% CF along with it – albeit that’s a very small sample size.
Fantenberg carried a cap hit of just $650,000 this past season, and Evolving Wild’s model predicts him to clock in at a $1.383 million cap hit over a two-year deal. If that holds true, he would cost more than Prout, but he’s also probably the safer option as an extra defenceman: Fantenberg played a steady if unspectacular game, and could be good backup for any potentially struggling sophomores next season. He offers decent upside and no real angst to him drawing into the lineup.
Fantenberg seems like a good candidate to be the Flames’ seventh defenceman next year – though Stone still has another year at a $3.5 million cap hit, so perhaps that role would belong to him, even if out of sheer convenience. Fantenberg is probably worth exploring bringing back, though there is a chance that, just like with Prout, there simply may not be room for him.
And then, of course, the big one: Mike Smith started 40 games for the Flames this past season. He posted a.898 save percentage, one of the worst in the NHL. He had a couple of phenomenal playoff games, but ultimately, that’s all they were: a couple of games. And then, the real kicker: he’s 37 years old and it’s more likely than not his career will be over sooner rather than later.
The playoff games were good ones, but the Flames still have yet to find a long-term solution to their goaltending woes. This past season could have been a blip on Smith’s radar – in 2017-18 he did post a.916 save percentage – but considering just how poorly things went combined with his age, the smart money says Smith doesn’t make too much sense as a goalie playing half of the season for the Flames going forward.
That doesn’t mean he can’t still play goalie at the NHL level: it means the Flames have a choice to make. Do they want to spin their wheels for another year, hoping the David Rittich we saw in the first half of the season – before he was injured – is their starter of the future, or do they want to be more proactive? There could very well be a space for Smith on the team in 2019-20, but he doesn’t present a meaningful upgrade at this time, so it would have to be on a cheap cap hit while praying Rittich is the real deal.
Or the Flames could look for new solutions to solve the one position that’s seemed to elude them. That one is probably the way to go. It’s only if they can’t find any other goalies with present and future upside that they should look at bringing Smith back and hoping he can replicate his playoff performance over the course of the regular season. Not being able to make something new work is one thing, but at the very minimum, they should be looking.
I would say Fantenberg should be the free agent the Flames look at retaining the most, but with a couple of caveats attached, namely just how many of their defencemen already under contract will be sticking around (Stone and his cap hit especially).
Hathaway follows Fantenberg: as long as he’s kept at a manageable cap hit and there’s no expectation of another 11-goal season, he’s perfectly fine as a depth option and penalty killer.
Smith would follow Hathaway, but again with a caveat: the Flames should be exploring other, more long-term goaltending solutions.
And finally, Prout: with Andersson and Valimaki almost certainly full-time NHLers to start next season, the defence is crowded. Does he fit in on the Flames in an NHL capacity at all anymore? Probably not, though the farm team could be a possibility.I can feel it, (snowman) my tenacity to hold it all together is becoming weaker as it warms up this spring. I have been a respected and loved part of the community for months and now my life is being destroyed- never again to see the joy on the children’s faces. I think I’d like to move north..
You have excellent snowman empathy!
Great write. This is so important. Mr. Snowman thinks so too I think.
Double Glorious Anthem at Instant speed sounds A-OK to me!
Ok, so Overrun was moved to white from green. Plus the effect was made instant and permanent and even manacost easier to cast. C'mon WotC, could you stop the color wheel spinning & leaking for a while?
Black and White dictates are the only good ones, everyone else's help the opponent.
Would 4 mana and no flash be too greedy? Let's be honest, when you want your anthem you play your anthem, you don't want to float 5 mana in case you can blow someone out in combat. You want to cast then smash.
Do you hate going to unfamiliar places and spending time in long flights? Do you also hate packing and unpacking your stuff while wondering how so many people love the same task? If you are amazed by the fact that some people travel a lot during their lifetime, and that too without any reason, then you really need to know why they do so. One does not always need to travel in order to meet their relatives or crack a business deal with a client living in a foreign place. Here are some more reasons of people traveling frequently.
You can find yourself only when you get lost. It is not a general belief but a fact of life. Travel takes you away from your comfort zone and lets you loose in an unfamiliar environment with unknown people in foreign cultures. It is when you are out of your zone that you realize and discover more about yourself.
Frequent travel not only lets you know more about yourself, but also allows you to observe a lot new about the external world. You get to know about new cultures, places, people, customs, and beliefs.
Many people also choose to travel when they want a break from their monotonous and sucking routine. They want to move away from their stressful or busy lives for some time. A refreshing location relaxes and rejuvenates them.
Some individuals want a change of view when they decide to visit a new place. They are also interested in moving beyond their boundaries and build fresh connections with different types of people.
There are also spiritual and religious reasons behind the frequent travels of certain people. They want to gather the satisfaction of visiting religious places so they may feel soothing and contented with their lives.I was once being chased up three flights of stairs by a perp. That's investigator lingo for perpetrator. That's my shot to impress you, to show you how bad ass I am. Anyway, he was chasing me and he had pretty bad intentions, as most people do that are carrying a big stick. I believe the words "pound your head flat" may have come into play sometime during our previous conversation, right before the running took place. But I was a smart guy and a little bit younger. And he was not young nor was he in the best of health. So when it came time to "get to skipping", as another perp once told me, I decided that my best course of action was to head up some stairs and pray for a heart attack. See that? I was keeping my head during a stressful situation. I could do that. I was great at that. I was the fucking master of it.
Then I had kids.
So let me ask you: How could I, who has had several guns pulled on him, who could handle any situation, get his ass handed to him by a 2 year old and a 4 year old. Seriously, I want an answer. I can't figure it. I have no idea. I once walked into a crack den, had dealers and users fleeing by jumping over fences, and felt completely calm and in control.
But now that I have kids, I find that regularly I am not calm and the only control I have, well, I don't have any control anymore. Maybe that's why I'm getting