Should The Flames Trade Dan Vladar?
The Flames are a team that’s totally stuck in the middle. Are they a contender? Two years ago they were. Are they a rebuilding team? Last year you certainly could have made the case they should go down that road. There are a ton of tough decisions the Flames need to make and goalie Dan Vladar is one of them.
What do you do with Dan Vladar? Talk about stuck in the middle. That’s exactly what Vladar is. Jacob Markstrom is the highly paid veteran. Markstrom is more established but he wasn’t good last year. It’s not out of the question that Vladar could leap past Markstrom this year. Vladar is significantly younger too.
You also have hot shot youngster Dustin Wolf in the organization. Wolf will go to the minors unless a Vladar trade materializes. The Flames certainly have every reason to want to give Wolf a look at the NHL level. Wolf, 22, posted a 42–10–2 record and .932 save percentage in 55 games at the AHL level last year. Wolf is the future but he can’t be subject to waivers if you send him down. The opposite is true for Vladar.
There in lies the problem. Vladar… stuck in the middle. Just like the entire Flames organization.
In reality, Calgary should try to trade Markstrom, but how can you? He was terrible last year, nobody has cap space, and it would be the ultimate sell low. Markstrom has to rebuild some of his value before you go down that road.
The problem is Vladar wasn’t good last year either. You would be selling low here too. Vladar posted an .894 last year. In reality, he’s just not consistent. He’s a huge body at 6-foot-5 and looks like all the versions as Adin Hill at once. If you dial it in, the potential is there but we haven’t totally seen it yet either.
I don’t think you can just give Vladar away. You need a solid return to consider selling him. He’s heading into his age 26 season and carries a cheap $2.2 million AAV. I think you’re better off going into the season with what you have. Especially with the new coaching staff in place. Once the dominoes fall this year, you act accordingly.
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