travel_dude

For sure. Not gelling much. Passes that would be easy tap ins during the season. Obscure reffing at times. The first goal probably would have been called off in the NHL (if we scored it - Hello Coleman). It was a good rebound, but it basiically propelled Wolf into the net.

The only team that struggled against the Oils in the playoffs was us. Sutter refused to match against him. Having JH facing McD and Kane was stupid. Tkachuk spent too much time chirping Kane and not enough trying to win. Backlund was fine against McD. Other teams in the league know how to play him, but he also will double shift on 3rd or 4th lines. And even load up a line with Drai. I think we have a killer team and just need to figure out what we are doing with a 4th line. Lewis and Lucic are fine if you just want a heavy forecheck and beating up people. That line was not good in the playoffs. Need some other players so we could perhaps put a scorer down there.

Pelletier was awesome on the PK and a good distributor on our one PP chance. It was too early, before they got things going. Him and Smitty were the best on F, while I thought Poirier, Kuz and Sedoff good. Zary has good hands as well as MEP (Pettersson). Klapka is huge.

All wrapped up into youth, right? Very few have won it all with youth. It pays to have it in places, but not all 3. COL had a young D, mostly just one guy. STL had a young goalie. Tampa had a young G with many years in the league and a couple of young killers at F. Their best D was 28. The triple threat means nothing unless they are tops in the league. If you only believe that the D and G make a diference, we got better in the 1 spot. No other improvements on D or G. Having Vladar build trust wuth Sutter will allow him to be more stingy. It was't just Marky. But that really hurt.

When I said more rope, I was referring to the fact they already play the right way. So, he doesn't need to reel them in or get on them for fancy stuff. The snipe about young players is fine, except that times are changing...Again. What worked one year doesn't work every year. Tampa had a young goalie for two (special years) cups. STL one year. You don't need a young goalie to win, just a good to great goalie or one hitting his stride. Maybe do a better job of managing his starts. Or have players that can score in the first round of the playoffs so you don't run him down too fast.

I think the difference is those new players already play responsible hockey. Sutter is going to give them a lot more rope that Tkachuk and Gaudreau had. No flashy stuff, just honest hockey. I don't think we will see the fans out of their seats for individual plays like an amazing JG sequence as much. But I do think we will see Sutter hockey at its finest.

If he's serious, then Tkachuk finishes pretty darn good. His shot is deceptive. I don't like the between the legs stuff, but that works for him. Frustrating to watch when it doesn't. He was pretty much useless in the 2nd round for us. Messed up hand, but who's fault was that? FLA's gonna take a step back. But they will be an annoying team to play against. I will enjoy watching them play the Oilers. Kane vs Tkachuk and Bennett. Bennet hates the Oilers as much as Tkachuk does.

Lundell is a good player, but I don't think he makes Bennett better or even what he was last year. I don't know what to make of the top line right now. Tkachuk was good because he had JG to pass to and from. Most of MT's passes were to places he expected JG to get to. How many homerun passes ended up being icings as opposed to breakaways. 2-1 at least. JG had a knack of finding MT open. Tkachuk should still be close to a P/GP, but I don't think it's a given without him improving his vision on the ice.

D MacKenzie Weegar on negotiations on a contract extension: “We’re trying. We’re trying to get something done. Hopefully, we can get something done soon.”

Ask EDM how they use players on the PP. McD and Drai play almost every second of the PP. They use different 3rd and 4th players for part of the time but mostly they run one unit. I'm not sure what the best look is for PP units for us yet. Some players that are sneaky good out there - Kylington, Ras, Mange... Some are no big secrets - Hubie, Kadri, Lindholm and I expect Weegar.

According to TSN local guy, Tanev will be ready for camp in 9 days.

As much as I like making predictions, I think it's a bit early to even think about them. The individual points total really depend on the way the lines appear to be constructed coming out of camp into pre-season. Top 9 players consist of Hubie, Lindy, Mangiapane, Kadri, Toffoli, Backlund, Coleman, Dube, and possibly Pelletier and Ruzicka. Who is on the top line with Huberdeau? Most likely the C is Lindholm, but who is the other winger? That winger could easily get 40 goals. The 2nd scoring line makeup is important too. Without considering any additional impact signings or trades, or fit based on camp, I would project the following lines: Hubie-Lindy-Toffoli Mangiapane-Kadri-Dube Pelletier-Backlund-Coleman It might make some sense to swap Coleman and Dube, but that remains to be seen. Coleman is well used to playing with Backlund and faces the best that teams throw at the Flames. If there was an impact RW available in trade to pair up with Kadri, I would consider moving Dube down. That would likely bump Pelletier out of the lineup if Dube was still here. I do see Pelletier as a player that could thrive on a Backlund line, much like Mangiapane did.

