What does Andrew MacDonald's PTO mean?

The Calgary Flames made it very clear that they wanted veteran defencemen to fit in that number six or seven spot. So, does Andrew MacDonald fit the bill? Well, he's a vet, alright. The problem is, he is also a slow dimensional dman.  Andrew would help in the powerplay and add the goal now and then.  He is a good leader who would help the young dmen. You can never get enough leaders in the dressing room. The advantage for Andrew MacDonald is there is no pressure on him; he would simply be another weapon on the powerplay.  

But does he fill the role of third pairing on the defence?  Technically, yes;  but do I think he is the answer?  I think the Flames can do better. The problem is they might not be able to for a couple of reasons. Defensive strength comes at a high cost. The Flames may very well have to give up a high pick and a couple of prospects to get him. I am not sure the Flames will be willing to pay that price.  First of all, the Flames have to believe that they are a cup contender. Then are they comfortable giving up prospects? Are the Flames confident in their prospect cupboard? The experts seem to think it is a little thin. Do they want to make it thinner?

The next problem in that teams are holding onto their picks. A lot of organizations feel this draft pool is deep and talented. Something more the Flames have to evaluate is if they want to gamble for a defenceman.  I hate to be negative, but I am not that sure the Flames are that close enough to a cup run to ruin the future doing it.

So Andrew MacDonald gets a PTO with nothing to lose. If he doesn't make the team, the Flames turn him loose. If he does, he is a $700,000 number 7 defencemen.

The elephant is still the elephant. There is no change in the Tkachuk contract negotiations. Same old, same old - negotiating the bonus structure. Tkachuk wants to get paid during the lockout. The Flames are trying to minimize that bonus structure as much as possible. Both sides want to get done; this is just business. As a fan, sometimes that is hard to believe.

Randy