travel_dude

Lines as soon as I post topic.

I do think we are just relaying the frustration of a not well coached team. Yes, we have some roster problems, but made worse by coaching.

I hope he plays to the NCAA Championship. I don't like the idea of his being exposed to this team right now. Then again, better than trying to prove himself in a couple of pre-season games with everyone but vets.

No, I was actually talking about the Dallas game. The weak pass at the blueline which (IIRC) resulted in a goal. That's why he didn't play any OT.

It's easier to be a coach of the year, when the top 3 has been clicking since they came together. Monahan used to be the 3rd of the top unit. Replacing him with Tkachuk wasn't genious, it was the reality of losing Monahan to injuries. Sutter villified the roster by calling them less skilled. Changed the game to be more greasy goals and shot volume. Hit the net and fight for rebounds. The 3 feet in front of the crease. Take away a passer like Gaudreau and replace him with anyone but Huberdeau. Replace Tkachuk with more of a sniper. It is any wonder the team looks as bad as it does?

I think there is zero chance we move on from Lindholm. He may ask for a trade, but I would only expect that if we are heading down the Sutter gritty team, collect all the former cup winners from a decade ago. He saw the team go from two top 6 wingers to a top 6 winger that wouldn't play with him and a 2C that replaced nothing lost. There were things we could have done to improve the team this past summer, but Lucic kinda put the boots to that. Being forced to trade Monahan instead, set us back. AT the least, he could have been a middle 6 player and we still get Kadri. Just that is an improvement over doing nothing else. Trade both Lucic and Monahan, and you have almost an extra $6M available to improve the team. Hold off untill Monahan is shown to perform, and he isn't giving away a 1st. I think the most logical thing would have been to convince Lucic to retire. Offer him a job that allows him to save his dignity. He hasn't this year otherwise. Everyone knew that was the outcome.

That's pretty bad. Dube would have gone after Schenn. And he would just have been the closest guy, not the only one. Whatever happened to team toughness for the Jets. Or even all for one.

We are stuck with Kadri. It's the way it is. Perhaps under another coach or style, he looks more like his career year. Regarding shots, I think we have a select few that can fire a shot in one motion, but that list is small. Do that all the time is an even smaller list. I do think that some of it comes from sub-par passing, but another reason is a sign that a team doesn't have confidence. Mangiapane used to be lethal, but is double clutching almost every time. When he does get the shot, it's in the breadbasket.

Well that's part of the problem for right now too. No real depth at C. I hate having to look at UFA's for it, but unless we are willing to trade 1st rounders or valuable D-men or overpay in FA, there's not a lot of choices moving forward. Maybe an OS which has long term issues to the signing team. Besides, I'm not sure we have the picks to be able to do an OS that a team just wouldn't match. I think this was a wasted year. Should have gone full time with Ruzicka. It's not like we were losing because he was in the lineup. Really needed to see if he was long term a top 6 player, and a C at that. There was zero chance for him to be a top 9C this year. Even when things were not going right, the idea of moving Backs or Kadri to 4C was a no-no. What's the point when you have Ritchie's, Lewis' and Lucic's in the lineup. I think it's key to re-sign Lindholm. Might have to deal with the cap at a later point, but he needs to be signed.

So, kick our Duehr for Pelletier. Which is odd, since Duehr only played one shift with Kadri. Good old SN, wanting to showcase EDM on all channels. Against a basement team. Too funny. Not really.

What I take from this leads into trade discussions, so excuse me while I respond that way. My list of players going into next season is not 100% based on what we need to compete. I think that's not the right way to build from a losing season. You have to be surgical and strategic. Take emotion out of it. Save that for when we are sending off the player or their return on another team. Keeper list: Huberdeau - with the right players and time, he could be what he was in FLA Kadri - gotta figure out long term where he fits, since trading him this soon is crazy Ras - only reason to trade him is because you get crazy offer including a stud D Weegar - he looks now what I expected him to be Lindholm - depends on expectations for his new deal, but we have no other #1C waiting to play Dube - hard to match the work ethic and beard; only consider a crazy offer Toffoli - keep him but if we are out by TDL, consider the return seriously Kylington - one year, too soon to cut bait Trader list: Backlund - some nights I watch Backlund and think he's part of the solution, then other times he's part of the problem. Would tend to trade him because he may still have reasonable value out there. Unless he's willing to take a haircut, we really can't afford a new deal. Tanev - relative health may have impacted him, but has not looked as good. Maybe Kylington was the reason why they worked last year. Or maybe that's the only way the two look good, in which case it's a tough choice. Salary not killing us, but the injury time at key moments does. Hanifin - just time to move on. Don't hate the player. I just don't see him any more than a #4F. Too many swings in his game. Not a guy you count on every game. Markstrom or Wolf - one goalie on a bad season is enough. I don't know that we can count on Marky for a full season anymore. Then again, not sure if Vladar can handle 40 starts. Age wise, I would lean towards keeping him. A lot of this depends on Wolf being NHL ready. Gosh, if only they could call him up to play some NHL games. A real shame there is no method of doing that. SMH. Mangiapane - not built for the type of game he tries to play. His numbers have declined, but I don't know where he really fits now. Could be better on other lines, but again he is less rugged than Dube and more of a pest. Coleman - he's the kind of player you get when you are a contender, not building to be one in the future. The salary/term is the killer though. Undecided list: So, some things depend on what we are building. Zadorov - he's looked good. Don't know what we are building, but he's a decent skater. Average defensive instincts at times, but sometimes it feels he's trying to inject passion into the team. Might nee to revise the list a bit, but we need to remove some lower IQ or lower skating abilities.

