So Where do we go from here? Analysis & Predictions

[Flyerfan52]

1 hour ago, conundrumed said:

I think I'm good with you're offer I +1'd you on.

I'm not married to keeping JH at all, he's pretty much a perimeter player, and I don't like that.

You load me up on F's like that, I'd do it.

But what is up with Rubtsov? Is he injured? I can't seem to find his current status and he doesn't appear to be playing with Chicoutimi in the playoffs.

All i can find is he's injured & will miss the rest of the playoffs. No details.

[jjgallow]

4 minutes ago, Carty said:

 

Sure...   One where we have a goalie that doesn't develop a habit of having nuclear meltdowns, and one where a coach does not make critical mistakes that are obvious even to some of the posters here...   

 

How about one where it occurs to people that someone hired that coach you hate (and previously loved), and someone hired that goalie who was overplayed and who you hate (and previously loved), by that coach you hate (but previously loved)?

 

How about a scenario where people realize that we were 9th out of 15 teams for Goals For per game?  And that this alone defeats the purpose of even going in the playoffs?  http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/statistics#/team-stats

 

Who had Elliot's back?  Did the organization groom anyone else?   Other teams sure did.

 

We shouldn't have needed shutout miracles to beat Anaheim...they're just Not that kind of team, sorry.

 

How about admitting that Gaudreau contributed almost nothing in the playoffs?  Again?

 

How about admitting that our Defence, while ok, was not amazing?   And that our top defenceman is exiting his prime now?

 

 

[conundrumed]

2 minutes ago, Flyerfan52 said:

All i can find is he's injured & will miss the rest of the playoffs. No details.

You know I'm going to need medical clearance or I'll be needing Provorov in the deal right?

lol

Otherwise it's Schenn and Konecny straight up for Gaudreau

I'll throw in Andersson, to take the edge off, lol.

[conundrumed]

2 minutes ago, jjgallow said:

 

How about one where it occurs to people that someone hired that coach you hate (and previously loved), and someone hired that goalie who was overplayed and who you hate (and previously loved), by that coach you hate (but previously loved)?

 

How about a scenario where people realize that we were 9th out of 15 teams for Goals For per game?  And that this alone defeats the purpose of even going in the playoffs?  http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/statistics#/team-stats

 

Who had Elliot's back?  Did the organization groom anyone else?   Other teams sure did.

 

We shouldn't have needed shutout miracles to beat Anaheim...they're just Not that kind of team, sorry.

 

How about admitting that Gaudreau contributed almost nothing in the playoffs?  Again?

 

How about admitting that our Defence, while ok, was not amazing?   And that our top defenceman is exiting his prime now?

 

 

You were doing so well. Gio's really making a statement this year. Recollect you rarely cursed him when we got scored on. Everyone else, but very rarely him.

Everything else I kind of agree with.

I'm trying to trade JH to ff atm. We have to get harder to play in the F ranks, enough already.

It's time to lose the kid gloves, looking at our team.

[jjgallow]

27 minutes ago, conundrumed said:

You were doing so well. Gio's really making a statement this year. Recollect you rarely cursed him when we got scored on. Everyone else, but very rarely him.

Everything else I kind of agree with.

I'm trying to trade JH to ff atm. We have to get harder to play in the F ranks, enough already.

It's time to lose the kid gloves, looking at our team.

 

Agreed, even with Gio (sort of).  Yeah, Gio has been great this year.   I'm just saying that even with Gio, it still wasn't enough for our D to be where it needs to be.  And...he can't keep that up forever at his age, imho.   I'll take the disagreement on that though.

[conundrumed]

29 minutes ago, jjgallow said:

 

Agreed, even with Gio (sort of).  Yeah, Gio has been great this year.   I'm just saying that even with Gio, it still wasn't enough for our D to be where it needs to be.  And...he can't keep that up forever at his age, imho.   I'll take the disagreement on that though.

Fitness testing is a huge deal, so we monitor his fitness...no big.

