420since1974

This year it may be as simple as the 2nd unit wanting to prove something more than the 1st. To my old eyes, many years the Flames 1st PP unit appears to take their spot for granted and does not put in the effort necessary. That said, there were a few seasons in the near past that the 1st unit was killer and the 2nd was not too necessary.

I agree, Sharangovich can play centre, his defensive awareness is very good, but has yet to post decent FO% stats in the NHL. Right now, he is more effective at RW or LW. I sure like his shot though.

I'm not defending the hit by Ras; it was definitely in the grey zone and I won't be too pissed off by a minor suspension, but it seems like Laine appears to rub many players the wrong way. Look at how many times he has been laid right out by body checks. Then again, maybe he is just reckless and does not keep his head up.

"I think it’s a question of when, not if, with regards to a buyout." I'm definitely not there yet. I feel that sooner, rather than later, he will click with the right line mates and be a decent 2C. That doesn't mean that I don't feel that he is overpaid, I just can't see a buyout in the future.

When the Flames signed the undrafted 6'8" 245 lbs. RHS C/RW Adam Klapka last year, I originally thought that he would at best be some size and grit for the Wranglers. After watching him in the prospects tournament and the Flames training camp this year, I have changed my mind somewhat with regards to his possibilities. This 23 year old has some skill to go along with his size, though he is not as physical as I had expected. Maybe he just needs to learn to fight; if he does, he will be scary. I feel that training camp gave him a taste of the big league and he now wants more. As of right now, he is 2nd in scoring on the Wranglers with 4G, 3A = 7P + 8 PIM in 4 games. I currently see his CEILING as a NHL 3rd line RW or a 4th line C/RW, but that is without finding any of his FO% stats. What do all of you think about Adam Klapka?

Based on a 23 man roster: With Pelletier and Rooney injured; which two forwards stay out of Cole Schwindt (RH-RW/C), Adam Klapka (RH-RW/C), and Dryden Hunt (LH-LW/RW)? Personally, I'm torn between Schwindt and Klapka as they are both waiver exempt. Schwindt has a slightly better PPG average in the AHL than Klapka (0.49 vs 0.42), but the latter has a huge size advantage. Assuming Oliver Kylington is not ready to come back yet, do the Flames keep Dennis Gilbert or Ilya Solovyov as the 7th defenseman? Gilbert is not exempt from waivers but Solovyov is. Both are LH-LD. Personally, I'd give Solovyov a shot as I feel fairly confident that Gilbert would clear waivers and I'd like to see an injection of youth into the D corps. It is fortunate that the Flames have 3 veteran defensemen that can and have played both sides (Oesterle-LHS, Weegar-RHS, and Zadorov-LHS).

Over the last 10 seasons, Lindholm's FO% is 52.14. Kadri's is 50.07. I'd try Kadri on RW.

Embrace the Chaos!

There is a little recency bias in that list. But with 32 teams in the league, having 3 of the top 50 prospects is like you say, not all bad news.

I'm interested to see how well Mangiapane recovers from his shoulder surgery. He may bounce back to 2021/2022 numbers, or be permanently damaged and stay at 2022/2023 stats.

Lionel Conacher - hockey (won Stanley Cups with both the Chicago Black Hawks and Montreal Maroons, football (won Grey Cup with Toronto Argonauts), boxing (won multiple championships as a teenager and even fought Jack Dempsey), baseball (won International League title with Toronto Maple Leafs), lacrosse (won championship in the International Professional Lacrosse League), & wrestling (won multiple championships as a teenager). He passed away in 1954 during a softball game between MPs and parliamentary media members.

If the Flames were to finish 16th again, I'd have no issues drafting Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. 6'1", 194 lb. RHS Norwegian RW. 38 points in 35 games (17g, 21a) playing for Mora IK Sweden U-20.

He is tough, half decently talented, but oh so fragile. If he could ever stay healthy for an entire season, he might have a decent chance to be a good 4th line RW.

During the entire history of the Flames in Calgary, I don't think that I've ever seen #2 happen, and maybe only twice seen #1 tried for 2 - 3 years before reverting to #3. I don't have any issues with #2 in theory, but it would be quite difficult to pull off with Huberdeau's 8 year, $84M contract. 73% of it is signing bonuses, a full NMC for the first 6 years, and for the last 2, a M-NTC with only 12 teams that he can be traded to. Unless he sustains a major career ending injury that puts him on LTIR, we're stuck with his $10.5M Cap Hit. Kadri's 6 x $7M would only be slightly less difficult to get rid of. Due to the above, I just don't think that #2 (tanking) would get us where we want to be that much quicker than #1 (rebuilding). So, my vote goes to #1 (rebuilding) as I feel that it might be more entertaining.