Flames lines in LA this morning: Mangiapane Lindholm Toffoli Huberdeau Backlund Coleman Pelletier Kadri Dube Ritchie Ruzicka Lewis Markstrom in net. Sutter mentioned that some bodies had been sat to get "fresh" bodies in.

You can kinda pin the loss on breakdowns and poor goaltending, for this one game. The players understand that you may get the bench (or popcorn) if you make a mistake. That's probably fine and maybe justified. Accountability one game and not in others. Kadri made a costly turnover Saturday, so yeah I can see him losing minutes. But he was also called out in the presser. This team is too expensive to just roll it out next season. Considering the poor overall performance this year, something major needs to happen. Blames the GM if you like (not you Cross), but the coach is supposed to work with what he has. He had lots to work with and anything he needed would be provided. There is no success story this year. This is firing offense territory. Doesn't matter if some of the players were not showing up 100%. Maybe the bigger question is why not?

I think that burning a year is an incentive, but I don't see the value in him playing a single game this year. He won't be in NHL game shape in time to make any real difference. We are still playing vets that don't need to be in the lineup but that's a coaching decision. We really need to figure out what the identity of the team is before we start bringing in another guy. Do we even have the right coach for next year. Too many long term decisions made at camp. Shouldn't define the entire season.

Can't see the video. Maybe just me?

I see at least 4 losses coming. LA, Vegas, LA, WPG or NAS. Not to mention that we struggles against VAN some nights. That's just too many losses.

The guy was a NHL defenseman, much like Rooney was a NHL C. Sometimes you can't send them down and expect them to respond.

You take players that have grown up with a mindset to think the game faster. But then you play them in a methodical type system. Possession over pressure. Shot volume over quality of chances. Man on man vs zone. Dump and chase vs controlled entry. Some of these don't work together well. Shot volume means you fore it at the net, but give up possession. Dump and chase gives up possession. Honestly some games I don't even know which of these we are working from. Man on man and we have two D going after one man. Speed means the coach has to adapt. Slow the game down so they can get the right players out. Follow it up with the pluggers.

I know this game was typical of the other two we played the stars, but it does show we can score. 6-5, 5-4, 5-6. Were you entertained as opposed to the amount of dull games you have watched? Not extactly goalie fuels, but this is hockey. The lines aren't ideal, but better than most of February and March. One player gets the shaft after every game we lose, sometimes even when we win. Kadri and Pelletier are getting it, one deserved maybe for a game, the other not so much. Yet, we have seen players cause an important goal and nothing. Stubborness getting in the way of coaching. Win at all costs, but only at the expense of younger players. I can hear the wheels turning..... Lucic plays we win, he sits, we lose. Just give it a rest. We won't have Lewis or Lucic or Ritchie and possibly not Stetcher next season. Why waste anything on any of them. Stetcher, maybe. Ritchie, well okay you made a deal to get him for some reason. Toughness and scoring? But, we have players that will be "here" next season. Invest in them now. Not even a single game of Meloche and we went out to sign him.

Hathaway and Lomberg played the year we got dumped by COL. It wasn't a pleasant year, but we we scoring at least. Lombo got in 4 games and spent 17 minutes in the box. IIRC he was injured in one of the fights. Hathaway was a good player for the money, but who even knows if he wanted to sign. BP was the head coach and not exactly player friendly. We had zero control. But the bottom line is players look better out of this system. Bennett, Lombo, Hathaway. I think you are finally seeing what the top pair should have been from day 1. Weegar-Ras. Both can skate, both make smart plays. Both can score. Hanifin is starting to look like the odd man out; not exactly fitting with Tanev now. Since we are paying less than 10M for both Weegar and Hubey this season, I will reserve judgement.

Duehr dropped to 4th line after the first goal. Lewis inserted on Kadri's line. 4th line played all of 9 minutes. When they were out, they played fast and hard. Best 4th line in some time, but I am biased.

And the Flames best start to a season had Huberdeau with Toffoli and Lindholm. Toffoli 6 games 5 points Huberdeau 6 games 5 points Lindholm 6 games 2 goals

We had lousy coaching before Sutter and lousy coaching with Sutter. Backlund has been good on defending and transition, but playing him 22 minutes may not be the right idea. Are we trying not to lose or trying to win? Backlund almost half the entire OT.

I'm not about to blame the goalie but let's look at the stats. 2 goals against less than 2 minutes in. 3 goals on the first 10 shots. 1 goal against on the next 10 shots. 1 goal against on 4 shots in the 3rd. 1 goal against on 2 shots in OT.

Well, we were down 2-0 in the first 5 minutes, so the positive is we got a loser point.