cccsberg
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Posts posted by cccsberg
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Meanwhile, over in Colorado, Reto Berra is playing lights out with a 1.50 GAA and .953 save percentage. I was a little concerned when we traded him away even though he was outplayed by Ramo that year but everyone seemed to think a 2nd rounder was great compensation for him. Anybody still think that? Would our goalending woes be gone if we had kept Berra?
Or maybe he would have never developed in Calgary and our goaltending coaching is the problem. From what I've been reading all our goalies seem to have the same weakneses (caught out of position, taking bad angles, going down early and getting beat upstairs). Our goalies have proven to be better in years past (especially Hiller) but this year they've all regressed in the early going. Should Jordan Sigalet take some blame for that?
Meanwhile, in Colorado, they have Patrick Roy and Francois Allaire coaching and Reto Berra is playing great (and Varlamov has been great in the past but struggling this year).
Yes, agree. Berra is #1 Save % in the NHL at the current moment.
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With the way HIller/Ramo are playing right now I don't think either are tradable and certainly not for Bernier. I see no reason why the Leafs would give you Bernier who is signed for 2 more years for a pending UFA goalie playing worse then Bernier right now. I get you are saying "change of scenery" but it still makes no sense at all for the Leafs to do it.
Its not a huge problem IMO. Sent Ortio down and until Gilles is healthy run Poulin-Ortio at AHL level Hiller/Ramo at NHL level, Simpson to ECHL. Sounds like Gilles is going to miss close to a month so gives you time to work out a trade or worst case scenario you carry 3 goalies at the AHL level which i don't see as a problem given there really is no NHL future for Poulin.
From what I've read and heard I'm pretty sure we don't really know what we have in Poulin at this point, nor his potential to play effectively in the NHL.
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NOw it actually sounds like Gilles is going to miss "a while" accoring to Pascall so IMO thats what this move is about. Hiller still a week - 10 days away from returning so even when he comes back and you have the 3 goalies again you still need someone for the next week to 10 days plus the depth going foward so Poulin makes sense.
I do agree that how the Flames have managed their goaltending this year is very troubling and deserves to be questioned. I said it earlier in the season if Ortio isn't good enough to play for you right now, clearly he isn't, then I don't udnerstand why the club is so worried theyw ould lose him on waivers. I was never convinced he would be claimed on waivers anyway as I dont' think he has shown huge upside at the NHL level so I think when Hiller comes back it would make sense to send Ortio to the AHL and get him playing. I am assuming he will get at least one game this week so unless he slams the door keeping him in the NHL makes no sense to me.
YOu can't blame everything on goaltending but IMO goaltending is the number 1 issue I have on this team because in the 15 games they have played this seson I would estimate they have gotten "good" goaltending in maybe 4 of those games. Yes there are other issues plaguing this team for sure but I don't understand the argument of well we need to fix everything else and then the goalies wil be good. Playing mistake free hockey is not realistic and if you need to play mistake free hockey in order for you goalie to be considered good then you don't have a good goalie to begin with.
I tend to agree with the 4 good goalie games to date. Assuming Ortio gets the game in Washington (Friday), we can project he is either stellar and stays up, or terrible which makes it even more unlikely he gets claimed so its a win-win regarding goalie issues. With Poulin now in Stockton perhaps after a few games there he could be a call-up if everything is still meh at best here.
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Well we just acquired Kevin Poulin from TBL for Future Considerations. He has been assigned to Stockton. He was originally drafted by the NYI and claimed off waivers by TB. He is 25 years old and has played 50 games in the NHL.
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What's sad to me is that Ramo is currently the best of a bad bunch on the Flames.
IMO, Hiller (injured) is/was the closest to being an actual #1 NHL goalie, but he's not played like one for the Flames.
I have little faith in Orito's style of play and especially his durability (he has a long history of injuries).
He didn't play more than 9 professional games in a season until 2012/2013, when he played on 4 teams in 4 leagues (SM Iiiga, ECHL, AHL, & NHL).
Only 146 games over 7 seasons, he's just not experienced enough to play regularly in the NHL.
If not for the 5 games when he played well in the NHL last season (the 6th he got bombed), he probably would have started this season in Stockton.