It's a tough spot. If they sign him, they likely need to waive him. If he only wants to play in CGY, he would have trouble if he was waived and claimed.

He might make some sense as a replacement for some of the vets we lost on the farm. Lots of young guys this year. Sign him with the intent of playing him in the AHL only. No chance he gets claimed off waivers.

Perhaps Sutter was the reason why Johnny and Matty decided to move on. Not because he chewed them up, but because they knew more than him. Or thought they did. Two guys with so much talent and they couldn't take it to the next level. In other words, do the things you need to do to win. Ask Coleman what that means. I don't worry about Pelts, since he is exactly the kind of kid that gets it. He never seems satixfied with just getting to a spot, wants to do more. I don't think there is a ceiling for him, at least from him striving to be better. He might be the most under rated player from that draft. Here have some kool ade

Most GM's make mistakes by focusing on who won the cup and how they did it. Tampa lost their best player (arguably) for most of the playoffs while COL had one tough series against STL. The rest was a walk in the park. They had average goaltending and a great puckmover. And enough firepower on several lines to not have to worry if MacKinnon was scoring or not. What I am saying is you don't build a team just for the playoffs. You need to have two scoring lines to move on. Having Tkachuk worry about fighting a D-man or being the scrum master is what you do if you have a 2nd scoring line. We had Mangiapane, who only managed to score with Backlund playing his best hockey.So we had a great shutdown line that could transition plus a top line that had trouble getting scored on by the Oilers. We didn't expect Johnny to prevent goals. 3rd and 4th lines were meh. Almot zero scoring from them.

Strange, since his final two seasons there were injury free, and he played all of the playoffs. Prior to that yes. With us, he played full seasons and left due to a freak injury. It's always a concern, but the fact he played season on a much more physical team and didn't get injured regular season should say something about his durability.

Some of the ones that are already expensive will be crazy when they expire: McDavid Draisaitl Matthews Marner They will be renewing them when the cap starts going up, as well as the players being worth a ton. Marner is the one that is going to really hurt. Both Oilers and Leafs will need to pay through the nose.

Okay, so I have time for Valimaki to get back up to speed, but he can't really do that in the NHL. Not any real spots for him, even if he's #7. Waiving him has decent risk, even if you consider that most players make it through the season start waiver wire. There are teams that will wait, so as not to have to make a trade. So, the only way to get Valimaki the NHL reps is to trade Hanifin. Opens up the 7 spot. I have no doubt that he could get back on track if he shows up ready in camp and forces BT to keep him up.

I would "consider" Valimaki for Puljujarvi, but that's close to an overpay. He isn't even getting the offers of a 2nd now. I would actually be okay in sending a 2nd and a lesser prospect for Pooly.

The goalie depth is what you need. We had Parsons and Gillies and neither of them went anywhere. I would be against moving any of the G we have. We have a backup with starter potential. We have a top prospects. ANything other than that is worth very little. Makes no sense to move Vladar. Wolf is too early. Get him into a game when the time arises or against a lesser team early on or later

That a lot of topics. I believe I had reead that the Penticton games will be streamed on Flames site.

There may be some that are hard on Hanifin, but really it's more of a question of who you can afford in 2 years. Having Weegar kinda lessens the need to have Hanifin in the top 2. So, it comes down to Kylington and Zadorov, both have unique skill sets on this team. Dube is better on RW, and it's a matter of fit in the lineup. If he gets played on Backlund's line, can he be what Mange was last year? I don't know that he would be a great fit with Mange and Kadri or Kadri and Toffoli. Don't know is the operative thing. He's bopped around the lines a lot, so I'm not sure what he is. Had one good stretch just before the playoffs, then tailed off to nothing. If Hanifin gets us a top 6 winger or Dube gets us a defensive specialist or RW'er, then it's a question of whether we are better off.

I agree with both these statements. Hanifin is a risk to overpay in 2 years when we need cap for other major pieces. Re-signing Hanifin, deciding on Backlund, Tanev, Kylington, Toffoli, Zadorov, rtc. Rodriguez would be an okay addition to supplement wha we have in the bottom 6. But we maybe shouldn't go into the season with 5 x top 4 D. As nice it is to have depth there, we lack the top 6 depth at F.

I think you have to consider who played with who. Mange played on 2 way line on LW, but was most successful with Coleman on RW. Toffoli got non play drivers and it showed. A lot of his goals have been scored on the rush and that line rarely rushed. Puck carrier gets stopped at the blueline doesn't pass or it's a dump and chae. Dude has rarely been successful outside of RW. I think you ned to sep up lines with duos and trios. Hubie-Lindholm is a due that makes sense, probably need a finisher with them. Mange and Kadri sounds like a good choice. A strong RHS RW probably makes sense, since Mange is a finisher. Coleman and Backlund is a good idea. Need to find the 3rd.