travel_dude

Funny, but the thing we lost in Toffoli has been replaced by Sharky. We have no others that accurately can hit the net on a one-timer. Sharky seems like he never misses the target. Where Toffoli was a slower possession sniper, Sharky is a speedy possession sniper. He makes Huberdeau's slower plays more of a fast attack. As a stats reader, I wasn't so much concerned with the trade. I liked the target and my concern was the term given to a UFA. It seemed rushed to get him signed to a very short term contract. I get the risks, but 2 years amps it up a bit. "With the right center.....". Yup, that's one of our biggest issues. In the days of Monahan and Gaudreau, all Johnny had to do was pick the target and they would find the net. Somehow Lindholm has forgotten how to shoot. Well at least we have one sniper on the top line.

Dube and Oesterle in Kuz and Duehr out. After a win. It's a dads trip so I get it. Optics more important than performance. Saying that, Diehr wasn't exactly a standout. Kuz, I thought, had a good game with one shift caught out for a goal against. Two shots on net in his first shift.

My bad. I was looking at the daily cap and getting mixed up.

I can only ever think of one other player that got an extension to play in the AHL on conditioning. But it was not coming off Player Assistance. I suspect that him being ok'd to play is in essence him cleared from the program. As such, he follows normal conditioning rules. From the looks of the cap, he is already being included in the cap. So, there isn't any cap benefit for him to stay in the AHL.

Does the circumstances of him going to the AHL make it different than the standard CBA allowed stuff? I don't recall other players under a similar situation that have even gone to the AHL.

I would rank him above Zadorov. Kylington is harder on the other teams than Hanifin but doesn't hit like Z. He skates much better. He has offensive instincts and can gain the zone on skating like Z. He's a bit of an adventure sometimes, but I would say is less risky to get caught off guard and lose coverage completely. Z tended to go for a hit and get burned if he missed.

Pretty exciting to have him lace em up again. Here's to having a top 6 D-man potentially back on the big team soon. I probably overvalue his impact to this team, but we haven't seen him play close to a full season since the year we made the playoffs. He had same number of points as Hanifin that playoffs. I would like to see him paired with Kuz after he gets back, but you know that isn't happening. It will be with Desimone, Oesterle or Gilbert. By skill level and fit, he should be with Tanev, but the minutes and impact on other pairs makes that difficult. I might try: Hanifin-Ras Kylington-Weegar Kuz-Tanev The minutes get balanced out with special teams.

#Flames projected tonight vs. Ottawa: Huberdeau-Lindholm-Sharangovich Zary-Kadri-Pospisil Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman Greer-Ruzicka-Duehr Hanifin-Tanev Weegar-Andersson Kuznetsov-DeSimone Markstrom

It would seem that the coach has decided to sit Dube and Oesterle. Kuz recalled, so he may make his debut in Calgary. Kylington and Pelletier both still on LTIR but gearing up for return. We don't have the cap to activate both. Some trade is needed. EDIT - the last two statements aren't accurate. Kylington is currently included in the cap. Pelletier is not, since he is assigned to AHL.

I can count Dube's good games on one hand. He played himself to the 4th line, not the other way around. He's trusted when he does little to have earned it and then does nothing with the ice. As a C, he wins faceoffs, but you would never know. I think what they should try is Ruzicka with either Coronato or Pelletier. For now, sit Dube and play Coronato 4th line. When Pelletier is back, you have options. Would prefer not to throw him into the fire. RW on Ruzie's line with Greer on LW. We need him to be usable on either wing. Even though some suggest Dube is worth less than a 2nd, he's not earning a spot next year. He fits worse than Bennett did under Wardo/Sutter. No point in keeping him.

Our first 10 games was 2-7-1 or .250 win%. Part of the reason we are sitting at 39 in 39. But more to the point, the cutoff based on WC2 right now is 86 points. Non-WC teams like EDM and ARI have better points %, but only because fewer games played. As long as CGY is close to a playoff team, it won't matter to the vets who is traded how they play. They will play for playoffs with the same vigor. If we are well out and basically eliminated, then they might tail off and play to not get injured.

I tend to view it as the kids come in to replace them and somehow we are better. Also, the impact of the trade pieces can have a big impact. Sharky was coming off a lesser year where he played less minutes. He's now one of our top players and is basically tied with Toffoli in points. The lesser played players coming in can have rebound seasons. I hope that we don't just trade for picks. Byram and a pick for Lindholm makes us overall a better team. Mostly because preventing goals is our bigger issue than Lindholm's scoring. Hanifin for a 3C would work, if the guy was young. Tanev for picks would be okay or a pick plus a younger defensive D man not putting up points. The other option with Tanev is to pay him $5-6M for one season with no trade protection. Sell him next year. The trade climate would be possibly better.

I tend to think 7-22 range. Some days it seems like they will make the playoffs. Then the next game it looks like they will battle the Sharks for position.

