The Calgary Flames have given up a lot of draft picks in trades as of late. Travis Hamonic, Mike Smith, Curtis Lazar, Michael Stone – all were acquired at the expense of draft lottery tickets.
Draft picks tend to be important because, well, a lot of teams build through the draft. The Flames are no exception to that – look no further than Mikael Backlund, T.J. Brodie, Sean Monahan. Johnny Gaudreau, Sam Bennett, and Matthew Tkachuk, for example – to create a team they hope to turn into a contender.
And while it’s true the Flames have built up their prospect pool as of late, it never hurts to have more.