Well the Tim Ramholt experiment came to a merciful end today. The former 2nd rounder was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers for 24-year old LW Kyle Greentree.
I don't know much about Greentree, besides his stats, but it looks like a good swap to me. It had become clear over the last two years that Ramholt wasn't ever going to turn into an NHL-caliber defenseman, so his deletion is no big loss. On the other hand, the Flames added a 6'3" winger to their woefully shallow group - one that scored 24 goals and 48 points in 72 games in the AHL last season. I have no idea if Greentree will ever make the leap, but he should be useful to Quad Cities next year at least.
So long Tim. It's too bad your single NHL shift was such a disaster.
UPDATE - Inside the Flames has a few words from Sutter and Greentree on the deal.
Sutter:
“Kyle has a legitimate opportunity of playing on our team this season and hopefully Tim has a shot with Philadelphia,” said Flames general manager Darryl Sutter in a press release. “This move is a continuation of our work to upgrade up front. On our depth chart, we believe a couple of our young defencemen in the AHL and a couple of our juniors had moved passed Ramholt.”
And Greentree:
“I feel I have more to give. I feel that I can play up there and stay up there. I’m excited for the chance to play for a Canadian team and to be so close to home. This has always been a dream of mine.”
Greentree describes himself “as a big power forward who likes to go to the net and try to use my size as an asset."
I don't know how legitimate a chance Greentree has to actually crack the big roster, but it'll be interesting to see how he fares in the preseason.
