Heartbreaker

Are you concerned at all that if you give up your tickets, there will just be someone behind you that'll snatch them up? I don't think that there's a lineup anymore (we didn't have any trouble last year when we looked into it), but this type of action doesn't work in some markets, like Toronto, for example because the demand always outweighs the supply. Love.

We looked into getting tickets for the season last year, but it wasn't in the cards. In retrospect, I'm really happy that it didn't work out. I am irrationally angry about the Matthew Phillips thing. I was listening to Steinberg yesterday, and he asked what was really good about the season. Wills said that it was the success of the Wranglers. I think he's right about that, and they discussed several of the players there that have had a great deal of success this year. They discussed the possibility that Phillips could be the MVP. Again, I realize he may never have an NHL career, but the unwillingness to try these guys at the NHL level when the big club is in the shape that it is was absolutely infuriating. I watched that kid skate at WinSport probably 20 times this season, and I just don't know what more you could ask of the guy. If Mitch Love ends up behind the Flames bench, I wonder if he'd play a prospect like that. Love.

I tend to agree with this, and one of the things that I found very frustrating about this season is that it seemed like an excellent opportunity to retool. In my opinion, the writing was on the wall well before the trade deadline that this iteration of the Flames was not going to be making any noise in the post season. Even if they'd made it, I did not see evidence of the resilience and consistency to get past the first round. If it were me, I would have moved a couple of next year's UFAs while the prices were astronomical, and played more kids. I think that there would have been significant draft capital, and that, coupled with very likely finishing lower in the standings would have helped to reload this team. I am confident that next year will be better - even if everything stays the same - because there are many factors that are extremely unlikely to be repeated. The problem is it'll be a lot harder to justify moving those expiring assets when you're in the midst of a playoff race, or you've already punched your ticket to the post season. Love.

Do I need to do more JavaScript? I'll do it if it's helpful. Love.

Yeah, I don't understand the specifics at all, but the Flames had two 1sts in 2024. That is, they had their own, and they had FLA's. One of them will go to MTL, but I don't know which one, or how that all works. In any case, only one will go, so they'll have one left. Love.

To be clear, we do have a 1st in 2024 - I don't have any idea if it's ours, or FLA's, or what the terms are, but we do have a pick, and given the complexities of said terms, it's probably not possible to trade it, even if they wanted to. Love.

This feels like a very dark day. Love.

Love.

Every day Kadri should have passed that. Love.

It's a trap! Love.

That sounds like making a sequel to a really bad film... Conroy might be an excellent GM, but I couldn't view this as setting him up for success. Love.

The good news is that with a big win, everyone can get back on the bandwagon, and this can drag on for another few days. Love.

Jaysus... can you imagine if Pelletier had a game like Kadri played last night? Love.

And for fun, I'd throw Phillips in there, too. The guy deserves it, I'd give him a game with the Flames, and then send him on to try for a Calder Cup. Love.

Not going to lie. I'm having a hard time with the bandwagon this year. I'm a Flames fan, through and through, and that will always be the case. However, this season just doesn't feel very good. If they get into the playoffs, it's because they have maximized loser points. Currently, the record is 35-26-15. I understand that that's 500 hockey... but it's not, is it? 35 wins to 41 losses is not 500. Making the playoffs, and likely getting bounced in the first round, is nothing to get excited about, but it's likely enough to stay the course. I have no doubt that this team will be better next year because a lot of players will bounce back - but what is the cost of that? Likely means that we have a collection of players that will not be moved at the deadline because they'll be in a playoff race, and some will leave for nothing after the season due to cap issues. This is starting to feel an awful lot like the mushy middle. I am sick to death of the coach. I didn't like him in 2008, I didn't like him when they brought him back, and I don't like him now. Last season was the aberration - point to the Kings, if you must, but consider the lineup. The Matthew Phillips thing really removed any good will that I had on this point. Players like Brett Richie aren't NHL players, but are here because of their size. That's not good enough. I'm not saying it would have worked, but it was worth trying, and I don't see him coming back. Unfortunately, if the Flames get bounced in five in the first round, I do see the coach coming back. I am neither a sky-is-falling-blow-it-up type Flames fan, nor am I a fair weather fan. This season has been so frustrating, and my ambivalence has left me feeling something that I really wish I did not: apathy.

Love.

Dude... don't beat yourself up. A lot of people feel that way. Personally, I disagree, but it's not because it's dumb. I think that Wolf is in the right place currently. The Wranglers have a real opportunity to win the Calder Cup, and I think that it's better for him to play with them, and maybe win a big tournament. The Flames environment is pretty toxic right now, and a few bad games could be the difference between playoffs or no playoffs. I would be concerned about the potential psychological implications of throwing a young prospect into that situation. Sometimes it pays off, but usually it just breaks goalies. That said, disagreeing with me, or anyone else, doesn't make you dumb, or your opinion wrong. You are a contributor to this board, and I am comfortable speaking for everybody, we're happy you're here. This is a pretty good community for a public forum. Love. Seriously.

Yeah, you're right about the goaltending stats, and I do recall thinking that at the time. The statistical anomaly that I can't explain comes from the other end. I can't figure out why during that stretch, Vladar was able to tie a team record for games in a row with points, but had very similar stats to Markstrom, who was struggling mightily. Why could they generate so much more offense when it was 80, but not duplicate that when it was 25? This whole season feels like a broken string of Christmas lights. You know what I mean? The whole string goes out of one of the bulbs is burnt out, and that's an easy fix. You go through them one by one, and find the problem. The Flames are a string of Christmas lights with two bulbs burnt out. Love.

Yeah, honestly, Man, I thought they should have made a move or two at the deadline to sell. I get that there was not likely any market for 17 or 22, but I would have liked to have seen a move of any one or two players (except for those with newborns) that would have brought back significant draft capital or prospects. I think that our GM is a smart guy, and it's a bit conspiratorial, but I'm not convinced that he had full autonomy at the deadline. Love.

Looks like this, doesn't it? Love.

re: 2004 - In some ways, I think that 2004 is a curse for this hockey club for exactly the reason that you said - it proved that anything can happen. The second problem is that Darryl Sutter's LA Kings won as the eighth seed. In my opinion, very difficult decisions should have been made about this team weeks ago, and it could be argued even longer than that, but certainly before the trade deadline. I believe it's the two factors cited above that keep the wheels perpetually spinning. Such a frustrating season, Man. Love.

Good post. I'd like to add a couple of names to this portion, though... Bishop, and Seguin. I also think that the POHO point is a good one, but I always felt like Ken King was too much a part of the club. The Shanahan example from one of the other posts up there is a good one, but I don't think there's a guy like that out there that wants to come to this market, and that sucks. Love.

Woo! Flames Talk is going to be lit! Love.

Yeah, but with some help from the out of town scoreboard, we can hear about how their still in the race, hope hope hope, blah blah blah... Love.

On the first point, it'd be pretty easy to make an argument that 2 of the top 5 Flames of all time have been really undersized, and probably would have never had a chance to play under Darryl Sutter. On the second point, that part is the killer. It'd be a real disservice to those players to bring them up now. Let them go win! By the time they're done, the Flames season is over. I try not to get too emotionally invested in players or even professional hockey in general - but this season it has been really hard to not get upset. Love.