I'm really interested to see how Kylington plays when he returns. I still think that he has a higher ceiling than what we've seen to date. When they were first drafted in 2015, I felt that Kylington and Andersson had the potential to be the Flames future top D pairing. Other than the players on long term contracts with NMCs (Huberdeau and Kadri), The only forwards that I envision still being with the team in 5 years would be Dube and Ruzicka. They are both still young enough to continue their improvement and the fact that they can both play at all 3 forward positions makes them versatile. I feel that Ruzicka has shed most of his inconsistency issues, I think that he just needs to be played regularly, which he was not given the opportunity to do under 2 seasons of Sutter.

I totally agree with you on this one. When Gary Suter got his jaw broken in game 5 against Vancouver, the Flames were done without Rob Ramage. I look at it as trading Brett Hull for a Stanley Cup, a trade that I'd make again any day.

I've been following the Flames since they arrived in Calgary and have seen them win a Stanley Cup, so I'm good. At this point in time, I just want to be entertained. What I'd like to see stop happening is: 1. Trading draft picks. Rebuild our dismal prospect pool. 2. Allowing top 6 forwards and top 4 defence-men walk for nothing at UFA. Trade them for draft picks if they show the slightest hesitation in re-signing. 3. Giving out long term anchor contracts to players over 28 who are nearing the back end of their careers. It will take 5 - 7 years for this to rectify itself, but I'm ready for the pain, as opposed to re-living the past 20 years.

My hope is that whichever GM that gets hired will want to trade many of the upcoming 2024 UFAs for draft picks and prospects instead of letting them walk for nothing. That would basically force Sutter to play the younger players in the system. That may cause Sutter to resign on his own, as he has previously stated that he does not want to coach a rebuilding team. Of course, that would entail the GM having tpermission from ownership to do so. It's a slim hope, but it's all I've got, as we certainly can't influence a change in ownership.

I was and still am a fan of Ruzicka. In the Top 6, I feel that he could play at either wing. In the Bottom 6, he's probably best used at centre. But, he needs to play and I don't know what Sutter's issue is with him.

I'm getting the feeling that if Sutter stays, the Flames will be picking in the Top 10 of the 2024 draft. Next season, there will be 6 forwards and 4 defensemen that will be on the last year of their contracts, they might play their butts off. The rest of the team, especially those on long term contracts, may just tune Sutter out and wait for the next coach.

I don't expect the Flames to make the play-offs this season. For the first time since they came to Calgary, I'm actually hoping they lose as many of the last 9 games as possible. It's way too late to tank, but they can certainly improve their draft position.

I have hope for next season. The Flames should at least make the play-offs. Both goalies will be better, especially Markstrom. I just can't envision him being this bad again next year. The team will be better at finishing. They have hit around 79 posts or crossbars (tops in the league?), that's not going to happen again. Kadri, Backlund, and especially Magiapane are all below their career averages in shooting %, I expect that to correct itself. Dube looks to be steadily trending upward. Huberdeau, Kadri, and Weegar will have had more time to adjust to their new team and systems. Pelletier, Ruzicka, and Duehr will have had more experience. Phillips, Zary, Pettersen, and Wolf will push for a spot on the team. Coronato may sign. Hopefully, Kylington will be back. Finally: Lucic, Lewis, Ritchie, and Stone should be gone off into the sunset.

I don't understand why Lucic and Lewis can't both sit out the same game. Has it ever happened this season? I would have tried Pelletier - Ruzicka - Deuhr for the 4th line.

I'll admit that I have only looked at online scouting reports and mock drafts, so these are my wild guesses based on the Flames picking between 10th & 20th. C - Brayden Yager, Calum Ritchie LW - Colby Barlow, Andrew Cristall RW - Most of the top rated are "undersized" - Gabriel Perreault, Ethan Gauthier D - Axel SandinPellikka, David Reinbacher G- No one that I'd pick in the 10-20 spot, but maybe in the 2nd round - Michael Hrabal, Carson Bjarnason

Fishing season opens in May.