When the trade went down I thought it would depend on extensions getting done for Calgary. If Weegar and Huberdeau had left after 1 season, Florida would have definitely got the better of the deal. Now that they are both sticking around and Florida even gave up the 1st that let Calgary dump the cap ... Florida got absolutely massacred.

Considering the flames still have a 2025 1st to use. Pick, trade etc it’s advantage them

If this leads the flames to a cup final it’s hard to argue against this trade being a master class by them

I like the trade from Floridas perspective. They now have a young and elite core. The panthers are set up for now and the future. Barkov and Tkachuk have the potential to form the best line in the NHL.

Flames 100% by a mile

Huberdeau & Weegar are simply better people than Tkachuk and will be better for the team overall. Add in Schwindt and the 1st and we got 4 Great Pieces in exchange for what could end up being an Entitled Problem Child.

Now that Tkachuk landed his pay day, will he continue to play as hard as he did to get that contract? I personally doubt it. Besides he makes poor decisions, gets injured and disappears when it comes to the playoffs

Flames Win 🏆

Fair observation but from my perspective, the Flames had the best line last year with Tkachuk and when it came to the Playoffs, they didn’t get it done.

I’d much rather have a better balanced Team with better, more mature characters, which is what Calgary has now.

The panthers have a more balanced offense. If the 1st line is Balcers-Barkov-Tkachuk, they still have a 2nd line with Verhaeghe-Lundell/Bennett-Reinhart.

Defence Is What Wins Championships Though

Short term it's a W for CGY, but this'll no doubt hurt them further down the line, signing three around 30 year olds with 7-8 year deals. Imo they can be considered as winners if they can capitalize on this move now and seriously compete for the cup. They have to do it soon.

FLA would have potentially lost both Hubby and Weegs in the free agency due to their poor financial situation, so gathering Tkachuk for two players potentially leaving is sort of a fail safe.

It's worse long-term for Florida, they have no 1st rounders until 2026, barely any cap space, and a depleted prospect pool. Sure their core is a little younger, but they lost a boatload of depth. Because of what this trade did to their cap space, they replaced Giroux, Chiarot, Marchment, Huberdeau, and Weegar with Tkachuk, Balcers, M. Staal, White, Cousins. While I understand they likely weren't going to keep those players regardless, it seems like a significant downgrade.

Certainly FLA has also banked to a very short term window with using up all their assets, but they're not really relevant parts of this discussion which is about the CGY trade.

However I agree that FLA also needs to be successful, but their best opportunity was last year. And I think Zito knows this too.

At least now he's got the top tier duo of Barkov-Tkachuk inked for their best years, for as long as it's possible.

It's a great due for sure.

I'm not sold on them, I could actually see them missing the playoffs this season. Their D got worse and their offense lost a lot of depth. They subtracted, and teams like Ottawa, Detroit, NJ, and CBJ all added. They're going to miss Huberdeau's playmaking ability, he's an elite passer they didn't replace, Tkachuk is a different style, he's not a playmaker.