The Calgary Flames are in a fairly enviable place in their recent drafting and development. Their 2018-19 roster featured graduated prospects from nine different draft classes – including a long-shot fourth round pick that had 99 points. But the challenge of cap management is figuring out how to keep your team competitive while freeing up cap space to pay your prospects when they become high-performing core pieces.
That’s why if the goal of the off-season is opening up space to re-sign Matthew Tkachuk, the best player to move for cap relief is TJ Brodie.
The cap crunch
The projected 2018-19 salary cap is $83 million – the exact number will be confirmed in a couple of weeks by the NHL’s Board of Governors.