travel_dude

Let the Tankathon begin.

There's always a first. We took years to win in ANA. Interesting to note, after a OTL we have one win all season. We have a bunch of losses and OTL's. That's not a positive thing, but interesting. Much like 20 losses when outshooting the other team by more than 10 shots.

For those that blame BT for this mess, use the BT thread. For those that blame the Lines, use the lineup thread. For those that blame the goalie, use the Goaltending thread. For those that blame the coach, feel free to use any thread; lineup, goaltending, Sutter Coaching threads. For those that blame the prospects, use the coaching thread. LOL

Flames Lines (can't update original post). Are you ready for this.... Mangiapane-Lindholm-Toffoli Huberdeau-Backlund-Coleman Lucic-Kadri-Lewis Ritchie-Ruzicka-Dube Scratches: Pelletier and Duehr Markstrom starts

Vegas Lines. Barbashev-Eichel-Marchessault Smith-Karlsson-Dorofeyev Howden-Stephenson-Amadio Cotter-Blueger-Kessel Martinez-Pietrangelo McNabb-Theodore Hague-Whitecloud Quick

Flames Lines. TBD

Players accept things up to a point. Success drives it home. If we were just a team that scored but had bad goaltending, then we probably just see frustration. Or a low scoring team with good goaltending. We are neither, so I'm not sure how much the tired plan is being accepted. Last year, the thing holding us back was goaltending, but not always. Some game no scoring. Maybe you are right, I just don't see it. Something is clearly not working and it's not just one line or two/three new players.

We have 2 game changers. Playing on different lines. One had the most assists in a season ever. And 35 goals to boot. Different system. We had average goaltending last season, but the usage and success have not followed. Vladar was on a huge run and got sat. Just because. When he made it back he was cold. We had depth scoring last year, but has not followed. Most 40+ goal scorers in the league. Previous years we had highs for numbers of 20+ goal scorers. What defines a stud D man. Points? Andersson tied with Hedman, but well below Karlsson. Which is the stud?

In those 11 games, what changes have been implemented? But to look at the player value you have to be consistent in the stats, not cherry pick them. Toffoli - 7 points in 11 games Kadri - 8 points in 11 Even with those points, I would be thinking that it's long overdue for major changes. Huberdeau played for 2 games on LW, but prior was 34 games on RW. Huberdeau-Kadri has not played tight together. Mangiapane looks stale or not able to convert. February showed something was wrong. The Philly, Vegas, COL and BOS losses should have been a signal that something was wrong. 7 games ago we were close to a playoff spot but didn't react. Now we are hanging on by a thread and need to win every game.

I hear ya. And it may extend all the way to the players. Pretty hard to get buy in when things are not working. I do wonder how much the new guys and younger guys respect Lucic and Lewis. Tough players and cup winners, but that time has passed and they lead to more chances against. Do you listen to a guy getting turnstiled about how to play the game? Yes, you appreciate when they step up and take on a tough guy. But, you don't give the room to George Laroque. We can fix the team personnel this summer, but we have to also have the right coach. No point in Huberdeau passing to low skill players or playing with a C that doesn't win faceoffs. No point in developing players just to sit them when we are losing. If there is a coaching change, it has to be a builder. One that can take a Vrana and get him back to being a scorer. One that knows when the game has passed certain players. One that builds chemistry not elevate individuals based on performance. I'm still waiting for that this year. Lindholm-Toffoli maybe our most consistent duo. The 3rd line plays really well together, but is just the shutdown line now. Huberdeau-Kadri has not worked at all. Some luck in some games depending on who they play with. And I will also suggest that coaching is the entire staff. Goaltending, PP, PK, defense, head coach. One of those at least should be good.

I doubt BT had much choice in Sutter. I believe the narrative was that he was given Sutter as the answer to being allowed to fire Wardo. If that's not true, then it falls on BT as to why he made the choice. I would question his ability to turn a contender into a near cup team. Could he take Tampa to another cup? Well, it's more like could Tampa win another cup in spite of him. Vegas? Not sure how he improves that team. BOS? Again, how do you improve them? I'm trying to think of a team that matches his style or would benefit from playing that style. Coaching choices come down to what type of team you want and the game you want. Sutter team in CGY was feared in the 2000's. Is that what they wanted to see? A place that was feared by the other teams? Well, we have that. A place where a team leaves with a major or minor injury to one player. Honestly, I'm not sure what type of game he preaches. Shot volume, low skill? Possession over high danger chances? Offense lead by the D? Greasy goals?

