cross16

Game 1 so i won't get upset but having Nordstrom over Ryan, I see no value or logic in. I do however, like the idea of Hanifin - Tanev. Based on some interviews it looks like the plan is to get Hanifin more involved offensively which I do think is smart.

Maybe, i'm not sure but given that Johnny and Mony have been back together since day 1 leads me to believe that Ward does not want to split them up. I think both Mang and Dube add interesting elements to that line that could work and I'd like to see both given a shot. Hard to say missing link because while I like certain elements o what those 2 could bring, neither shoots the puck like Lindholm can. I will say this, because i'm sure it's coming across like i'm being hard on Ward. It does look like the main goal here is to actually create a stronger line in Tkachuk-Lindholm (one that can be used for both offensive a defensive purposes) and still have another strong 2 way line with Backlund, which would free up Gaudreau-Monahan for very favorable matchups. That is a way to to get around some of their flaws, namely having to exit their own zone. If that is the big picture there is nothing wrong with it, even if I don't personally agree with the approach.

It was an experiment for sure that i wanted tried. My rationale was I really think Gaudreau needs someone who can help bring the puck up the ice or dive the net and open up the seem so he can move East-West. The reason I really wanted him and Monahan split up is this is the flaw I see. Gaudreau is elite at brining the puck up the ice but he does it on his own becuase Monahan can't keep up and it's taken away Gaudreau's ability to move east - west in the zone which is what makes him so dangerous. I think Bennett would have been a nice answer there to open up more options. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't but I don't see why the lineup they are using right now is going to work better than their lineup last year so what are we trying to do here? The critique of Bennett not using his line mates is fair but it's also interesting that is seems to die down quite a bit in the playoffs. I didn't hear that critique as much (insert small sample size warning here) so it begs the question is that Bennett or is that his situation?

It's a combination of 4th line and being saddled with 2 players he needs to carry. It's a continuation of what they've done with Bennett he's entire career that has not worked so the Flames have just continued to do exactly what has not worked in the past. It just confirms my belief they are going to use him as fodder for the expansion draft. I wanted to see something like this. Tkachuk - Backlund - Lindholm Gaudreau - Bennett - Mang Dube - Monahan - Leivo Lucic - Ryan - Simon

I like that Dube was elevated and I like that spot for him. It is still not what I would do and i have my questions about that lineup but based on what seems to be the priorities it's probably the best they can do. It's game 1 so I'll let the plan play out for Bennett but sure looks to be more of the same which is pretty frustrating after all the organization speak in the off-season.

If I had to guess, they'll keep Stone until the AHL starts, re assign Mackey so he can play and then sign Stone to the taxi squad. I'm sure they just want a longer look at Ritchie but i'm with Jtech that i'd rather have him over Rinaldo and I'd probably take him over Robinson too for that matter.

Discussion is always nice but this really boils down to a simple plan. Flames need to create as much cap space as they can, especially early on, and really the only tool they have is manipulating the roster size and the taxi squad. Ryan was the only player who could go on waivers, would clear waivers and actually provide relief if used on the taxi squad. I think it's clear the Flames will use 6 D and put everyone else on the taxi squad. Mackay does not require waivers so he didn't need to be waived yesterday but Kylington did. While i would not disagree that it's likely the Flames view Mackay more positively than Kylington, i don't think that's a conclusion we can make based on yesterday. This is really all just procedural.

As i suspected all 3 players cleared.

This is NOT a BT thing it is an NHL thing. This is the way they designed their CBA.

yes. If the Flames are going to deploy Bennett as a 4th line center they've once again missed the boat. Should have traded him in the off-season if that was the plan because IMO it's a waste. one of the biggest weaknesses of the Flames is not all of their centers drive player. Backlund and Ryan do and while Lindholm "might" I'm very skeptical it will work and while I still argue Bennett has some potential I don't think he's driving play from the 4th line. Ryan does which is why I am so adamant that taking him out of the lineup is not a good thing. But i'll stop and wait for tomorrow. As I said i suspect this will all be nothing and they just plan to leverage him and the taxi squad to gain some extra space.

But what is the point of weakening your roster from now until the trade deadline? Look if you have an inhouse replacement i'm all for creating cap room but what I am saying, and IMO I think it's really clear when you look at the roster, is the Flames have a big drop off after Ryan. Ryan played with Zac Rinaldo for much of the playoffs and that line still held their own and against Colorado he and Mang were 2 of their better players in the series. I don't know what people's expectations are here but they are looking pretty out to lunch to me. I think they will look at it yes. I don't think they'd give him term but I would think there would be interest on a short term deal at less money. He's a really useful player. See and I see this as the opposite, it's smart. If the idea is to leverage the taxi squad to gain additional cap space then this is a great plan to be able to have an aggressive off-season but still be cap compliant. With a flat cap you need to get creative and use the tools you have and this is the Flames doing that. The alternative was not signing Markstrom or Tanev.

Here is your cautionary tale for those who seems to think losing Ryan would be no big deal. Based on tonight's scrimmager here is likely how the season looks to start Tkachuk-Lindholm-Dube Gaudreau - Monahan - Simon Leivo - Backlund - Mang Lucic - Bennett - Nordstrom That is a scary as heck 4th line and not in a good way. The Flames will be paying 2.2 million, in stead of 3.1mill for for their 4th line center, have no RS center, and will have lost 2 important Pkers in 1 offseason with one outside replacement. It's just stupid business when you add it up.

so 2 things. 1 - I totally disagree and have demonstrated many times. I don't know how you can be one of the least cost effective players on the roster and outscore more expensive players at 5 on 5. 2- great they create cap space at the expense of weakening their roster, so what do they do with it? Cap space is only good if you have a plan to use it otherwise what's the value?

