This is generally Brad Treliving’s time to shine.
No matter the fact that Tuesday and Wednesday’s 2020 National Hockey League draft is happening well over three months later than usual, the Calgary Flames general manager typically uses this opportunity to improve his team.
Will this be the case during a pandemic, an odd season which saw the Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning capturing hockey’s holy grail only a week ago? A season which also produced flat cap, the cramming of the NHL draft and NHL free agency into a four-day span and what is expected to be one of the busiest trade/free agent markets in recent memory?
This level of activity is nothing new for Treliving who, apart from the 2019 draft, has made moves and creatively obtained players/traded assets on this stage every year. This year, he seemingly is connected to many different options but with so much unknown about the 2020-21 campaign, cautions are understandable.
“It’s a little bit of a tentative market right now,” Treliving said during recent media availability ahead of this year’s unorthodox draft and free agency. “There’s certainly lots of discussions going on, but it’s a really new frontier here where you have a lot of things in play here. We don’t know when we’re playing. You’ve got a flat cap . . . you’re not just planning for this season, but you may have contracts that are coming up in a year’s time so you’re trying to balance that. You’ve got an expansion draft on the horizon. There are lots of factors.
“The short answer is there will be lots of talk.”
That level of discussion will occur behind-the-scenes, through text messaging, iMessaging, emails, phone calls or online video chats — like many things in life and business these days, virtual conversations are their only option due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Normally, Treliving can be seen striding across the draft floor to curiously chat with other general managers. He’s not alone, of course, as team personnel typically gathers a few hours before the first round begins and mingle, presumably throwing around potential deals, options, or, simply, to make their team’s needs known.
But the lack of organic conversations on the draft floor may not necessarily equal fewer trades and deals. Every single team has had months to analyze their own wishlist, as well as evaluate everyone else.
“I think you can replicate that whether it be through phone or text,” Treliving said. “A lot of those conversations aren’t the first time those conversations are happening. Very rarely are you just chatting on the draft floor with a guy and that’s the first discussion you’re having about something. I don’t think you’re going to miss anything by not doing it. But I don’t know.
“I’ll probably have a better answer once we get through this . . . but you’re right. You can’t just jump off your chair and go see someone. We’ll see how it goes.”
The Flames situation is straightforward. First, there are their 2020 NHL draft picks to attend to.
Then — or, perhaps, simultaneously — they have unrestricted free agents to decide on, which include forwards Tobias Rieder and Zac Rinaldo along with Travis Hamonic, Derek Forbort, Michael Stone, Erik Gustafsson, and TJ Brodie on their back end. In net, Cam Talbot is set to hit the market on Friday if the Flames don’t come to an agreement with him or decide to go in another direction. Restricted free agents that finished the year with the NHL club are Andrew Mangiapane, Mark Jankowski and Oliver Kylington.
Movement and activity are inevitable this fall, it seems, for most clubs. But the market, at the moment, is clogged according to Treliving which may indicate a later trade market — and moves could come after this week once the dust settles.
“A lot of it is hesitation on people not knowing what the market is,” Treliving said. “There’s a real hesitation right now to take on excess money . . . if you’re prepared to move top assets, you can move money. I don’t think there will be a ton of that available out there. So, I think you’re going to see some creativity. It’s a long-winded answer of saying certainly there will be some transactions that take place.
“I do think there’s going to be stuff that carries on past the draft and free agency.”
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