Those same 5 games have made it risky to attempt passing him through waivers.
I think the Flames will be fortunate if he manages to top out as a NHL back-up.
That said, he's only 24, so there's still a few years yet to see what he can become.
Ortio carried the Adirondack team last year, was an AHL All-Star and was looking at play-offs there until he got injured. After which the team went in the tank and missed the play-offs. Although he started slow last year he more than made up for it and did great during his call-up. The game he lost was in Anaheim where the team hasn't won in like, many, many years.
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That's true.
Among the top 65 NHL goalies, Ramo's current stats are:
Wins - 2 = 47th
GA - 21 = 47th
GAA - 3.80 = 61st
SV% - .885 = 61st
2-3 more games like Thursday and he'll be moving up fast.
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More importantly, Ramo did not let in any stinkers. Sure 4 got past him but none were the type that made you say OMG. As far as the fluky goal goes to win the game, 100% of the shots you don’t make never go in, it’s never a bad idea to direct the puck at the net. Byfug got one like that against us a couple weeks ago, and you see other players trying it all the time. A very high percentage of all NHL goals could be considered fluky in some way or another.
Agree, you never know what's going to happen with the puck, bounces, rebounds, tiny holes in the goalie, etc. Even if its one of Backlund's muffins from the blue line, most of the time the goalie catches it and its an offensive zone face-off. Keep shooting.
Just wanted to express a bit of general dissapointment at the sweeping statements made here about Ortio.
As soon as he got any playing time at all, people were quick to proclaim that they never believed in him and proudly explain the reasons why.
Those of us who do have faith in our goaltending prospects also knew he would have a rocky start. Like any new goaltender who was thrown into the NHL cold. And, he's really done no worse than Ramo.
The organization still struggles with goaltender development. Unfortunate how many fans do too. Something to consider. ....strapping on pads in Canada does not make one unique. Or am expert judge of NHL goalie prospects after two games. Any actual expert will tell you two games means next to nothing.
Ortio has played pretty great overall for the chances he's had with the Flames. Think last year especially. I'm not down on him and believe he'll get more chances to earn his keep. Pretty much so far this season the team has been playing poorly, its hardly just the goalies...
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Nothing is working. Can someone please take the ball and run with it. Hint: that means win a game!
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The lines aren't really working right now. Frolik is a great 2-way player, but he is being "wasted" on a line with Backlund. Backlund belongs with other good 2-way players to snuff out offense. Guys like Jooris or Jones and Colborne work best. Frolik has offensive flair, and really should see time with the top line (on power plays) and Bennett's line (with Grant).
Jones or Jooris playing with Stajan and Raymond gives you some speed and scoring potential.
Ortio just need to make timely saves. We can score, as long as we aren't looking at mounting a comeback all the time.
I agree about Frolik, he needs to be on one of the top 2 lines. Backlund on a shut-down line would be better, even though he seems to be more dangerous offensively with Frolik.
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They said they have made the decision but haven't talked to the goalies yet, nor told us the decision. BH said we wouldn't be surprised so I'm taking that as Hiller starts and I have no clue about the other two... We'll know soon enough.
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I agree with some that Hiller is the calmest and the best goalie of the three at this time. However he lost his focus several times last year letting in early goals and twice again in the playoffs. I wold also agree that Ortio is more like Ramo so if you want a balance of styles Hiller probably stays and Ramo goes down or gets traded.
No matter what they do I think they will do OK.
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I really, really wish even now that this had happened last year, even though I don't expect many to agree. I think we would be going into this year with more solid goaltending, and maybe Connor McDavid too. Hiller was great, but he "enabled" the Flames to ignore their goaltender development obligations for yet another year.
This is wrong on so many levels. Wow. Look, addressing their goaltender development obligations is EXACTLY what the Flames did last year. They give primo games/minutes to all three of their developing goalies and all had great seasons. In addition, they addressed their TEAM development issues by bringing in a short-term solution for the Flames which helped the team as a whole make a huge leap forward last year. This year they continue that trend with Ortio and whichever of the vets they keep. Next year they can keep Ortio and either bring up Gillies if he's ready, or re-sign a vet for another year.
