With the playoffs being in question, and the Stanley Cup near guranteed to go to the East this year, the Flames decided to make a move for the future. They dealt top line LW Paul Kariya, Scott Mellanby and struggling Brad Stuart to Florida. Kariya is UFA at the end of the year, while Mellanby will have one year left on his contract at season end.
Coming back to Calgary is Shawn Donovan who is signed for 2 years after this season at a lower cost to the team than Mellanby, Paul Mara, Stuart's replacement, (although the team will have to wait about 5 games before he suits up as he's currently injured), Serge Aubin who's a cheap roster filler and will be UFA at season end and the most important piece, the 3rd overall pick in 2004, and possibly the top defensive prospect in the league Cam Barker.
"We decided it was time to look to the future. This isn't our year, so we got some nice assets back. Barker in our opinion is the best defensive prospect in the league. We would've lost Kariya at the end of the year anyway so this was a good deal for us," Flames GM Jamie Hoover commented to the press.
"We are still hoping to make the playoffs, and we think we can. Stuart has surprisingly been our week link on defense this year, and our left side is still very strong. Mellanby is probably the biggest loss to us this year as far as making the playoffs go," Hoover continued.
The Flames LW, although mostly young, still looks pretty decent. Sedin will go back to his top line role. In 56 games, the young LW has 41 points to now lead the team in points(Kariya has 37 and is a minus player so far this year). Stefan, who was aquired earlier in the year, has 27 points and equals D. Sedin's 13 goals in 54 games. Chris Simon, who's spent a little time on every line this year, has 11 points, 8 of which are goals to go along with his 209 PIM. Veteran Shayne Corson, and tough guy Eric Boulton round out the left side.
The RW was week to start with, with Mellanby forced into 2nd line duties, which Donovan will now take over. Guerin leads the group, and will be relied upon even more with Mellanby gone. The heavyweight Champion Georges Laraque, and Michal Grosek round out the roster on the right side.
"I'll keep my eye's open for a solid RW to play in our top six, but I'm not going to overpay to get it done. Even if it's a guy more suited for the 3rd line, we make a swing for them. I'll also look at the possibility of dealing a goalie. I could go older or younger there, but it's an area I'm looking to leave open. As for the other vets on the team, there jobs aren't secure, I'll say that much, but with most of the contenders near the cap, I'm not sure if there'll be any bites, in which case I have no problem taking them into next season," Hoover answered when asked if he was done dealing.