Trade 2
If the Flames go full rebuild, they will be wanting picks and prospects. What better way to get it started than with former high end picks who are projecting to be very good right off the bat. It would be pretty crazy to trade Nemec right after drafting him, and skipping on Wright to do so, but the team would have to give up two of its most important pieces to get this done. It seems unlikely they would move Luke Hughes due to the family connection and Nemec could have more value either way.
Holtz tore up the AHL last year and looks poised to make the roster this season. He projects to be a top-six winger who can fill the net with pucks. From the second he was drafted, the Devils thought they had a scoring machine on their hands. It would be hard to let that go after years of development, but that’s the cost of doing business in the NHL.
If the Flames did this they would not only be getting two guys who were drafted very high but ones who have already played against men and proven they can succeed. A guy in Holtz who could replace a sizable chunk of the goals Tkachuk scored in a few years and if Nemec lives up to being a top pairing guy he would be a cornerstone piece in a rebuild. This trade would be the riskiest for both teams but that is what is so intriguing about it.