The only issue is resigning Ramo when it appeared they could trade Hiller to SJS but that fell apart with their trade with Boston. So now we have to choose one of the vets to send down/trade, so what? I'm not seeing that hurt us in any way whatsoever.
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Interesting comments from Elliot Frieman this morning about major trades and some GMs not even knowing that the player might be available. From his experience (with a couple anecdotes) the issue seems to be the ability to keep a potential trade quiet until completed and reluctance to shop players widely because some GMs can't keep it quiet which can lead to trouble if the deal isn't completed.
Although it is frustrating not hearing anything from the Flames about signings/trades until they are completed (e.g. Hamilton, Giordano), that exact thing along with BT's determination to talk to everyone is likely one of the main reasons why he seems to be successful. Friedman was relating that BB only found out about the Boston trade of Thornton 15 minutes before it was to be finalized and in spite of being very interested and making many players potentially available, it was too late and he lost out. Bet knowing what is potentially going down in the league was a high priority he reiterated with BT when he first came on board.
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Play-offs or not, the Calgary Flames have been very entertaining to watch for the last 1-1/2 seasons and Trevling has been one of the reasons for it.
He has helped gather players that buy into Hartley's "work hard, team first" attitude that has led to the major improvements we have seen lately.
In hindsight (always 20/20) his early contract signings were sub par, but he's been hitting it out of the park most times since then.
His early signings were subpar, but he was trying to reach the Cap Floor, and our defence was tenuous at best. I mean, come on. Neither Giordano nor Brodie had completely broken out at that point and fully established themselves, Smid was like our number 3 with Wideman our number 4 and little if anything beyond that. His problem was signing term to bad contracts rather than requiring to get a 1-2 year deal done and then reassessing. Plus, with Engelland he was buying D protection for Gaudreau who a lot of people were excited about but paranoid he would get creamed his first game out of the chute....
BT has been doing great since and my, how things have changed. And even as much as we want to complain about certain players, the team made the playoffs and won a round, their best finish since 1989 so perhaps even his early signings were great too, but we just don't realize it due to the parameters we are using as measuring sticks...?
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Personally I would love to see Giordano and Brodie stay together as well as Wideman and Russell, leaving Hamilton anchoring the 2nd pair with one of the youngsters making the jump to play with him. I believe Nakladal is likely the closest to ready, though I'd love to see Morrison who is also mature and may be ready too. Of course Wotherspoon has previously been touted as the next one in line but he needs to really step it up with big effort or he's going to get left behind quickly. This TC isn't do or die for him, but its getting close.
That would leave Engelland and Smid as extras with one getting traded or sent down where they could mentor the kids there, unless some team plucks them off waivers which wouldn't be a terrible thing assuming one of the prospects makes the jump.
Come TDL the Flames will have to make decisions on Wideman and Russell and if the kids are ready they can be moved. If not, kept on for another year or two till they are. In two years time or less, I'm expecting a huge battle between all the prospects for the potentially 4 available D spots and with Kylington and Andersson entering the mix by then, and Kulak, Culkin, Kanzig et al fully steeped with AHL training, it'll get very, very interesting to see who breaks through and perseveres.
On a different thread someone was projecting the Flames 2017-18 defence as:
Giordano-Brodie-Hamilton-Morrison-Andersson-Hickey, with Kylington others noted as the spare.
That's assuming 4 new guys make it, but also that Wideman, Russell, Smid, Engelland are gone and none of these guys make it: Wotherspoon, Culkin, Kulak, Nakladal, Kanzig, Bruce, Roy...
That's a big WOW! What a difference a year makes. There is tremendous competition and hopefully a few of these guys will really break through and force their way onto the team, or force BT to move some very good/promising D-men.
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I wouldn't say clearing roster spots for emerging prospects is a weakness. Something this organization has preached over the last year is not rushing prospects. There is no harm in developing players in the AHL. It is after all a development league.
Some would say, the NHL is not the ideal place to develop your players.
If we weren't in a rebuild, does anyone think monahan would have still played his rookie year the season he did? Or would he have played a year later?
I think a year later.
I think they did make room for prospects. They made room for Jooris when Jooris forced their hand. In the end Granlund wasn't fully developed. Ferland didn't look ready until the playoffs.
