cross16

Yes that wasn't directed at you it was others. I agree with you on this. I do wish the Flames had kept Bennett at center, or at the very least defined his role, but the biggest miss was not finding someone who he could play with and who could help him drive play. Wish they could have taken some pressure off of him at center.

A lot of premature takes, which is understandable given how polarizing Bennett was. I want to see more games before I draw conclusions because i'm betting this success is short lived but there is also some serious hindsight bias going on. While I absolutely agree the Flames should have done better a key problem is during the time where Bennett was breaking into the league, Monahan and Backlund were breaking out too. From 2016-2019 Monahan was a top 10 producing center, and Backlund emerged as one of the best way way centers in the game and top 60 center by just about every metric you want to look at. Flames were supposed to just move those guys aside and hand Bennett opportunities they other 2 were thriving in? That is silly to me.

I feel bad for Rittich. As we know he's prone to errors like that but it sucks is going to happen on such a large stage. I hope it doesn't beat him down.

I think this should be considered, if you want to replace Trelving are they really going to get a better option? Rutherford? I know most will response "he's got 3 cups" and assume he's a great GM but I would take a look at his history in Carolina and Pittsburg. What he did, is hardly impressive. There really aren't many good options out there right now if you want someone with experience.

Doesn't excuse it but at the time of the draft Kucherov was under contract to his Russian club team and it was not known if he every planned on coming over. Given the lack of the transfer agreement the risk was if you took him you would never see him, which is why the Flames didn't rank him they put him on a wild card list. Can argue how much risk you want to take in the 2nd round, but i'm not sure it's a flawed decision process if you weren't confident of ever getting him over.

And just to be clear I am not blaming Sutter. I don't like some of what he is doing but you will never 100% agree with a coach. I think Sutter is a very good coach and a master motivator but I didn't like the hire for 2 reasons. 1 - his style of game is a poor fit for how this roster is currently constructed so if the idea is to win now I don't think they can get the roster to his liking in the short term. 2 - Big picture the Flames lack the high end talent compete with other teams, they need that franchise player and really need that franchise center. It's very challenging to get that unless you draft it and the strength of the next 2 drafts aligns very well with that. So for me they should be doing a rebuild to get those franchise pieces, and I don't think Sutter will go for that nor will he let his teams play poorly enough to accomplish it. So not really frustrated with Sutter more the circumstances around brining him in.

I think if you want to debate how the Flames developed Bennett, that's fine. I have questions and didn't like all of it but at the end of the day Bennett didn't exactly make the most of all his chances either. You can question why they didn't trade him earlier and perhaps get more (although I'm really skeptical the price would have been higher to be honest), but at the end of the day I think it was clear it wasn't working here. It is very likely that Bennett was either not going to be qualified or lost for nothing in the expansion draft and instead the Flamed turned him into really good value, more than many thought. To me how he does in Florida has no bearing on what was done on TDL. The Flames made the right decision and it was a good decision, and good trade value, and whatever he does in Florida will not change those circumstances. Part of the reason I will keep cheering for him.

I feel the exact same way. Hopefully we are wrong but i've never felt more pessimistic about the Flames. This is more frustrating for me than the tail end of the Iginla era.

I think the Flames have reached the point where no one is untouchable. They need to consider any and all options on any player prospect etc. Obviously prices will, and should, vary dependent on who you are talking about but they would be wrong to limit their options in turning this around.

I've said this before but for me Tkachuk is trying to do too much this year. It started with public comments he made early in the season about how he felt he needed to be the guy to get them going and it's really shown up in his play. I think he means well, he's trying to take over in the leadership department but that tends to come organically and he's trying to manufacture it. I feel for him, but it's got to be like quick sand right now where he just can't get out of it. I'm not sure if it's tough love or not, but for me Tkachuk needs to start realizing what his game is and where his limitations lie. He seems to think he can be the guy who leads a team and puts them on his back with his play and for me he isn't that guy and doesn't have that in his game. He can drag his teammates into the fight with his heart, character and will, he can be a top notch offensive complimentary piece, but I don't think he's Iginla like in that he can just go "ok guys watch me" and will them to win. Needs to find his way again I think. Poor time for a slump too given he's an RFA next summer and due a 9mill qualifying offer. Adding him to list of potential issues this organization needs to start sorting out.

Doubt this affects his stock but won't be on opportunity to see Sillinger on a bigger stage

Strong year for Pelletier. Memorial Cup has been cancelled by QMJHL will start playoffs soon. Pelletier and Val'Dor finished as the #2 team in the league.

