Calgary Flames Should Consider Trading Sven Baertschi
By PowerPlayCJ
@powerplaywithcj
Sergei Belski-USA Today Sports
Sven Baertschi lit up the Western Hockey League with the Portland Winterhawks for two seasons and was chosen in the first round of the 2011 draft by the Calgary Flames. At the time I (foolishly) said Baertschi would be a potential franchise player who could learn from then Flames-great Jarome Iginla and then take over as the face of the franchise. Three and a half years later both the Flames and myself appear to be almost completely off.
In his third year of professional hockey, Baertschi has 55 points in 83 AHL games and a somewhat respectable 27 points in 58 NHL games with the Flames. The numbers, however do not tell the whole story for the 22-year-old. Prior to his NHL call-up this year, which was necessitated by the team’s injury woes, Baertschi had a lowly three assists in 10 AHL games. The regression is apparent and he has been completely bypassed on the organizational depth chart by other young players, including Johnny Gaudreau, who is turning in a fantastic rookie year and was drafted 93 picks after Baertschi in 2011.
The struggles haven’t just been on the ice as Baertschi allegedly requested a trade out of Calgary when he was demoted to the minors. This type of friction between player and team coupled with his struggles doesn’t exactly bode for a great future between them.
Maybe this is a kid who is in the wrong situation and could thrive in another environment, but I think he’s simply overrated. The three goals he scored in his first five games during a call-up when he was 19 probably set the bar a little high for Baertschi. Sometimes moving on is what’s best for both parties and that’s essentially what this situation is.
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