'I'M EXCITED'

BOSTON - As Brad Treliving rounded the corner and met with the group of travelling press on the mezzanine, it was clear.
The smile, the laughter, the elegant prose he recites off the cuff…
He was pleased.
"So," the GM said cheerfully after a long day's work. "What did you guys do today?"
Oh, you know.
The usual.

Treliving, on the other hand was quite the newsmaker, wrapping a five-day mission in downtown Boston with a nifty bit of business. The NHL's annual trade deadline came and went with the usual fanfare, and the Flames - who entered the day in the first wild-card spot - are a better team for it.
The Flames were one of the most active clubs, acquiring defenceman Erik Gustafsson from the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2020 third-round pick, Derek Forbort from the LA Kings for a conditional fourth-round choice, and future considerations in exchange in for
Brandon Davidson.
The condition on the Forbort trade breaks down like this:
If the Flames make the Conference Final and he plays half the games, it becomes a third-round pick in 2022. Or, if that condition is not met, but he re-signs with the Flames this off-season, it will become a third in 2022.
The Kings are also retaining 25% of Forbort's salary.
With the Flames chasing down a playoff spot, depth without mortgaging the future and supporting the starring cast of forwards was of the utmost priority.
Done.
"We're happy with what we got accomplished," Treliving said. "Strategically, we may have had to change gears the last three weeks with our injuries on defence. So, you're sitting here and saying, 'OK, if you are going to look to add to your team, and you have specific assets to use, what's the best way to use them?'"
With the number of deals made Monday and the market price trading at "usual" levels, the options were endless.
But with these two players, it was all about "fit."
Both Forbort and Gustafsson are left-hand shots, but the former Blackhawk has plenty of experience on the right side, where the Flames will likely deploy him.

Gustafsson has 26 points (6G, 20A) in 59 games this year and is averaging more than 20 minutes in ice time, too.
Last year, the 27-year-old had a career campaign, finishing sixth among D men with 60 points (17G, 43A) - including 42 at even-strength - three game-winning tallies, and an average of 22:35 in ice time.
His ability to quarterback a powerplay was also of interest to the Flames, with Treliving referring to him as a "premier powerplay player."
"That's really his bread and butter," the GM said. "We felt that was an area, up top, that we could address, a job that we could fill, and that he could help us."
Forbort, meanwhile, has played only 13 games this year thanks to back injury that cost him the majority of his off-season training, followed by a separate, unrelated, on-ice incident in early December that pushed back his debut.
He played his first game on Jan. 6, playing a cautious 14:25 after a long wait on the sidelines. Since then, his workload has gradually increased, and he played a season-high 23:01 in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
It's been a tough year for the Kings, but Forbort has been a real bright spot in his road back from injury. Playing on the top pair with Drew Doughty, the 6-foot-4, 219-lb. blueliner defends well and makes life miserable for his opponents.
"He's a big, rangy defenceman," Treliving said. "He adds some weight. He adds some size. He adds some defending ability. He's very good on the penalty-kill. So, we looked at that two ways, not only to address personnel that is out, but then when (Mark Giordano) comes back in, maybe there is a way to lessen his workload on both sides of special teams."
Suddenly, with the captain getting close - and, perhaps, even suiting up on Tuesday against the league-leading Bruins - the Flames have all kinds of depth on the blueline.
Travis Hamonic (upper body) will still be a while yet - Treliving saying the rugged D man remains week-to-week - but with Giordano, Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson, TJ Brodie, Oliver Kylington, Michael Stone, Forbort and Gustafsson in the fold, this looks like a D core that could do some damage in the playoffs.

While Treliving was actively involved in conversations with other teams throughout the day - specifically in regards to top-six wingers - he said the team was not willing to deviate from the plan.
That includes parting with a coveted first-round pick.
"You come in here, you're either selling and trying to acquire assets, or you're trying to help your team," he said. "Where we're at, right now, we wanted to see if we could push it. We wanted to go to the (dressing) room and say, 'Look, we're trying our best to help.'"
But with guys such as Johnny Gaudreau heating up, Matthew Tkachuk doing what he does best, Andrew Mangiapane taking on a larger role and making the most of it, Elias Lindholm and others find ways to make an impact?
Sometimes you've got to run with what you're given.
And show the guys you believe in them, too.
"I don't think there are too many forwards (here) that were saying, 'I really hope he has someone who takes my ice time,''" Treliving said. "We've got depth up front, too. We've got guys in the minors. Alan Quine got banged up down in Stockton, Austin Czarnik has been playing well. We wanted to make sure we kept cap space available for those guys.
"There's depth and you weigh that all and say, 'OK, we can bring in this person, or do we have those jobs that might be able to be covered inside, internally?'
"When you set your prices of what you're willing to pay, then you have to account for or put those towards your backend, I didn't want to come out here after spending six or seven picks and maybe not improving your team. Adding people, but maybe not improving your team."
"You can always look outside, or you can say, 'OK, let's shore up, let's give ourselves some depth, let's put some confidence in the people you do have.' Our big bullets, in terms of draft picks, we saved in our holster.
"I'm excited. I'm excited that we addressed some areas of need, which was our blueline right now."