We have to ask, where do the prospects project career wise and should they develop on the third line if they're capable of it even though they project top6? Can the be regular contributors?
Well they have made some space, but not enough. We currently have 3-4 excess bodies with no spots available, and that's not including any more prospects graduating. The excess is including Ferland, Shore, Granlund and Ortio so I guess if you are of the view they are not ready then you would be fine with the current situation. I think they are, and Raymond, Bollig, Engelland( Nakladal coming in...) and Jones are being 'gifted' spots others deserve.
I guess we will see come TC, and whether Poirier, Wotherspoon and Hathaway, plus the aforementioned can force their way onto the team or not. From what we saw last year, not likely, barring massive numbers of LT injuries like last year which finally gave Jooris the chance he had already earned.
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This season's challenges will determine his true value. He has done things so far that few GM's are capable of, but trimming the roster and various expiring contracts are the big challenge now. 2015/16 is not a do-or-die season to eliminate the bad contracts, but finding a taker for Engelland and Raymond will be crucial next season. Buyout is the last resort, but at least those guys only will have one season remaining.
Trades: A- (Hamilton, Shore, Kylington, Reinhart, Bollig, Baertchi)
Home Run winner(s), Toughness, moved Redundant/Disgruntled pieces...
UFA signings: B+ (Hiller, Ramo, Morrison, Nakladal, Engelland, Setoguchi, Raymond, Diaz, Schlemko, Hathaway, Frolik)
Meeting Cap Floor, Toughness, Scoring, D Depth & Upgrading Possession. Underestimated Prospect Readiness.
RFA signings: B+ (Bouma, Jooris, Byron, Agostino, Van Brabant)
Solid signings at good Cap rates
Prospect Signings: A (Carroll, Kylington, Kanzig)
Advancing potential key prospects
Contract Extensions: A+ (Giordano, Backlund, TJ Brodie, Hamilton, Ortio)
Core pieces for LT at Under Market Value
Prospect Advancement: A- (Jooris, Ferland(?), Gaudreau, Bennett, Granlund, Shore, Ortio)
Clearing Roster Spots: C+ (Potter, McGratton, Setoguchi)
Limited movement, dramatically more REQUIRED.
Drafting: A (Bennett, McDonald, Smith, Hickey, Carroll, Andersson, Kylington, Mangiapane...)
Cap Management: B+
Resisted overpaying vets except for Engelland, has a definite visible pathway forward to sign key Core pieces in the next two years.
Overall I'd say BT has done an outstanding job his first full year on the job. The one area of "weakness" has been clearing roster spots for emerging prospects which also happens to be his current most pressing need. He has a plethora of options for the team at all positions but may be hindered by too many guys, and too many contracts. He currently needs to lose 2-3 contracts just for the status quo with limited prospect graduations, and even more should Hathaway, Poirier, Wotherspoon, Ortio and etc make a solid case for full-time NHL come Training Camp. If no trades are made prior to season opening, several vets likely to be Waived (and potentially lost for nothing), and you plug the Prospect Pipeline when several players are prepped and ready to emerge.
This was a foreseeable need last Summer and unfortunately Raymond and Setoguchi were added, though secondary scoring was an issue at the time and Jooris had not yet emerged. This Summer it has become Critical and definitely needs to be addressed asap.
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I believe we have an extremely good defense with our existing top 7. Not including the young ones knocking on the door. Assuming playoffs, this is the type of depth you want entering the playoffs. I see Russell signing an extension before TDL and then subtractions made on this grossly over spent position in the off season.
Gio
Hamilton
Brodie
Wideman
Russell
Smid
Engelland
Am I the only one who could be excited if we went into next season with the additions of Nakladal, Morrison. With the other D prospects we have such as Wotherspoon, Kulak, Culkin etc.
Personally I would love to see Giordano and Brodie stay together as well as Wideman and Russell, leaving Hamilton anchoring the 2nd pair with one of the youngsters making the jump to play with him. I believe Nakladal is likely the closest to ready, though I'd love to see Morrison who is also mature and may be ready too. Of course Wotherspoon has previously been touted as the next one in line but he needs to really step it up with big effort or he's going to get left behind quickly. This TC isn't do or die for him, but its getting close.
