cross16

Easiest is Patches. Doesn't sounds like he is close and right now he isn't on LTIR. If Vegas places him on LTIR they have more than enough room for Stone. Other option is both Carrier and Brossoit are hurt and placing them both on LTIR is almost 4 million and they have 2 players up on emergency loans right now. Sending those 2 down is 1.5 so you have enough room for Stone without needing Patches on LTIR.

That is huge news for Vegas. Game changing talent

I wouldn't disagree at all that Lindholm and Tkachuk are key reasons for his success. It's the best match of skill sets on a line Gaudrau has ever played on in his career. My main point here is there are many factors and I don't thikn it's as simple as he is now "free" from Monahan. Gaudreau has made several adjustments and improvements in his game that has lead to this.

Mackinnon (Director of pro scouting) spotted him during a game and recommend Sigalet look further. Was Sigalet who gave the go ahead to sign him. Be an interesting one debate for sure. I find the Flames tend to draft for athleticism in net so perhaps that has changed somewhat, although Wolf would fall into the more athleticism than mechanics category for me.

I think we've seen it in spurts before. he was doing some of this under Peters too just not as consistently. Always a fear but not a high one for me. While I certainly wasn't thinking/expecting a hart Trophy like performance Gaudreau's always been an elite talent that I thought just need someone to hold him accountable to the other areas of growth in his game. I don't think the desire was lacking before, it was the accountability.

Agreed. Too much coaching and structure at young levels now. I don't think a coach would let you get by and pure athleticism like Hasek did. I don't really agree that there wasn't a plan here because what have they done differently? they've always drafted goalies they just finally hit on one. They pursued many via trade and FA and they finally got a match in Markstrom. process hasn't really changed just the result which IMO speaks to the volatility of the position.

At the same time it's also reasonable to point out that one player's career has suffered due to injuries and one player also has made huge strides to improve his game under a new coach. This is not the same Gaudreau we've watched the last 2 years, not at least for me it isn't. Deserves a lot of credit for buying into what Sutter wants.

I thought both young dman played well given the circumstance. Mackey with a safe/controlled game, Jusso had some flashes but some errors too. Thought Stone had a tough game but overall I think you have to feel pretty good with your D depth if you are the Flames. Vladar was very solid. Hope to see a few more games down the stretch. I'm really liking the 4th line of Lucic-Carpenter. Thought they were really good and physical down low in the Shark zone to extend possession. What you want out of your 4th line. Hard to say much more about how good the top line is. Flame need to find a 2nd line though. Lines 2/3 are doing some good things and extending possession/controlling the game which does wear down the other team, but they need to start creating some better quality scoring chances. Flames need to get Jankrok healthy to start seeing what they have in their middle 6.

Hope he is ok. They are in bad shape now but Wilson was one of the best GMs in the league for almost two decades. Through multiple styles and systems he found a way to have a great deal of success and should be remembered for that. I'm not a big believer that a GM should be held accountable because the team can't get over the hump especially when the "hump" is the conference finals. A break here or there and those teams were easily in the Finals. Winning in the playoffs requires a ton of luck IMO. You could maybe criticize him for not finding THAT goalie to carry them there but that's getting pretty nitpicky IMO. Built some pretty incredible teams.

Zary has really heated up lately but he still hasn't had the season you want. I think there are reasons (mostly he played very little last year) so no reason to get concerned yet but I don't think I would view him as an option for the team next year. Has some work to do.

No surprise and the right decision IMO. Harvard should be good next year and he can play a large role.

Agreed I saw it the same way. Thought it was a pretty typical Valimaki interview as he normally isn't the most interesting/engaging with the press. I thought he was really honest and fair actually.

Very. Vladar was a low key move but honestly it was one of the Flames best last summer. The market for backup goalies has gotten crazy the last few offseason and at the cost of only a 3rd round he found an above avg option to play for the minimum for 2 years. Probably saving themselves at least 500-750K on the cap. Tidy business.

Wolf actually would have the higher cap hit, albeit not by much. Vladar is signed for the minimum next year so you can't find a cheaper option. I will be shocked if they move Vladar because they won't have a more affordable option than him and they will likely need all the $ they can find.

I'm just not a fan of this model. Play him now so that you can better balance resting Markstrom while also keeping him sharp. I don't like the feast or famine approach to this. It's not a huge deal as I don't think the scheduled has been particularly harsh lately there has just been a couple games where I was surprised Vladar didn't get the start. I think he's earned a longer leash then he has gotten.

Wish we would see more Vladar. I liked the early rotation and now I think the Flames are playing Markstrom too much. Not a high level of concern for me personally I just wish they would give him more games.

I think there is a balancing act to this personally. Sutter is incredibly smart but he isn't perfect nor is his plan something that an organization should adopt 100%. I think its worth remembering that this organization ran with his philosophies for over a decade and there were plenty of holes in that process. I agree and like the comments he made around fitness, dedication and accountability and I think it was getting pretty obvious that this organization was falling behind in that area. I think the organization actually has the right path and ideas when it comes to how they use their farm team, draft, develop and how they challenge players so I think they should be very cautious with just letting Sutter take full control there. That area was a disaster here when he was the GM. but to you original idea I have no problem with Sutter staying on as a "consultant" or whatever if he is done coaching at the duration of his contract. He is a smart guy and if nothing else keep him around to work with the coaches. Tons of knowledge to share there I'm just less keen on his ability to run an organization or to aid in the running of an organization.

I'm sure they do, but what's the saying "everyone has a good plan until you get punched in the mouth". For me you should expect hiccups during a season and they are in one now. To be expected and I just don't view this as a big deal I guess.

I personally believe, and have for a while, that if you put Valimaki with Tanev you will have similar results. Perhaps even better. Tanev is the driving force behind that pairing IMO.

Not a surprise but it's now official

No, roster limit goes away post Trade deadline. The rationale from Sutter has been he doesn't want Ruzicka up here if the only spot he has for him is the 4th line, would rather him down in the A playing more. I agree 100% with that approach personally. However with Monahan out and Jankrok apparently dealing with someone I would suspect you'd see Ruzicka up at some point, perhaps today. Carpenter hasn't blocked anyone IMO.

Nothing. With Monahan on LTIR the Flames can call up anyone they want now. Have only used 1 of 4 recalls.

Depends on when that player goes to arb.

I'm not seeing panic in their game either, i see a team trying to adjust. Lately I think teams are playing the Flames differently at 5 on 5, they are clogging up the neutral zone. I think the book is out on how good the Flames were in transition and teams are understanding that in order to stop/limit the Flames you've got to slow them down in the neutral zone so I've been noticing a lot more bodies in the neutral zone for the opposition over the last couple weeks, the passes out of the zone look different and it's causing players to reset, find other option and they've rushed it. Not a surprise given the message the whole season has been "play fast". Thought they did a better job against the Blues and I think it's an adjustment they'll make. I think they are doing a lot of things well and if they just tighten up a bit in the d zone they'll be fine.

Unless he has a setback in his recovery or something else is uncovered through this I'm not too worried about a buyout, it will likely be an option. Rules are not clear but the spirit of the rule seems to be in place to prevent teams from buying out players who have long term injuries. For Monahan, who is expecting to play next year as of now, I think it's unlikely he'd fall in that category.