Gear’s Grades: How Habs and Flames fared in Toffoli trade
On Monday, the Calgary Flames made the first big splash of the trade deadline season, getting out ahead of the pack to acquire Tyler Toffoli from the Montreal Canadiens.
Former Vancouver Canucks assistant GM Chris Gear grades both teams on the trade:
Calgary Flames analysis:
In Toffoli, Calgary has acquired a proven scorer who is also a smart playmaker with winning playoff pedigree. He will help provide secondary scoring and be an important contributor of leadership and professionalism in the Flames locker room.
In his prior stops – Vancouver and Montreal – Toffoli was able to develop instant chemistry with linemates, which translated into big lifts for his teams. This may be an even quicker adjustment, injecting him into a system he knows with a coach he knows well in Darryl Sutter.
With a Stanley Cup in Los Angeles in 2014, a trip to the Stanley Cup Final last year in Montreal and one game away from the Conference Final in his only season in Vancouver, he understands what it takes to win.
Toffoli’s $4.25 million cap hit fits nicely into the Flames lineup this year, an easy addition with the removal of Tyler Pitlick from their roster and the use of their existing cap space. It’s also a reasonable cap hit for the two additional years remaining on his deal, considering he can be conservatively penciled in for 20 goals per season.
The other aspect unsaid from Calgary’s perspective: Toffoli insulates the Flames against the potential loss of Johnny Gaudreau in free agency. Toffoli won’t replace Gaudreau – certainly nowhere close to his point per game production – but he can provide some scoring stability if Johnny Hockey can’t be re-signed.
The Flames are getting older, so giving up the first-round pick had to hurt a little. However, they do have two second round picks in 2022 to cushion the blow – and they didn’t have to pry off significant roster players or top-level prospects in order to make it happen, which is a win for a team that is rolling right now atop the Pacific Division in points percentage. Toffoli is a pure upgrade.
Gear’s Grade: B+
Montréal Canadiens analysis:
With the Habs’ need to rebuild or retool, Toffoli wasn’t going to be part of their long-term plans, so moving him was smart. Moving him this early was also smart, as they have been able to get out ahead of other teams and set the forward market. They were also probably concerned, given Ben Chiarot’s injury over the weekend, that pulling the trigger on Toffoli sooner rather than later was prudent.
Montreal now has a stockpile of 12 draft picks in 2022, as the Canadiens are scheduled to host the Draft, to help new GM Kent Hughes re-make his team, including two first-rounders, three thirds, two fourths and two sevenths. Unfortunately for Montreal, the first acquired from the Flames is likely to be in the bottom third of the Draft given the season Calgary is having – and it is also Top 10 protected. If somehow the wheels fall off in Calgary, then the pick will transfer to 2023.
That downgrades the trade a little for me.
The fifth-round pick is a nice bonus and Tyler Pitlick can be serviceable for the balance of the season, but the true success or failure of this trade for Montreal will turn on whether prospect Emil Heineman is the real deal.
The yet-to-be signed forward was drafted by the Panthers, traded to the Flames as part of the Sam Bennett deal and now joins his third organization, something that may indicate there is a component in his game that makes teams willing to move on from him. The book on Heineman is that he is a good skater and a solid two-way player without an elite skillset. His stats in the Swedish Hockey League this year are actually quite impressive, with 11 goals through 36 games, which solid work for a 20-year-old. If he can eventually turn into a middle six forward for the Canadiens, Montreal’s mark will go up considerably for me.
Gear’s Grade: B-
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Chris Gear joined Daily Faceoff in January after a 12-year run with the Vancouver Canucks, most recently as the club’s Assistant General Manager and Chief Legal Officer. Before migrating over to the hockey operations department, where his responsibilities included contract negotiations, CBA compliance, assisting with roster and salary cap management and governance for the AHL franchise, Gear was the Canucks’ vice president and general counsel.
Click here to read Gear’s other Daily Faceoff stories.