That would leave Engelland and Smid as extras with one getting traded or sent down where they could mentor the kids there, unless some team plucks them off waivers which wouldn't be a terrible thing assuming one of the prospects makes the jump.
Come TDL the Flames will have to make decisions on Wideman and Russell and if the kids are ready they can be moved. If not, kept on for another year or two till they are. In two years time or less, I'm expecting a huge battle between all the prospects for the potentially 4 available D spots and with Kylington and Andersson entering the mix by then, and Kulak, Culkin, Kanzig et al fully steeped with AHL training, it'll get very, very interesting to see who breaks through and perseveres.
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I personally think the Flames are out to lunch of the financing of this. In reality they are asking for around 2 billion of public financing, 500mil to 1 billion for the cleanup, 660mil for the building itself and around another billion or more for infrastructure upgrades. Now that big private money is involved I do not see the provincial or federal government get involved in the cleanup.
Notwithstanding your numbers on the clean-up are likely way, way out to lunch, the Flames aren't asking for money there as its going to be a public clean-up no matter what happens. Their proposal is a catalyst for the governments to get off their butts and get moving, before all the pollution enters the Bow River.
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Signings / Waivers:
2014
Mason Raymond - 3yrs @ 3.15 - F (This is now a problem contract / although perhaps defendable at the time it is now clearly an F contract mainly because of term.
Jonas Hiller - 2yrs @ 4.5 - B+ (Addressed emergency G situation and although a little high in costs / UFA market price)
Deryk Engelland - 3yrs @ 2.9 - F (Bad contract and signing - )
Devon Setoguchi - 1yr @ 1.75-Kris Russell - 2 years @ 2.6 million - B+
Joe Colburne - 2 yrs 1.275 - B
Joni Ortio - 2 yrs @ 600K - A
T.J Brodie - 5 yrs @ 4.65 - A+
Potter - 1 yr @ 700kDiaz - 1yr @ 750KDavid Schlemko (waivers) - A very good pick-up for free
( Coach Hartley to a multi-year deal )
2015
Mikael Backlund - 3 years @ 3.75 - B+ (Good term, good dollars and a solid player (only concern is injury history)
Michael Frolik - 5 years @ 4.3 - B (Little high in price and term but also this is what happens on the UFA market - fills hole on RW)
Dougie Hamilton - 6 years @ 5.75 - A+ (Could not be better - cost below all estimates and a top pairing player is locked up for term)
Karri Ramo - 1 year @ 3.8 A (Covers the G need for the next season - gets high grade because of 1 year term)
Lance Bouma - 3 years @ 2.2 C- (Overpay and too long of term / other options were available)
Josh Jooris - 1 year @ 975K - A - good term and cost
Paul Byron - 1 year @ 900K - A - good term and cost
It's funny how intertwined a GM is with players' future performance versus the realities of a situation at the time of a signing. Looking at Raymond as an example he was signed as a very fast 20 goal scorer who finally got his game back on track with the TML, and a local boy coming home. For what he offered not a bad deal at all at the time, especially considering the hole he was filling for the newly rebuilding Flames, also helping them get to the Cap floor. If rated then, probably a B rating as a signing. A year later, after he struggled with injuries and scoring with the Flames, and especially after getting passed by upcoming prospects who over-performed reasonable expectations, the signing looks bad and he looks excess but still 2 years remaining on the contract.
That's the nature of the game, and the fickle fans with short memories who only want to hear about the here and now. But strange non-the-less. As far as BT goes he's done really well so far. Now let's get Ferland and Giordano signed and a couple players moved out and then let's bring on the Young a Stars Tournamentin Penticton.....
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I have a hard time criticizing his moves at this point. The hindsight thing on his deals last year to reach the floor pretty much goes out the window when put in context.
3 years of Raymond I wasn't very fond of, but I wouldn't have taken Raymond period. But the cap floor and filling positions...
My only real criticism is likely hindsight also. If you aren't sure where the prospects are at, keep the deals to a max term of 2 yrs.
The 3 yr terms from last yr are in the way now, I believe. We're heading into camp with <2mil in cap after signing Ferland should no other moves be made.
