from Darren Haynes of The Calgary Flames - From 80 Feet Above,

In a content feature I call Eight From 80 Feet, I share eight thoughts on the current goings-on with the Calgary Flames. This special edition is dedicated to the huge trade on Friday pulled off by GM Brad Treliving in acquiring Dougie Hamilton from the Boston Bruins in exchange for three draft picks.

1. Net Outcome: How to View the Trade

Treliving has always referred to the extra picks he picked up in the Sven Baertschi (for a second round pick) and Curtis Glencross (for a second and a third round pick) trades as "currency" and he spent two-thirds of that extra money to add Hamilton.

If you step back and factor in those two deals, you can essentially view Friday's trade like this.

Flames trade disgruntled LW Sven Baertschi, who said he wasn't going to re-sign with Calgary after this season, pending UFA LW Curtis Glencross, and a 2015 first round draft pick in exchange for D Dougie Hamilton and a 2015 third round draft pick.

If you were undecided on the Hamilton trade before, now how do you view it? If you liked it already, now you must really like it.

Now I said "essentially" because in such a deal, Calgary would still have their own pick at No. 45 on Saturday. Instead, that pick was moved and the second round pick they retained was No. 53, which came from Vancouver. But you get the point and viewed that way, it's hard to evaluate the trade as anything but a massive win for the Flames. Instead of hoping to get a player at 15 that will one day develop into a NHL star, they acquire an established but still very young guy that's well on his way.

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Thanks to a KK member for the pointer