LouCifer

Not sure about the first or second - Mony is no slouch, has good numbers, is just 26 (only 3y older than Brazil) and is already locked up for 3 more seasons on a team-friendly salary. That said, I personally wouldn’t mind tossing in ours or the Oilers’ 3rd rounder we acquired in the Lucic deal. 😉 Though, the talk has been that Barzal will get a minimum of $8mil (apparently he’s worth $10mil if not for COVID) which means we’d have to make another move. Is this likely to happen? No, but there’s a chance.

Sure. Like I said, those muffins start looking better when your original target doesn’t pan out - otherwise you go home empty handed. And there’s no shortage of people interested in those muffins as well, that you’re competing with. 🤷🏻‍♂️ But, if my analogy is correct, for Calgary to build a perennially contending team, they’d likely have to do so through the draft AND by acquiring players with term on their contracts. That’s why I was hung up on Eichel (he had term and would have to play out his contract if traded here). We have to target players who don’t have NTCs / NMCs but have term on their contract. I believe I mentioned in a past post about trading Mony for Barzal in some capacity, and I know Barzal is an RFA and there’s risk of an offer sheet, but with the flat cap and most teams handcuffed by their cap space, I see an opportunity to lockup a great player for a long time because he doesn’t have many options. These are the kinds of opportunities I think BT should be targeting, and from what we hear, he’s one of the most active GMs out there communicating so I think it’s only a matter of time before those relationships he’s building start benefiting us in trades. My 2 cents.

I like BT. I’m a big supporter. Sure, he’s signed some players that didn’t pan out, but I take that with a grain of salt because I believe those players had to want to come to Calgary in the first place - or - they had to be paid enough to come to Calgary. Said it before and I’ll say it again, I have faith BT is in on everything - the issue is not every player is in on us. Sometimes my wife asks me to go buy her a warm, $10 cinnamon bun at a local shop. Sometimes there’s none left. But they have $5 muffins. So, I go home empty handed or with a muffin. The moral of the story? Either way my wife isn’t going to be happy. It’s not due to lack of effort or try either... what I wanted was simply unavailable to me. Also, that muffin starts looking a hell of a lot better when there aren’t any cinnamon buns available. I imagine BT goes through a similar process when trying to acquire players.

Me too! 🐴🔥

Sweeeet!

Personally I think if we address the D situation properly, we only need to figure out who the backup is going to be.

My 2cents is you get away from the idea of “the complete/200’ player” and build your team with players that specialize in specific aspects of the game. Then you pair them up with line mates that not only compliment their playing style, but also have strengths where their linemates are deficient.

Agreed. It was one of those nights where I feel he took the team on his back and said “follow me”. Got the party started for us for sure.

That’s my conclusion as well. I also try to put myself in those coaches’ shoes - would I rush into a job with a new team when the trade deadline is looming? I think I’d rather wait and see what each team does at the deadline before determining where I go. Chances are I’d be most interested coaching the team that gave me the best opportunity to be successful for this playoffs and beyond. I’d need to know “what’s the plan?”, “are you going to rebuild anytime soon?”, “What players are you targeting now, and who do you still expect to be on this team 5 years from now?” Good coaches have earned the ability to ask those questions and choose where they coach. Lavi and Gallant I imagine are among them. 100% agree. I don’t mean to be harsh but I honestly can’t wait for the “Flames 19th head coach” thread

Lucic’s goal celly is awesome. Very retro, very 8-bit / 16-bit. He was a force last night. I liked what I saw from him all game. If he plays like that consistently, I wouldn’t post a negative thing about him.

This team tends to feel satisfied very easily. You can see it when they go up a goal in a game: every subsequent shift is half assed until the opposing team ties the game. Then there’s a little more effort. But god forbid the opposing team goes up 1 on us... then the game is out of hand and we don’t try to rally until about 2 minutes left in the 3rd. 👎🏻 They played well last night, but I’ll reserve praise until I see more. I also recognize that Ward simply reverted to BP lines for the most part. We’ll see how it goes moving forward.

That’s where I’m at TD. Why wait until summer to make a coaching change? To allow other teams an opportunity to compete for their services? To start next season off slowly, while “learning new systems”? Start now! What are we trying to save or preserve from this season?!? 1. Bring in a new coach Laviolette and Gallant are available and there’s not much else out there for them. If we wait until summer, they may have more choice of destination. 2. Make some personnel changes at the TDL. Cut dead weight. If there’s internal knowledge that Brodie and/or Hamonic won’t re-sign here, put them on the block. I’d prefer to have Brodie return. Hamonic, he’s a warrior and I love his character, but something just isn’t working well here. See what you can get for him. If the Sharks are willing to trade Dillon to us, look into it. Explore acquiring Josh Anderson and Tiffoli - 2 RW players. Even though they’re RFA/UFA, get a leg up on re-signing them if they’re a fit.

I agree Talbot should be getting more starts. I think tonight’s game has more to do with getting Rittich to refocus on what’s next and not to continue to stew in the past (last game). Maybe give him an opportunity to get his confidence back. Despite the loss and everything, Talbot has earned the respect of his peers and feels pretty good about his effort last game. It would be good to have both goalies feeling good moving into that stretch of tough opponents. Again, I agree with you that Talbot has earned more starts as well. I’m thinking this is more a strategic move than anything else, and I’m ok with that for tonight.

