travel_dude
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Everything posted by travel_dude
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I don;t know his value in other GM's eyes. I don;t think we should make a sideways deal for Brodie. It has to address the top 6. Personally, I think that Kulak could step into the top 4. Not sure if he fits Hammy, but it's an option. Valimaki could be top 4 already, but I have my doubts. So young. Big ask. Kylington is interesting, since he's supposedly improved his defense. Still really young, but he's a great skater.
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The thing about trades is that it's as much about changing the complexion of the team. Brodie has become too predictable on offence. Skate in, skate behind the net, pass to nobody. Stone is just plain bad, so I don;t even care what we would get in return. Frolik is underrated, but I don;t know if you can keep him and Backlund together and retool it into a top shutdown line. He also hasn;t been the same player this year. Bennett? Where does he fit now and where is any of that potential? I've got no issue with Ferland. He has consistency issues, and he may be injured, but I wouldn't consider him part of the core. No point in trading him, but not exactly sure where he fits.
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I think that if you subtract Brodie and Stone from the available options, you have a much clearer picture. We can only afford 3 guys making big dollars, not 5. Bigger needs elsewhere on the team. Gio-Hamonic ??-Hamilton Kulak-?? Pick the rest from our available prospects and farm hands. Kylington, Andersson, Wotherspoon, Fox, Valimaki. Set up the 2nd and 3rd pairs according to how well they play as a unit. Dougie needs a defensive player that can skate. Kulak needs a player with great vision. The 7th guy needs to be able to sit for games at a time and step into the mix.
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Smith has been activated off IR. Gillies assigned to Stockton.
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The odds of a Flames pick being more than top 10 are pretty low. I'm not really that concerned over using a 1st for Hamonic. He's better IMHO than the sum of him and Brodie. Truly believe he will be that much better next season.
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We only have to look north to see what a bad GM can do. Or look at Washington. Ruining two teams. BT made a move to get a good D-man after he had a bad season. Gave up draft picks. HE put the players in the hands of a coach he thought could do the job. The Brouwer signing is about the worst move he made. Stewart was free. Shore was an underpay. Neither is going to be difference makes. So what. The prices paid for players was insane. I'm glad we "lost out" on the Kane deal. Tartar was way overpriced. Nash? Give me a break. McDonagh? High price paid. Statsny was a player I have wanted, but that price included something we didn't have. Dumb trade by STL. My biggest complaint about BT is that he was only able to call up players that would not get a chance to play. Was there more he could do? Probably call GG into his office and lay down the law. You do that and you can't blame the coach for a loss. But whatever. The coach will get the axe this summer and it may be justified.
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It's nice that we are seeing the same type of goaltending from the farm guys in the NHL as we did last two seasons in the AHL. One goes on a run and then the other comes in and goes on a run. Gillies was the real starter in Stockton, but had Rittich posting better numbers in less starts. Good that they are getting wins in the NHL. No need to pick up a backup. Run with what you have. These guys are both showing NHL potential. Gillies has had the easier starts, but Rittich only really had two bad games of all his starts. And those weren't just on him.
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Gives them roster options. Not good, but not desperate. Go with guys that are winning or go with a new guy that could wash out quickly due to the change in teams?
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3 years full NTC, 3 modified. If you really want to trade the guy, he won;t get in the way 90% of the time. The three years with the full NTC will be his best years for this team anyway.
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Smith is probably a week out at the earliest. I would be going Rittich (BOS), Rittich (NASH), Gillies (FLA), Rittich (BOS). Then Rittich (VGK - B2B 1), Gillies (ARI - B2B 2). My thinking is you need a big blocking goalie for FLA and ARI. BOS and NASH need one that can move a lot.
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I think everyone knew this was inevitable. Except the coach and goalie coach. Sure, we have to get to the playoffs, but it's not like Rittich hasn't been reliable. He's done everything and more that you expect of a backup. Gully said that Rittich was due to start in BOS. Sure, Mack, sure. He had more chances to start him, like during a losing streak. Instead, Smith gets the start every game except the EDM game. Gets the start in Vegas. Heartbreaker. Back to Smith against the Bolts. Meltdown. Left in for 6 goals. Back to Smith the next game. I agree with starting him after the Bolts game because you knew he was coming back to avenge it. I don;t agree that playing him in 5/6 games (losses) was the smart move. And I don't agree that you overplay your starter when your backup is playing that good.
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If they rule Smith fit to play, they can still convert Gillies to a regular recall and not dress Smith. Only 22 bodies, plus the emergency recall.
