travel_dude

Rules since then have changed. There used to be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd lotto. That year the finish before lotto was 1) TOR 2) EDM 3) VAN 4) CBJ 5) CGY 6) WPG 7) ARI WPG jumped to 2nd, CBJ jumped to 3rd and TOR won 1st, but didn't change order. When NY got 1st overall, they jumped from 14th overall to 1st. They changed it last year to only jumping a max of 10 spots.

If we squeak into the playoffs (and lose round 1) or miss by a point, there isn't a lot of difference in the draft number we get. We just lose out on a small chance (1.5% or something) of moving up 10 spots. 16 gets you a small chance at 6th overall. 17th is close to 16th. As far as next year's pick, it depends. MTL only can get it if it's 20th to 32nd. And they don't have to. Otherwise they get the 2025 pick (best between FLA and our own). Confusing, but we traded a conditional 2025 1st to MTL.

I would suggest that the more likely thing is he plays, we lose, then he sits. This season is a lost cause, no matter how technically we haven't been eliminated is. I really don't care who plays at this point. Figure out what in direction the team is heading. From season finish to garbage day interview to GM decisions to draft to camp. What are we trying to build?

There are a handful of undrafted NCAA players that may have played their last games. I haven't bothered going through the list to see who is still in play and who still have the finals remaining. I leave that to the experts. I see what you did there with Wolf. Good one.

I would have liked to see them sign a F or D from the undrafted bunch.

Okay, so Gaudreau was 21g, 23a in 44 games in his frosh year. Coronato was 18g, 18a in 34 games. My point was in response to JJ, who said Coronato was nothing special.

Zary and Pelletier say hi. A better statement would have been "Flames love to showcase their top 10 picks rather than develop them". Most if not all teams do, especially top 5. Some of the players choose to go to college for a year instead of NHL right out of the draft. Or they stay in Europe for many reasons, contract or otherwise. Difficult to compare F in the NCAA. Gaudreau was nothing special in his first two NCAA years.

The sooner we move on from the previous 19, the better. Call me crazy, but I would put him with Huberdeau and Backlund or on a 4th line of Pelletier-Ruzicka-Coronato. Either way, Ritchie should come out. He's a top 6 waste. We are basically one WPG win and a CGY loss away from being eliminated. Only 2 games this week, with VAN allowing the most time to get up to speed. Maybe a setup like this would be good: Huberdeau-Lindholm-Toffoli Pelletier-Kadri-Coronato Mangiapane-Backlund-Dube Coleman-Ruzicka-Duehr If we hope to make the playoffs, we have to be surgical. Tuesday against LA could be the end of the season, but should at least do something.

...best because of Duehr. That says something, like why is one of the best player on the ice in games relegated to the 4th line? Meanwhile, Kadri gets Ritchie. Or Huberdeau gets non-finishers like Coleman and Backlund. It's one thing to move around deck chairs, totally another to keep the newer ones in the wrapper and use the ones missing a leg or the seat cushion torn. One chair is too small, since only 6'4" people sit in them. Dumb analogy on my part, but I'm just suggesting that you see moments of bliallance when you have some guys together. We just don't see them there for long. Best passer and top scorers not playing together suggests something missing in line evaluation. Overuse of the 4th line when it;s really just one player that is moving the pace. Lucic sits for a game or two. When he comes back we win one lose one. He must be the reason for the win and not the reason for the losses. (sarcasm) This isn't a winning formula for a NHL team. The game has changed too much to play at a slow speed. A 4th line these days does not include slow players. It's normally an energy line.

The disconnect comes from having a team that exceeded expectations based on the style of play. Substitute a few pieces and we don't have the roster that fits, becuase it never really did. The goalie was overplayed until he was the only option for the playoffs. A 9-6 win should have set warning bells off. The scoring was wide open, but the goalie sucked. No change except to tighten up the offense. No backup started because the backup was not in the plan. This year we see more tight leash on play. Didn't like the 5-1 start. Tighten up and change things around. I wonder what would have been the result of having Huberdeau with Lindholm all year. Or Ruzicka in the lineup. Or actuually using Valimaki. Will never know. Those things decided in camp.

If he signs an ATC, can he play in the AHL playoffs? I didn't think he could. With that in mind, what is the point. The team needs to focus on the playoff prep. The other option is to just sign for next year and get ready for it. TBH, I have no idea of his NHL readiness. A limited start in a NHL game might have some merit. Helps him see the speed. If he's okay, play him a bit longer or start him in the next game.