Solo was given a minor shot here and they need him to work on some things. Kiz coming up is to see where he is as well. More in the defensive mold, so it makes some sense. I will be happier when we get a look at Poirier. Gilbert, Desimone and Oesterle are passable, but not really the future. Gilbert has surprised a bit, but he is a 3rd pairing guy at best. No issue. Oesterle is a bit of a waste of time. Doesn't seem capable of fixing his issues. Cheap depth, but not good cheap depth.

So what's the story with Toppi? I saw that he has stats with U20, but he's not on the Finn roster at WJC. I think I had read he was back with the team, but can't be sure.

So, we likely have to trade Hanifin. If Kyl can get back up to the level he played, then we won't miss Hanifin so much. But Tanev then needs to be kept. I think we are a defensive D-man short whether we keep or trade Hanifin. Offesnive guys, we have enough even if we trade Hanifin.

Oh, to be so wrong and still be near the top.

This year, not so much. I saw better last year. I think the issue for me is that he can't handle top line play. Could be as much Lindholm as him. He's dangerous as a 2nd attack wave or on the rush, but only if the others are on the same rush. When he does the curl back, he loses it. Too much the same as what Huberdeau does. Coleman and Backlund are N/S mostly, so they are better with a player that excels on the rush. Not that I think it would work, but I would like to see Rosie with Huberdeau and Sharky. That would be interesting, since both players can shoot in traffic.

I think there is no set salary for players. We may look and think a guys is overpaid by X, but really if he earns it, what is the issue? I have an issue with a guy making that much and playing like a 2M player. You ain't scoring, well you better be hitting or PK or 2 way or doing everything else.

^^^^ That's me watching the last 2 games. What sucky play against the Karken. LA was a study in how not to play a team that can score.

I think the problem is that Mange signed after a killer season. No real way to argue it, but we kept the term down at least. Besides, he was the stats darling, putting up great numbers with limited minutes. I don't think he fits with Lindholm and Kadri's line is better without him. That leaves 3rd and 4th line. Maybe he would work with Ruzicka, but that's a big drop to the 4th line and we don't have a top 6 replacement. This could have been the year for Coroanto, but he's not ready defensively. I think you have to trade Dube for a more expensive struggling player. You get the better upside for the bigger salary coming back.

Even though Huberdeau is pointless in December, the two most concerning players to me are Mangiapane and Dube. Their strong points have always been finishing. Both have okay defensive games, but neither is close to 100% on the PK. Mangiapane is doing Richard all on the PP. The 4th line looks good at times but gets owned in our zone. Or they get a decent chance and it comes back the other way in a big hurry. Mange is playing poorly enough to get 4th line treatment, but he at least can play on the 3rd line. Ruzicka has good shifts and meh ones. But he always has Dube with him, so it's hard to tell. He has played quite well in the top 9. Greer is a 4th line fixture and we need players like him. Duehr has speed. Figure it out. There hasn't been many games where I would say we have an optimal lineup. We have maybe had close to it, but it lasts just one game. Whatever they do when the practice starts changes it.

Scratching him is fine if you feel he has little value to the team. It showcases nothing though. Dube seems like they are showcasing him, even though he does nothing that well. Show that he can play any position other than the top line? I know the coach trusts him, but I'm not sure what he offers. Is the former WJC roster players on the do not trade list for now? Between Dube and Ruzicka, I don't see enough of an upgrade. Both play C and LW. Dube can play RW. One is effective on the PP, the other on the PK. Growth wise, I have seen little from Dube. He's played most of every season since he came to the NHL.

Huberdeau looks good at times, but his passes go to places the players vacate. There are only a few players that anticipate the play. Zary had good instincts but doesn't take the shot enough. Great chemistry with Kadri. Since only one or two lines ever seem to be going at once, there is no line exempt from changes. You could leave Kadri's alone, because they score. Doesn't matter if Pospisil isn't 100% right. You want that line to generate chances. They do. Agreed Mangiapane only has looked good with Backlund and Coleman. Sharky plays well with Lindholm but both are shooters. Huberdeau up there isn't a bad option, since those two are shooters. The simplest change is to swap Mange and Huberdeau. No other changes to those lines. Your top 9 remains intact. If Ruzicka could play RW, then he would be a swap with Pospisil. Otherwise, just swap out Dube with Duehr. I can't remember the last game where Dube did anything positive. Ruzicka may make mistakes, but he is a threat everytime he shoot. He should be top 6 LW, but we can't swap out Huberdeau. This probably goes to team construction, but Dube and Mangiapane are too similar. They both underperform. They both try to play big and get owned. $7M+ on two players that barely match a $5M player elsewhere. Trade one or both and we are a better constructed team. Dube is likely the first vicitim (and Mange with Backlund might solve a lot of problems).

I suspect you are implying that he said Honzek will be a 3rd liner in the NHL at best? He also said don't quote me, which you defied. LOL