Name me one ex-Flames coach that has been kept as a NHL head coach. I blame BT for lack of a real search or perhaps lack of suitable candidates. Sutter last coached for LA in 2017. That was a losing season for them and not one without stars. Hartley, Gully, BP, Wardo all seem to be coaches that haven't been successful. BP didn't get CAR much success. Gully and Wardo were A/coaches elsewhere. Sutter had success almost a decade ago. I don't think a coaching change solves all the problems. There is a mix of players that don't work right. Some of them were obvious coach faves. Or those pushed by the owners? Lucic had a cheaper overall cost compared to Neal. Can't blame Neal on the coach then, but we were unable to get anything out of him. Poor choice and couldn't use him to any strengths he had.

At this point, does it even matter what Servalli says? We are talking about the coach here and not a missed trade of Gaudreau. We seem to be worse off with a0 the coach, and b) Gaudreau and Tkachuk gone. Possible that the coach resulted in them not wanting to be here. FS never mentioned that, so it can't be true. Both left for their reasons and we only here the spin. Fair to say that one person knew when they decided to move on. And their reasons, which will never really come out. I would like the GM and owners to do a post-mortem on the team and coach. Having players and a coach and having a team are two different things. I feel like half the team has given up. Some games, the play comes together, but how much is just hitting the right team at the right time?

Pretty bad when he can't talk to the trainers about it, and his fellow players make comments like "you know the food is free". Or someone telling him he needed to gain weight.

Why get a skating forward when you can get Nick Ritchie to come in to sit? I think one of the issues is the extra year of his contract. But we are in a situation where we need to only keep the best players. Trying out a guy for a couple of months makes sense and possibly trading him depending on the value.

Bwahahaha. I do agree with the Tkachuk sentiments. This had me thinking about what FlyerFan52 used to say about Tkachuks. All for themselves. And he wouldn't have been surprised that he wanted a trade.

Comments from Ruzie: “Honestly, it sucks, right?” Ruzicka said. “I can’t help the team, can’t do anything, so I’m honestly just trying to get in the lineup and help the team as much as I can” (from ‘Daniel Austin: Flames’ Adam Ruzicka waiting for another opportunity’, Calgary Sun 3/12/23).

Wrong coach. Have to be fully developed and capable of scoring goals. The only two prospects to play longer than a "tryout" are Pelletier and Duehr. One is a role player here, while the other should have been ready in October. The limited view in camp and the bias to vets that don't need to prove anything will prevent that. A selloff at TDL was very much deserved. So was a firing of the coach. Both groups should have expected being accountable for it. Players were waiting for the call from the GM. Instead the same approach used, like nothing happened. Post a loss, see the same. Clinging to the very things that proved you can't make it is the bigger problem. Imagine what the players think when they look at a player scratched but see ones that should be scratched playing. Or they hear a coach downplay a young player or make fun of a media guy for their opinions. I'm not saying the room is broken. I think the players all like one another. But I do think that they have opinions that they won't say out loud.

And what was the solution with Gaudreau. The owners wanted him here to the point that trading him would be a firing offense. No way he was being traded at TDL. No way did they want to trade him that summer (2021). That signals rebuild. The owners felt they could win the season with the way they finished under Sutter in 20/21. The owners and GM wanted him to re-sign. He wanted to re-sign until he didn't. The mistake made was not pitching the best possible offer when he was looking first. The cap issues would be in the future, not the current year. They were looking for a home. Nesting. The pressures of winning were not as obvious. Missed the playoffs that year.

It's difficult to know what was going on in his mind when he made that decision. Story makes it sound like his wife. But, this leaves out why she would have made the argument. She would be around every day after practice or games. Did it make him a sour or PO'd person? You may love your job and your boss, but if it affects your home life then maybe it's not good. I agree about Tkachuk 100%.

I think Sutter hockey has devolved into bring the pain. The lowest common denominator of unskilled bigger players; grit. We do it with clean and dirty hits. What goes around comes around. As such Sutter's team needs to be big and mean. That leaves out most of our prospects. We drafted for skill and compete because Gaudreau proved you don't need to be a knuckle dragger. No point in bringing up prospects to this coaching mess. Replace the coach or replace the prospects with ones that fit the game here. Replace the coach or replace the skilled players we have that can bring the pain, and not much else.

It's kinda like cheering against the Leafs and Oilers. Teams either gifted a great player through their own ineptitude or where every Canadian hockey player wants to go. The Rangers are the American version of the Leafs. Play in the spotlight of the center of the universe. The playoffs are fun because they show a fanbase that, no, you team is not a contender. Perpetual losing in the first round or getting swept is not a contender world. Getting to the 3rd round in the Pacific isn't exactly the hardest thing. Sweep Sweep.