cccsberg
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Posts posted by cccsberg
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There are a few names out there, and I wouldn't mind bringing in a couple of higher end youngsters or prospects almost ready to go. Myers, Larson, Gormley, Petry/Klefbom/other from Oilers? ...lots of potential opportunities but you'll have to give up something to get something. We have a plethora of prospect forwards and of course high draft picks(potentially, we should keep them...) so we'll have to see if BT can pull something off.The guy who's very intriguing and rumoured to be available is Tyler Myers. No doubt Buffalo is trying to create a bidding war and the price would be high, but I'm wondering what their price might be ? Buffalo pretty much needs everything so who knows if BB/BT could put together a package that would bring him over. IMO, Myers would really solidify Calgary's top 4 but he might need some work as he must be a bit fragile after the last few years in Buffalo.
I think after another month things will start to heat up trade-wise as teams start to see just where they sit and and what they may have to do to make the playoffs. Expect some action starting in the New Year.
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I think Calgary brought in Engelland as a tough deterrent on D, along with Bollig and keeping McGratton. They've been able to not play McGratton much, and sat Engelland last game in large part because I think the fears of our small forwards getting manhandled hasn't materialized to date. There has been some rough stuff, but not much.I was listening to Bob Mackenzie on a call with the 1040 radio here in Vancouver talking about the Flames defense prior to the season start and he said most teams in the NHL would love to have our D core. It was always our depth up front that wouldn't cut it in the NHL. Other question marks were the Flames goaltending, whether Hiller rebounding off a bad year and whether Ramo can continue his good end to last year.
I think we have a top 3 goaltending and now looking like a great top 3 top 4D in the league. The goaltending helps. The work ethic is there.
I thought we'd have a bad year again, but I am quite pleased with what I am seeing so far. Keep it up.
I don't think they should trade Wideman until a young player pushes him out. Even still, if you have Wideman on the 3rd D pairing and still gives you what he does now, that's an amazing top6.
Whether that's because of the intimidation/deterrent factor, the teams we've played or the rough stuff is becoming less and less common is not clear. Certainly Calgary hasn't played many/any of the really tough teams yet (OK, St Louis and Nashville) so we'll see once we hit LA and Anaheim.
If Calgary can meet the need to play tough and protect our assets through functional toughness that's the ideal situation, but we may always need a nuclear option, i.e. Carcillo with Chicago and Scott with San Jose. Getting Ferland on the team, plus Bollig playing well, adding Poirier and perhaps Hunter Smith and others (e.g. Wolf) down the road may be enough. If so then we'll be able to seriously look at moving out Smid and Engelland for better and more mobile D in the 5-6 role, and replace them with Wotherspoon, Sieloff or others.. We'll still need strength to clear the front of the net but Kanzig could be that guy down the road. He has improved but still needs to do more.
Overall, we are in a position to move out Wideman if we get something good back in return, and if not keep him for another year to help ease in the kids next year. I think someone like a Kulak could replace what he brings but isn't ready for full-time yet. Wotherspoon is more a solid, no-nonsense D and Sieloff tough as nails defender. Others to be determined.
Our biggest need long-term on D is to find someone to replace Gio in a few years. That potential hole remains and we'll have to see what develops but if we could find someone young with high upside that can potentially grow into that role we'd be a lot better off than where we are now...
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They are doing an amazing job, and I hope they can keep it up. The MSM is still set on this thinking that Calgary has little to no talent and they can't believe we're not in the basement. I noted 1 reporter yesterday conceding the talent is improving, but still... That's OK, doesn't hurt to go under the radar and be unappreciated. It can put a chip on the team's shoulder to prove them all wrong. We'll see how far that takes us.I say this dcore has earned the right to show us what they can sustain over the season, right now we have the highest producing top 4 in the league, not bad for a group that was written off before the season even started.
Agree, at some point we'll have to make similar decisions on several other players. Thing is to keep moving forward and balance off the risk/reward of a proven youngster versus a yet to be proven, but higher potential prospect.There are potentially better options available to us in trade (not necessarily as part of the Wideman trade). Myers, Larrson, Schenn, etc. But I agree, unless we pick up someone else I don't expect to see Wideman moved anywhere.