I think that one is easy, Sam Bennett played extremely well and ate into his minutes. But on the PK he was still very good, and he kept their 4th line from getting walked over most nights. For me it makes no sense to talk about wanting to get deeper and add more flexibility to your lineup and then give away one of your most effective bottom 6 and PK pieces. Especially when I don't see who they've brought in that could take on his PK role, and one of the goals Ward should have is creating more PK depth. He got burned bad by that in the playoffs, and will continue to do so especially if has a bigger role in store for Lindholm at 5 on 5. I will add I think this discussion is all for nothing. Highly, highly doubt he is getting claimed.

The problem I have with "freeing up his cap space" is IMO there is no good option to replace it. Ryan was one of their more productive players at ES last year (see below) and consistently makes those around him better, never mind his PK impact. Given their situation, and how the schedule lines up early on I totally get the idea of using him to create flexibility and I agree with it. Moving on from him would be a downright terrible move.

He would have to stay on the active roster yes, not suit up necessarily just be on the roster. If they wanted him on the taxi squad then they'd have to offer him back to Montreal first, then the rest of the league. If the Flames wanted Perry, or he wanted to be here for that matter, they would have signed him in the offseason so i think the odds of this happening are as close to zero as you can get. I don't expect it to happen but i've always liked the fir and the player.

Few extra thoughts for me on this 1. Waiving Ryan and putting him on the taxi squad saves a little over 9K/day for a team that is very tight to the cap. Flames have a light start with a big break and having Ryan on the taxi squad allows for some significant cap savings. It also looks like they plan on running lean to start in order to maximize some cap savings. I thikn both of these moves play into this. 2. In terms of Ryan only 8 teams can claim in and most of those 8 would burn all of their remaining cap on it. He isn't going to get claimed. 3. There are close to 100 players on waivers today and many dmen. I think the odds of Kylington getting claimed in this scenario are small and not only does this allow for some cap flexiblity it allows Kylington to get up to game speed.

I'm not a big believer in the give a taste idea, especially for players who have no shot at being in the NHL or even the AHL. I think today players are so aware and in tune with what they are working on that i don't think a few games in the NHL would change anything. It's also a double edged sword as sometimes you have players, Sven Baertschi for example, who have short term immediate success and it harms them instead of helping. As I said if players earn it and they are ticketed for the AHL or NHL i'm all for it but for players who are going back to junior I don't like it.

Waivers are starting to heat but and there is some juicy Calgary news today with both Kylington and Ryan on waivers. Ryan is a stunner for me but I wonder if that's a move to just create some flexibility around using him on the taxi squad. In most years I would say Kylington gets claimed but this year I don't think he will. So many guys like him in the league and i'm not sure there is a team that will want to grab him and then play him and that's really the point of waivers. Guess we will see. Non Flames new, Corey Perry is also on waivers today which i am intrigued by. if they can sneak Kylington down they'd have room.

I think Pelletier is close but he needs to play so I would not be in favor of him on the taxi squad, that's a bad move. They need to keep him playing and for me I don't see the point of 6 games other than for fans. He won't factor into the team this year so 6 games is pretty irrelevant to me.

i don’t disagree with any of this, even if personally don’t like it. The only thing for me is my desire to try splitting up Monahan and Gaudreau is not to increase depth. I think the Flames have enough depth I just think those 2 have some flaws that have been exposed and will continue to be exposed. It’s more about maximizing potential and less about depth. I’m pretty convinced that even with trying a new 3rd member, that line will just never be what the flames need them to be.

I do agree with this and I do think that type of player is exactly what they need. Count me skeptical Simon can do it full time but I get that choice. but I still think that the pairing is just too flawed and they need to start looking at other options. I just why they are not I just find it really disappointing

It appears there is no appetite, or even a thought, to split up Gaudreau and Monahan. That’s extremely disappointing.

Age should for sure be taken into account when drafting and it is a factor. However, with Zary i's worth pointing out that while yes he was older in the draft his previous season was pretty impressive too. PPG player in the dub as a soon to be 18 year old and then a PPG at the under 18s would have gotten him first round consideration too. It's not like this is a player who went off in an older season. I also think it's wroth pointing out that while sure you always want to see him play a bigger role, Team Canada was insanely deep up front. Every forward was a first round pick and you had 3 top 10 picks all down the middle at center (Dach, Byfield, Cozens) and then Newhook as well. Then add an additional 2 returning players in McMichael and Mercer and half the forward roster is already full and then your also competiting with the 3 or 4 others who are even older. It's a pretty big positive he even made the team never mind that he was a player the coach counted on and moved up the lineup several times.

Kevin Woodley runs InGoal Magazine and appears he will be a regular contributor to the Fan960 going forward. I've always like his analysis of goals and he does a good job of blending his background in goalies and analytics. He uses a site called Clear sight Analytics who tracks over 30 stats related to goalie and shot quality and they are a company many NHL teams use. I put the link below to the segment for those interested. The thing that stood out for me is he said that according to their data last season Markstrom did not allow, for the entire season, a "bad" goal. So goals where it's a low danger shot, clear vision of the puck etc he was perfect on them and was the only goalie in the league that didn't. Also interested is he said according to Clear Sight's data if your goalie lets in a bad goal and the other team's doesn't you lose 87% of the time. Really interesting stuff I thought. I may not love the contract but I am excited to see what Markstrom can do in Calgary. https://www.sportsnet.ca/960/the-nine/flames-fans-expect-jacob-markstrom/