I think when the coach takes the responsibility, it insulates the players. It's not his fault always and sometimes not at all, but it shows character. But, the point is it's never his fault is it. Maybe just maybe, if he makes other decisions, we have a different result. You are being foolish if you think no other coach gets this much out of the players. It's not an absolute either way. Most coaches see when the goalie is fighting it and make the change while there is time. Most coaches recognize that a player plays better on the strong side. The comment that it doesn't matter which side you play is stupid. If that's the case, why not play Lucic or Pelletier on RW? Nop, took him 40 something games to figure it out. Started on LW but got moved to RW. Then finally back to LW. Gopaltending has been a problem all year, except for stretches. Vladar's run of 12 games. Markstrom when he was letting in 2 or less, yet we weren't scoring. That's more than a few games. He appears to not be the right coach right now. I don't see how a few prospects make a difference. He's shown what he thinks of them. The 4th line has to grind and hit. Need size. Have to play whatever role is defined.

Players are given roles. Sutter defines that role, sometimes the player has input. There's 20 players out there, not one guy that has a biad shift that creates the losses. Public opinion seems to be that the coach is the problem or the goalies are the problem. I haven't heard too many call out Kadri. The coach is brilliant, he would prefer to take the loss just to sit a player he felt dogged a shift. Even in OT, it's obvious that Sutter coach to not lose, not to win. How many times times he start Tanev and Backlund in OT. Really. The players step up and take responsibility. Ever seen the coach say anything like he shouldn't have started so and so or made a bad decision on lines? Neither have I. I am really not sure if the coach defines the game prior to the start, but he does review the teams he's going to coach against. If they are facing a goalie that's feeling it, one might think he would tell them not to shoot from every angle. We need traffic in front, take the shots from the point. Whatever. The players are what fans come to see. Not boring 2-1 hockey, especially losses. The NHL is a fast game now, so you are only going to win so many at half speed.

Well a win against the Sharks is impressive, but not exactly surprising. The Sharks have not been a good team all year. The good thing is the Jets and Preds both lost in regulation, so yeaa? It's so funny. We get 4 back of the Jets and somehow we seem to still be in it. Today was the most uninspired win I have seen. Like they were chasing the WC spot? Nope, not even close. They won in spite of the play. Maybe that's the secret. Not give a F.

So, with Duehr rolling, Kadri replaces Lewis. Smart. Lucic kept with them? Priceless. Price less? Priced less?

Garbage lines, garbage results. Have seen little with Mange playing on the top line. Hubie sets up a nice goal, but that was on the top line for part of a shift. Kadri with Ritchie, who is really just a more expensive version of his brother. Backlund and Coleman play defensive hockey, not meant to be the offense. Duehr the shining star of his line.

Fans don't exactly seem to care.

No defense game. 3-3 already. Maybe pull the goalie and we have a chance.

So much for the big lead. Yikes.

We still are leading this game. LOL. Oh, you mean the season. No such luck. WPG sucking fumes today. NAS lost big time to SEA. Unfortunately, the bandaid is still attached at one end. Won't come off and is really getting sticky. Other than the score, we are losing the game from the 10 minute game onward.

Oh my. Collapse or what.

Funny how half a shift with Huberdeau results in a goal. Pretty passing play.

Fast start. Weegar and Toffoli with actual goal scorer goals.

Thnaks Deeds. Perhaps you have better luck than me. Well thought out, and I do like the Boston albums.

Well, you are not likely to sell either player. Impossible trade and I can't recall any like that where you have max term and high dollars. I don't even buy that they want the coach gone, but I do think they have opinions about play that are being ignored. Mange is a sell low value. Weegar is fine, in fact one of the better ones here. Zaddy is about what you expect for a 3rd pairing. I like his skating, which he doesn't use enough. Sorry, but Sutter HAD systems that work. I'm not sure how much credit he deserved for last year, since the same goalies let in more this year. If you need 10 shutouts a year to be on pace to get into the playoffs and get a high seed, then you will be disappointed almost every time. Is possession hockey a good thing? Why not, if it keeps the puck out of your net. High volume shooting? Sure, if you want to give up possession and take shots from everywhere. Firing one coach doesn't fix enough. PP still sucks. Defense maybe needs an overhaul, not just the players? Goalies need help or replacement. Too many guys that just move the puck around.