You know what, I don’t normally praise Toronto but I absolutely love what Sheldon Keefe did to Kapanen. That’s what’s missing here. Want to get rid of the “country club”? Bring in a coach with the metal to sit players out for poor conduct and poor play. Kapanen was apparently late for practice, and you can bet this wasn’t the first time, so he sat him. THEN, he made Kapanen explain to the media why he was scratched! Brilliant. Now, did Kapanen show remorse for it? Yes and no. He agreed with the scratch, but then said he simply slept in and wants to move past it. To me, his body language seemed to show different than the words coming out of his mouth. And while the lesson may not have been fully absorbed by Kapanen, chances are the message was received by the rest of the team. That is how you grow culture. That is how you create expectation. Bring in a coach that will do that. I can think of 2 that are available.

Bazinga! 😂 good one JJ!

Well said tmac. Well said indeed.

I shared that same idea about Gaudreau in my posts after the playoff exit JJ. All I was saying was that no one was arguing against signing Gaudreau after his entry level deal expired, and nobody was unhappy with the new contract salary - though some hoped for longer term. After the playoff exit, I recall BT saying they’re going to rewatch and do a full diagnostic after the elimination. I recall him saying and being the opposite of happy. I just think the players have a lack of being unhappy with it. That’s my take. I think management is doing a better job than most out there, you see it differently and that’s ok. Cheers bud.

Ya, I just listened to his comments. I wasn’t expecting Ward to throw him under the bus per se, but a comment about more engagement from everybody would’ve sufficed as a response. Referring to his personal history with the player and dodging the question... doesn’t sit well with me. I’m sure Laviolette and Gerard were watching the game. Hopefully they were taking notes... I really believe this season can turn on a dime by bringing in another coach. Some may point to all the drama this team has experienced this year and to let them have some stability, or let Ward ride it out, not me. It’s been a bumpy ride, yes, but we’re not looking to get comfortable and complacent - but wait, aren’t we already there? We need an outside voice at the helm, not someone who was part of the old regime (Ward). Ward to me is viewed as someone who’s inherited the team and trying to salvage the season. A new coach is viewed as someone who’s going to put his stamp on the team and move forward. One carries the baggage of the past, the other looks forward to the future.

I see it similarly robrob. They’re not as good as they were last year, and they’re not as bad as they’ve played this year. They are something in between. The issue is they don’t seem to be able to find that middle ground consistently. The swings in effort and play are erratic. re: turtle. ... just kidding, you’re bang on.

Did BT Satoshi Nakamoto the bed or the players? if that’s the players’ A game, then yes BT is to blame. Unfortunately, we’ve got players that aren’t playing to the level they’re capable of. I say the players need to be held accountable here JJ. For example, did you want BT not to sign Gaudreau? Seemed like a no-brainer at the time, yet the guy has coasted most of this season. That ain’t a management issue. That’s a personnel issue that needs to be addressed by management.

the data is what’s going to help BT make decisions/changes about personnel on the team. If that player that got an 8 rating continues to get low marks game after game, BT looks to switch out that player - the delay is that he has to find a dance partner to take that player off our hands and give us something better. The analytics assist in improving the team, but it’s a process. In the realistic trade thread, we’ve started talking about horribly lopsided trades that killed the flames in the past. This analytic data will help prevent that ever happening again moving forward. Anything that gives us an edge, I’m all for.

And just to entertain the flip side of the coin, if we decide to let Ward ride out the season as head coach, Laviolette or Gallant may not be available to us anymore for next season. So that needs to be considered as well.

I get it and I appreciate your responses Phoenix and Sarasti. Ward’s record thus far is pretty good, player execution however is still very familiar... Just to be clear, this has less to do with throwing Ward into the guillotine and more to do with opportunity. Opportunity for positive change, or opportunity to conclude what we understand about certain members of this core.

I’m sure Gallant and Laviolette have their own guys they can bring in if such a thing occurred. I don’t think it’s a grave concern at all

I like Ward. I do. But. Coaches like Laviolette and Gallant don’t become available to us very often. And by “to us” I mean, we’re in a position to hire a great coach while the rest of the league can’t capitalize on the opportunity. And, lest we forget, Ward was essentially passed over by flames brass twice already, so what makes him the ideal candidate now? Do any of you out there really believe we’re going to see a sudden change in the flames under Ward for the rest of the season? I feel like we all know how this movie is going to continue to play out the rest of the way. To be honest, I don’t even really blame Ward. There’s a comfort level problem among our players that make them feel like they can put in effort when they feel like it. Sure, trading out some players may shake up the group a little, but with the TDL approaching AND Gallant and Laviolette being available, I believe we have a rare opportunity to hit the reset button on the season, and correct our current trajectory for the rest of the way. Let’s aim for the ultimate prize, no? IIRC, didn’t Lamoriello fire a coach before playoffs more than once and get an instantaneous boost of effort from his teams? Didn’t he win a cup once after he did that? We’re human. When there’s a new boss, we tend to want to impress or let them know our value - which would be a major improvement over what we’re seeing currently from our flames. I’ve read some comments regarding Gallant’s shelf life, but I have 2 words for you: Kawhi Leonard. I’ve never followed basketball a day in my life until last season, and what I discovered was a team that made a bold move to acquire a talent. A talent that was significant. A talent that was missing. A talent that might not even stick around for the next season. But the opportunity arose to acquire a talent that was better than what they already had. And now all that remains is glory. I’m not saying Gallant or Laviolette guarantees us a cup, but don’t tell me that sticking it out with Ward is the better opportunity. Gallant/Laviolette + some calculated TDL moves = an opportunity for better than what we have going now.