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Nice thing with Brodie is not only is he great on offence, but he also knows how to play defence. He had an excellent game, and I really like the SportsNet isolations and commentaries on players. Really reinforces good play.I still can't believe some people think Brodie is not a top 4 D in any team. There is no doubt in my mind he will make top 4 D in any team and top 2 D in weaker teams.
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Using both goalies has been a great plan so far. If they go with Hiller now for a few games till he stalls, then switch back to Ramo, win again. As long as there is a competition and they keep pushing each other, and are given fair chances, I think it'll work.This is not he first time hiller has had a stretch like this either. He's shown at times to be top tier and then he'll struggle, that's life in the NHL.
Flames do need to see what et gave in Ramo as well which is why I fully expect he'll get some games. Hiller is not a long term solution.
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Agree fully. Brodie is really stepping up big time. Strange this game, I hardly noticed Giordano out there. I guess just solid good plays but not too often up on the rush.Ive always thought brodie was underated, and this year hes proven it. 2nd in the nhl in points, +6 on the year, and has visibly been near lights out defensively. He's not the flashy and sexy #1 everyone wants, but he's likely in the top 25 in the league as well as a very capable first pairing dman, and he's only now reaching his ceiling!
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Agree completely. Let take the long-term view. Anything to upgrade the team should be done.Let me put it a different way.
- You have a car that is getting older, but seldom breaks down leaving you stranded.
- It gets OK MPG and is very fast.
- It's a 4x4 and there's lost of snow on the ground.
- Nobody is selling 4x4's.
- You can get a new car for the value you get on a trade-in.
- New car has a good warranty, better MPG and will last for 8-10 years.
Bad analogy I know, but the point is you sometimes make a deal while the market is there. You don't wait to TDL when everyone may have already solved their depth issues, or the market is flowded with tanker teams getting rid of everything possible. Cammi should have been shopped well before the TDL, but his injury eliminated that.
You claim it isn't broke. Look at the stats for the 3rd pairing, whether it's Diaz or Engelland. We can do a lot better than that. Smid is having another bad start to another bad year; I really though he could become a good shut-down D. Too much time being ruined by the Oilers. And we are one injury on D away from the basement. We can't replace Brodie or Gio with Wideman or Russell. We can't replace Russell or Wideman with Smit, Engelland or Diaz.
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Yeah, I'd bet that is right, although I think some moves should be made with the guys riding the pine. I think some of the prospects are better and would help the team even this year.We won't see Wideman, Glencross, or any of our vets traded unless it's in a hockey trade (vet for vet). Not until we are clearly out of the playoffs.
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I think this is less a situation of a goalie winning the number one spot. Someone will have to lose it if both keep playing well I think the rotation will and should stay.
Agreed as both have played well. No reason to change at this point.
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The player we want Engelland to be isn't redundant. But a physical bottom pairing D that lacks mobility is redundant. Regardless of the hand he shoots with.
I agree that options weren't there. But our bottom pairing is a liability.
Can't say that I've noticed enough to write him off at this point. I'll have to pay more attention.
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Agree. I believe the active competition keeps them both working hard and on their games. Should be the same for all players.I'm glad that Hartley and giving both goalies, especially Ramo, a fair shake and making them compete for the starter job. I was worried that Hiller, as good as he is playing too, would get the bulk of the starts without having to work for it. Glad to see the whole 'earned, never given' mantra being used in this aspect of the game.
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Screwball numbers to be sure, but it won't last for long. Would be nice to trade one of the later, sooner than later.Credit to Kent Wilson from Flamesnation for pointing this out.
Giordano/Brodie = $6.2M
Smid/Engelland = $6.4M
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Agree, lets play both and if they both shine thats a good problem to have.It's too early to declare either goalie as the bonafide #1. Both have had their good games and bad games. Just because Hiller has better numbers doesn't suggest he is inferior. After about 20 games, you should see more of a trend developing.
It's a good problem to have. We haven't been in this situation before. VAN had a year where their 1a/1b tending resulted in a NHL award. Even if we play a goalie for max 2 games at a time, it shouldn't hurt the team. Either goalie gives us a chance to win. The D, or lack of scoring, may prove to be the bigger issue.
