When Brad Treliving stepped up to a podium in Philadelphia to make his first-ever draft pick as general manager of the Calgary Flames, he’d only been on the job for two months.
The name he called was Sam Bennett.
Since that 2014 draft, the Flames have been waiting patiently for Bennett to pan out. But after six years in the NHL, he hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations of a No. 4 overall pick — the highest the organization has ever selected.
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On Monday afternoon, after trading Bennett to the Florida Panthers, Treliving admitted that the ensuing years haven’t been perfect.
“There’s been lots of ups, lots of downs,” he said.
In some ways, Bennett symbolized a lot of what’s gone wrong for Calgary this season and in the years since some of the Flames’ young core pieces burst onto the scene in 2014-15.
And so, almost seven years after his selection, and nearing the end of another season that has not lived up to expectations, Treliving sent Bennett to the Panthers for a 2022 second-round draft pick and forward prospect Emil Heineman.
The deal, which got completed close to the 1 p.m. Mountain deadline, capped a successful trade period for Treliving and the Flames. But it’s only the beginning of what could be a period of change for the Flames.
Bennett is gone. So is David Rittich, who was traded on Sunday night to the Toronto Maple Leafs. By the time the deadline passed, Treliving had traded two players the Flames might have lost for nothing more than a handshake in the offseason and acquired two draft picks in 2022 and a potential top-10 prospect. It wasn’t an earth-shattering deadline, but the Flames did tidy business.
“These are two young guys that we think a lot of, that gave a lot to this organization,” Treliving said of Bennett and Rittich. “I’d like to be more politically correct with my language, but it sucks.
“But you have to do what is right by the organization and … I’m very happy with the return we received.”
Of the two moves, the Bennett deal was more significant, in the return and in what was lost — or rather, the hopes of what could have been.
In Calgary, Bennett played centre and wing, and up and down the lineup, but never really had a permanent role and his production never matched expectations.
Bennett did play some of his best games of the year after Darryl Sutter stepped behind the bench, including six points in his last six games. However, the Flames would have had a difficult time protecting Bennett in the upcoming Seattle expansion draft. So, to receive a second-round pick plus Heineman (who was drafted in the second round last year) provided great value for the Flames, especially considering what Buffalo got in its package for Taylor Hall on Sunday (Hall and Curtis Lazar for Anders Bjork and a second-round pick).
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The Panthers, who sit in third place in the Central Division, wanted to add depth for the playoffs, and Treliving sold high on the postseason reputation of Sam Bennett.
Another key aspect of the deal is that the Flames were able to move Bennett without acquiring another player who would need to be protected from Seattle. Heineman will be exempt and the Flames will be free to go about their business without needing to call Kraken GM Ron Francis to ask for any side deals. As Treliving put it, they are avoiding “paying a double toll.”
“If you pay the toll to get the player here, then you’ve got to go to Seattle and pay the toll again, it probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” he said. “At the end of day you’re gonna lose a player, you can’t get around it, but we felt that this made sense on a couple of different levels, other than just the return we got.”
This also opens up the Flames’ cap situation. Had Calgary not moved Bennett, a pending restricted free agent, at the deadline and not lost him to Seattle, he would have required a qualifying offer and a raise from his current $2.55 million deal. That money is now off the books, and in a flat cap world, any financial flexibility should be welcome.
Rittich also brought in a fair return — a 2022 third-round pick — which was important given that he was unlikely to re-sign in Calgary.
When the Flames signed Jacob Markstrom to a six-year, $36 million contract, it was the beginning of the end for Rittich’s time in the Calgary crease. And his limited usage probably didn’t help either, as Markstrom started 14 of Calgary’s first 16 games.
Rittich, affectionately known as “Big Save Dave,” is a competitor and likely isn’t satisfied with being a scarcely used backup. So, given his status as a pending unrestricted free agent and the many teams that needed insurance in net, the writing was on the wall that Rittich could be on the move.
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Treliving said there was a conversation with Rittich’s agent, Craig Oster, about a possible extension, but the Flames decided to move on.
“I think it’s fair to say that come the year end, he was going to probably look for a fresh start,” Treliving said.
In the deal with Toronto, the Flames agreed to pay half of Rittich’s remaining $2.75 million salary. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported that the salary retention helped make the deal work and upped the return to a third-round pick.
Heading into the final stretch of the season, Calgary has goalie Louis Domingue on the roster and also could turn to minor-leaguer Artyom Zagidulin for some starts. As for the forward group, the Flames have recalled centre Adam Ruzicka from AHL Stockton and have added him to their taxi squad.
Treliving also noted that the Flames looked at acquiring non-rental players and that he explored all avenues to improve the team, and that the two deals we saw before Monday’s deadline were the ones that worked out. Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg reported that there were attempts to move Derek Ryan, but there was no market. Asked if these moves signaled a transitional period for the Flames, Treliving said he wasn’t prepared to do an “autopsy” on the team.
“Today’s a day on the calendar where there’s a deadline for transactions up until the season’s done so, you know we did things that we felt were prudent here today,” he said. “And, you know, it doesn’t signal anything other than we had we had some business to get done today and we got it done.”
There are 15 games remaining of the season, but the Flames’ chances at making the postseason are slim, with only a four percent chance as of Monday morning.
It’s becoming increasingly likely that this season will turn into another disappointment, if it’s not one already. And if that the case, the decisions that Treliving will face in the next several months are going to be big.
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Will the Flames re-tool? Should they rebuild? Will this be the year to say goodbye to Johnny Gaudreau or Sean Monahan? Is Matthew Tkachuk still deserving of the keys?
These are questions that would completely change the core and construction of this franchise for the short- and long-term future.
Calgary has not won a playoff series since 2015, with the same nucleus together. Bennett is the first main piece to be moved out of Calgary, and that could signal more moves, because it’s not going to be good enough to make minor changes this offseason and hope for the best.
Changes are needed in Calgary, but any meaningful moves involving the longstanding nucleus of this club likely will come in the offseason. And surely Treliving knows that.
As he said: “We’ll deal with the offseason in the offseason.”
(Photo of Sam Bennett: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)
