Reporter puts a timeline on a Matthew Tkachuk trade, suggests it could be sooner than anyone expects

The timing is wild, considering the fact that Tkachuk is coming off of his best statistical season to date, by a very large margin, posting 42 goals and 104 points in all 82 games for the Flames, adding 10 points in 12 playoff games.

Matters were made worse when the Flames allowed Johnny Gaudreau to walk as an unrestricted free agent. Tkachuk played ~1000 minutes with Gaudreau this season, absolutely dominating the competition on an almost nightly basis.

Word on the street is that Tkachuk was very unhappy with the Gaudreau departure, but it's not as though GM Brad Treliving didn't try in earnest to get a deal done. In fact, Treliving offered more term (that 8th year) and a higher AAV (in excess of $10M per season) to keep Gaudreau in Calgary. Unfortunately, it was a case of the player simply wanting out for family reasons that have not yet been revealed.

With Tkachuk and the Flames heading for a split, more likely via trade this season than as a UFA next summer, the next questions become to where and for how much? Well, I think we can anticipate that the cost will be as most large deals are -- at least a roster player in a similar age range and with a similar skill level, plus a pick and a prospect -- which leaves the "when".

Well, according to a report from Sportsnet's Eric Francis during an appearance on 101 ESPN in St. Louis yesterday, he expects a trade for Matthew Tkachuk to be "wrapped up within the week". That seems perhaps a bit hasty to me, given the fact that Treliving has the entire summer remaining to find the best deal possible for the Flames.

Treliving is not necessarily under pressure to rid himself of Tkachuk immediately, but we do know that he will be gone at some point this year, one way or the other. It does make the most sense to do it this summer, as it would provide teams with at least one full year of Tkachuk before he becomes an unrestricted free agency next summer, which would undoubtedly yield a better return than if Treliving waits until the deadline.

An already crazy summer just got a whole lot more interesting. I'd anticipate that somewhere in the proximity of 31 teams will be calling the Flames on their 24-year-old, 100-point winger at some point in the not-too-distant future, ifthey haven't begun already. Treliving is going to be a busy man this summer.