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Haven;t had the injury myself, but when I have stretched it, it wasn't the kind of thing that made you grab your pills like you were shot. I'm no expert, but it seemed like the kind of reaction you have when you get your bells rung.
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Smith seen walking out of the dressing room without a limp. No sense guess on a timetable at this point.
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I agree to a certain extend on running them into the ground, but last year was not that case for total starts. IT was that way because CJ fell off the map. This year needs to be more than just making the playoffs. I understand we are not there yet, but we are also losing games with Smith in nets. Not because it's his fault. It a combo of things like lwetting certain things get through because he's there, letting him play the puck because he can, and stifling offense to protect a 1 goal lead.
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Smith has been better than anyone here ever imagined. We also have a backup that can win games. The problem I have is the two styles of goalies we have causes the team to play differently in front. Rittich rarely passes clears the puck out of the zone, and relies on the defense for that. As a result, the defense has to start the play out of the zone. The passes tend to be shorter and more controlled. With Smith in nets, the team tends to wait for him to clear the puck. That can mean a pass to the forwards (good), wring along the boards, or a more risky play with the puck away from the net. He gets burned more from the latter two. A wring along the boards is picked off at around 50% of the time. A deft pass in front of the net to a D-man can lead to the D-man mishandling it or getting picked off. That's all well and good, but the D-men also tend to defer to Smith. Last night was not the only case of a player passing it back towards the goalie. Whether you blame Frolik, Brodie or Smith for the goal, it really looked like Frolik was making a pass to Brodie and Brodie decided to let it go to Smith. Neither Brodie nor Frolik seemed to see the Knight forward streaking to the net. You never want to tell a goalie to change when he is your MVP, but there is some slight tweaks he could do that would increase his SA% and reduce his GAA. His greatest asset is the ability to stop the shoot in along the boards. Don't want to see him change that part at all.
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The Official Calgary Flames "New Arena" thread
travel_dude replied to DirtyDeeds's topic in Flames Talk
I suspect that decision may be up in the air with the CBA being negotiated. The other thing is that this Olympics was meant to be threat to get the IOC to cave next time. -
The Official Calgary Flames "New Arena" thread
travel_dude replied to DirtyDeeds's topic in Flames Talk
I think that Nenshi has said he wanted partner with EDM for some of the ice events. It would be embarrasing to use the Dome for another Olympics. Besides, Nenshi's redevelopment plan includes a new arena and bulldozing the Dome. Just need to find some sports team to fund it. -
Considering the money invested in both these guys, I suspect the team flew them by private jet. Personally, I think it's a coin toss who should play. Rittich plays fast team quite well. Smith had to face 3v3 play against the best from the East. At the very least I would start Rittich in both CHI, if he wins the first one. Then start him against NYR on the 2nd night of a B2B.
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Stockton Heat Updates [2016-2017]
travel_dude replied to travel_dude's topic in Calgary Wranglers and Flames Prospects
Lomberg has been recalled by the Flames. In EDM with the team. -
Ask Johnny about how hard they play for their share of a million. I hated the old format, but love to watch the 3v3 games. Any type of "practice" game that uses the 3v3 format is great for Johnny. We need those wins in OT.
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I think this actually helps a goalie. He stay in practice. It's not going to be a rough game, just a lot of shots. He will play one 15 minute period. Johnny probably could use the rest, but I think I prefer that he works on his game in a no-hit environment.
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JJ, there is no right time to talk about looking for prospects. BT and the crew look at them all year long. Rittich was a surprise to us, but obviously wasn't a spur of the moment thing. Heavily scouted. Nothing wrong with scouting new ones. The only issue is that we still have 2 goalies that aren;t in the AHL that the team made a commitment to. They are watching all of them to see if they are worth investing in. Hard to say if they will keep Schneider and MacDonald, but they could turn around their games. To a certain extent, I think we watch a goalie and project ro be a NHL goalie, but the style he plays may not get him there. Hopefully the Flames are using more than just our current goalie coach when looking at FA's and upcoming drafties.
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Parson is in the AHL. I would say he isn;t our only hope. Gillies is becoming more consistent. Rittich is turning heads.
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My risk/reward was more centered around the use of a draft pick. Rittich is proof that you can find gems elsewhere in the world and all it costs is a pick. I would give up MacDonald's contract for a goalie with a reasonable chance of becomming a decent goalie. Since we are not the only team looking overseas, I would assume it would have to be an ELC to get him here. A PTO likely wouldn't do it. As I said earlier, I would like to hear a bit about his scouting reports first, though. Just looking at the WJC by itself isn't quite enough.