Hiller: underrated signing. Finding consistency in net was a big boon for us last yr. It took 4.5, it worked imho.
Brodie: stellar signing. Brodie was in the midst of a great season, good term at very fair value.
Russell: it became a value signing due to Russell. This year will show more.
Ortio: low $$ for a 1-way in the 2nd yr. Crafty signing.
The rest of 2014: Again, circumstance was an issue.
2015
Backlund: This is a proper bridge deal. Fair value. Between confidence and IR, Backlund has an opportunity to give us a great return on a interim 2nd and solid 3C.
Hamilton: I believe this is as cheap as he could possibly come. Love the deal, love the term, love the NTC doesn't kick in until year 5. Another crafty signing.
Frolik: By Tre's own account, this was the sole FA target, no plan B. I think the $$$ are a bit high, but if you're the GM and think, "this player will really help us", you've likely weighed what needed weighing. I view it as a "wait and see" signing.
Ramo: 1 yr @ $3.8 when we can afford it. Glad we have the same tandem another yr.
Bouma: 3 at $2.2 is okay for OUR BEST bottom 6 winger, but he has to be that.
Jooris/Byron: Great utility(at worst) for under a mil each.
All in all, I'm really happy and see our GM puts in a ton of work crafting up some contracts that work for everyone.
Past his 1st year and getting to know what he has, I love his work.
Mixing in "show me" deals with Nakladl, Morrisson, Byron, Jooris is a plan I really like also.
I find it hard to be critical at this point.
Pretty much agree, every signing was well thought out and reasonable in context of the team needs and prospect knowledge at the time. Even with the current space crunch, a couple key trades and we're fine even with several prospects forcing their ways onto the team.
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a question about waivers...
I know Ortio has to clear waivers to be sent back down, but what happens, say, mid season we have an injury?
Does he have to clear waivers to come back up, and again when he's sent back down after said injury?
In the new CBA you only have to clear Waivers when you are sent down.
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There are plans for that bus barn to be moved. They're expanding the others across the city, and building a new one (though I forget where). If they could wing a deal for that, and the vacant lot there might well be enough space, but barely.
However, there are two problems:
1) its not close to significant transit until the SE LRT gets built though, and that's estimated 20 years away. And the bus-only right of way will only be built in 5-10. I think that limits the abiity to utilize that land.
2) The block of houses on the east side is already spoken for for the two tower Orchard condo development. So expanding across 11th Ave won't happen.
They could fit a hockey stadium, and parking there, but I can't see them doing the entire project for hockey, football and conference facility that many expect in that area. There simply isn't space.
If they could buy up the GSL lot and the old Bus depot, then they hae space for a mega project ike that, and I think that's probably the place we'll see.
There are two big problems with the McMahon area. 1) The land is actuay owned by the University of Calgary, buying that out would not be an easy process in any way. 2) Though there is good transit access (routes 41, 47, 20, the LRT, and the future 16th avenue LRT) the area is a horendous bottleneck for vehicular traffic. - Crowchild slows to a crawl at the best of times in the area, 16th is a morass bounded by the lights at banff trail and 29th ave, and Univeersity Drive cannot handle the volume.
I don't think that's a viable sight, even though I'd support that plan in theory.
Either the GSL/Bus Depot or McMahon would require massive infrastructure upgrades by the city to the road network to support the increased traffic. The diference, is the City has explicitly said they hve no plans to improve that section of Crowchild, while they have planned upgrades to the "West Village" area f Downtown for about 4-5 years now.
Long time, no news. Anyone got a further update? It seems like this is stretching out forever....
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I think the skating issues are overblown. Whenever I saw him (WHL level, mind you), he looked fine.I was using Kanzig only as an example of size, though. Saying that, it will be interesting to see him at the AHL level to see what he can do.
Agree that the times I saw Kanzig he was fine too. It will be good to get him in the AHL and directly under Flames control so he can specifically work on areas of need.
Next year I think we may have a player in Morrison, could have a player in Hickey, Kulkin or Kulak and should have a player in Wotherspoon.
Stockton Heat Updates [2016-2017]
in Calgary Wranglers and Flames Prospects
Posted
I agree that Hiller SHOULD agree and go down for a conditioning stint. Hopefully it happens.