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Hey, he's scoring, can move the puck and play serviceable D. Even at 5+ mm he's not out of line with some younger D. If a contender loses a D to injury he could be a great filler.I don't see any chance of any team trading up this draft. It's too deep. going by the experts who've been touting it for the last 2 years. If the Flames manage to snag Hanifin by pure compete, I won't be too sad.
Wideman as it sits wouldn't be worth anything at the draft table. He's a serviceable D-man, but any trade involving him would require Calgary getting beans back with his massive contract, or it would require taking on some of his payroll.
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Yes, no reason to change at this point. If it continues all season it'll be a good problem to have to figure out what to do going forward.I have to admit I was a little miffed when they signed Hiller, I thought Ramo earned his stripes with his play last year. I do admit though Hiller has proven solid and Ramo has picked up from last year. The Flames with two quality tenders...................about time. I would like to see them rotated throughout the season, keep them rested and healthy!!
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I agree with your assessment. What will be interesting to see if, and when BT is able/willing to pull the cord on some trades, sending out some of our performing vets for prospects and picks. I know as is we might push for a playoff spot, but over the longer term I think we'd be better making the 4-6 trades and bringing in a couple top prospect D and picks.There were questions all around for the Flames beginning in the summer. Who would step up on D? Who would score with Camalleri gone? Well the simple fact is that the team is scoring by committee. The Flames are currently scoring at an average of over 2.5 goals per game with being held to only 1 goal twice so far. As for the Flames defence, there are a couple of players really showing their worth. It is interesting that Russell is not getting much focus, even though he is currently a +6. Brodie is definitely stepping up and Wideman is playing well. Gio is Gio.
The Flames started fast last year, the same as this year, but then they ran into the injury wall to key players for extended periods with less depth than they have this year. Gio, Wideman, Cammy, Jones, Russell all went down with injuries along with others early on. Calgary has a solid 7th D in Diaz now who could fill in for injuries and a couple of prospects could hold their own now on call ups. Calgary didnt have anyone to really cover for the loss of Cammi. Huds carried the team virtually by himself. This year Colbourne has really gotten going, Johnny Hockey is showing Flashes, Jooris is on the score sheet, May Ray and the list goes on. Even with the once again injured Jones, his play seems to not be missed. There is now far more depth on the team to carry the load, even if some of that depth is simply another year of experience for some players.
If the Flames can continue this work ethic and chemistry while avoiding the key player injury bug, they could turn out to be a dark horse towards a playoff push. I don't consider them a cup contender, but they could actually compete for the playoffs. Whether people think that is good or not is a separate question.
Yes that trailing forward is working well. Agree we should be trying to offload Wideman while he is doing well.One thing I have noticed that has changed this year is the reduction of the dump and chase. There is more of the D carrying it into the O-zone. They also use the trailing forward to break the trap. It is so much better than the old Butter methods.
I have been critical of Wideman in the past, but he is living up to his reputation as a offensive D-man.
What I still agree with is selling while his value is high.
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Amazing that 4 of the top 7 scorers are defence.Or is it the offense? Many people have been crapping on the Flames D recently, fairly or unfairly. We’re only 9 games in, BUT 9 games is a significant chunk (11%) of the season and to the surprise of many, we have only lost 3 games thus far. We're getting tremendous goaltending, but Hartley has this team playing entertaining, exciting and winning hockey. So let’s talk about the D. What do you like? What do you dislike? Below is a snap shot of the top point producers thus far for the Flames.
Goaltending
in Flames Talk
Posted
Both our goalies are still above league average, I believe and have proven in the past to be able to play exceptional at times and steal games. I would have no problem going forward with either as our #1. Since Ramo is way younger, and cheaper and I think has better potential (he's still really young, for a goalie) I'd re-sign and go with him LT and look to make a trade of Hiller and bring in some assets at the TDL.
Having said that, its probably time to start a longer stretch of games with one goalie to let them get established and settle in...
Next year I believe Ortio can come in as backup with Gillies to the AHL, which would be a good progression for them all. Then let's see how they continue to develop, though we shouldn't have an issue for at least a couple of years.