Pretty good stuff from Francis

Not particularly and this is a change Sutter has made. Under Ward it seemed the Flames used the boards exclusively, but Sutter seems to want the breakout up the middle. What I mean is having the d join the rush would allow for more option if the middle is clogged. May not necessary mean a stretch pass it could just be a simple hitch, drop back or cross ice pass to an open area. Just a little more emphasis on gaining the zone with possession as opposed to getting to dump it in ASAP. Also would start by being more aggressive at their own blueline.

A really interesting article that looks at the utilization of the blueline in the league. How are the used in the o zone and in transition. For me, it also highlights a problem i've had with the Flames this year from a coaching and tactics perspective that they are not maximizing their personnel. The Flames blueline is full of players who are very good, amongst the best in the league, in terms of transition play and creating offence but the Flames are not utilizing those skill sets. This is IMO a big reason why their breakouts are so inconsistent and their overall offence is inconsistent, they rely too much on their forwards, get into too much of a north-south game and that makes them easier to shutdown. I get why their hired Sutter and IMO he is not the dinosaur he is made out to be but at the same time this article does highlight that getting creative with your D is becoming more and more essential in today's game. https://jfresh.substack.com/p/which-teams-are-relying-most-on-defencemen

McKenzie's updated top 32 Raty starting to fall. bit of a shake up in the top 10 which makes sense in this draft class. But there does seem to be consensus forming on the top 8-10. I think it drops off after that. Power is also now the unanimous number one on the scouts that McKenzie surveyed. They all had him number 1 which is a change from the start of the year.

Their two best picks of the last decade come from the US.

Chaz Lucius is the guy I hope the Flames have on their radar. I think he has the chance to be the steal of the draft If he slides to the teens. On pure talent I don’t think there is a large difference between Lucius and Beniers, i in could argue there isn’t one. reminds me a lot of Lindholm

This is not a Flames problem. How many elite players can you name that were taken outside the fist round? Heck how many outside the top 4-5 picks? For me the problem is not that the flames have failed to find an elite player outside the first round, it’s the opposite. The problem is they didn’t get elite players when they were rebuilding and drafting low. That is the reason you rebuild and target those draft picks. my point also is not that the flames shouldn’t rebuild because it’s tough, rather that a rebuild via tanking needs to be strategic. You have to target the right drafts, you need to have a certain level or prospects already in your organization and you need to have a certain amount of luck on your side too especially now. Simply saying we need to tank and then we’ll be good is too simplistic and ignores too many factors imo, which is why I don’t think it’s universally successful. I think the Flames are well positioned to rebuild now if they want, but they are not going to.

while this is fair, it’s really starting to look like the Leafs are the exception and not the norm. it happens, I just don’t think it’s the guaranteed success that many seem to argue. I think most teams wind up in worse shape than better. Comes down to a lot of luck and timing too.

That's not at all what i'm saying. There is a reason you don't see many hockey deals in the league, they are hard to come back especially when your dealing high end guys like Gaudreau/Monahan etc. Let's take Gaudreau for example. If you want to trade him and want to do a hockey deal then you are trading him for a similar talent, well what team is going to do that? How many teams can take the cap hit? How many teams have a player of his talent level and if they do then why do they want to move that player? Teams generally don't want to move their core players so your options of moving Gaudreau and getting an equal talent shrink. Can move Gaudreau for multiple pieces but then the question is are you getting better? Did the Phaneuf trade make the Flames better, did the Hamilton trade? In this scenario your giving up the best player in the deal. I think the last option is you deal him in a package for futures and get a future core piece. That however means your run the risk of taking an immediate step back. I am okay with this option but I have my suspicions that the organization is not. So no it is not a lack of faith in the GM it's that the circumstance his is in does not tend to produce positive results.

This I can understand. I don't know if "scared" is fair but I don't think the organization wants to rebuild that's been proven. I still think they'd make a trade if it meant giving them that level of a talent because i do think this org wants a cup.

I get what you are saying but I don't see it the same way. I see no reason why it should be so definitive but agree to disagree.

To each their own, but this feels like a huge reach to me and a conclusion drawn on information we cannot possible know. FWIW, Hoffman wasn't even traded for a player or fan favorite it was picks/AHL player and a salary dump. There were plenty of hockey related reasons why you didn't want to go after Mike Hoffman too so to suggest that's an organization flaw is a conclusion but a flawed one IMO. to each their own.

All GMs do. Case in point that same GM that pulled off the Leonard trade didn't trade Kyle Lowry at the deadline despite the fact he was a pending FA and his team is out of the playoffs. i think it's pretty situational dependent and not easy to just label an organization as this or that. If Treliving had the chance to trade Gio for Jack Eichel i think he's gone, but that isn't likely on the table.