What was he, +22 this year?

Not bad for you're #1 dman.

[conundrumed]

I should also add, every time we need a goal, I instinctively think, "c'mon Mony".

We need more up front and that would help us up and down the ice.

The F ranks always end up on the backburner. That's the 1st thing I'd change.

You get a Frolik, a Brouwer, a Versteeg.

We have to stop bleeding cash on the backend while patchworking the forwards.

 

[Flyerfan52]

1 hour ago, conundrumed said:

You know I'm going to need medical clearance or I'll be needing Provorov in the deal right?

lol

Otherwise it's Schenn and Konecny straight up for Gaudreau

I'll throw in Andersson, to take the edge off, lol.

That's the best offer you've made. Fax the paper work.

 

[conundrumed]

1 minute ago, Flyerfan52 said:

That's the best offer you've made. Fax the paper work.

 

Done deal.

Thx.

[LouCifer]

I've gone through every post and figured I'd weigh in. Here's my 2 cents on a few of the topics. 

 

Treliving - give him a contract already. I've made my point on this matter in the GM evaluation thread. 

 

Gio - you keep him. 1 half of arguably the best top pairing in the league. His age I don't believe is a factor - recall, Gio was a late bloomer and hasn't played as many "hard minutes" as other top D his age or even younger in the league. Given his commitment to fitness, I anticipate Gio will continue to be effective through most of his contract (a la Neidermeyer)

 

Backlund - you keep him. He is just damn good at what he does. I think he saves us from disaster more than we are aware, and that trading him would be a mistake. I understand the concern for his next contract, but my hunch is he takes an easier to swallow salary than anticipated (home town discount). He is a home grown player. I think he'd be a major role player in any cup run and that he wouldn't be as easy to replace as some suggest. Reminder: he was a consideration for the Selke this year... why get rid of a player like that?? 

 

Oshie - don't get him. Just being honest here, I don't think he is a fit here or in the western conference for that matter. I feel he's a fragile player. I seem to recall he got his bell rung (concussions?) a few times while in St. Louis, no? 

 

Gaudreau - You keep him. I think he had an off-year. His contract. Missing camp. Broken hand. Continuous slashes to the hands all year. I think this off season he prepares better, and figures out how to better protect those mitts he has. 

 

Versteeg - bring him back. For more than 1 year - especially if Vegas takes Brouwer or Stajan. Instrumental on the power play. More dynamic with the puck than most of our other forwards. Can make plays or score himself. Has motivation playing in front of family and friends in Calgary. 

 

Brouwer - whether it was an off-year or not, I'd say bye-bye here. There wasn't a single point this year where he impressed me, and I realized that I started lowering the bar for him just to give myself an opportunity to be happy with his play. I believe we brought him into the fold for some much needed toughness, grit, leadership, and we expected a few more goals or points from him getting involved in the dirty areas... pardon my honesty here, but if Brouwer is by some stroke of luck not a flame next season, I have Iggy's number on speed dial. Iggy did have more points than Brouwer this year...

 

I expect to take some flack for suggesting Iggy returning to the flames next season, but it isn't for nostalgic reasons. I think he brings to the table all of those things we expected from Brouwer, would be less expensive, and would drop the mitts instantly to protect the likes of Johnny, Mony, or any other one of our young players. Iggy didn't look too out of place on the King's top line (not that I'd slot him there on ours) but he could take a couple twirls with Mony and Johnny on the PP, or a shift here and there. 

 

Brodie - keep him. I think he had an off year as well. Was split from Gio, he was playing with wideman and England, his wife had health issues... I think he comes back stronger next year, and if it isn't Stone he's playing with, then hopefully BT signs/trades for someone decent to play with him. 

 

Thats all for now. I'll try to think of an alternative suggestion to Oshie and post back when I do. 

 

[Carty]

Wow jj, I make a post with two simple examples based on fact to answer your question and try to inject some humor, and for some reason you once again change the subject of that simple little post and try and twist it so it fits the way you see things while trying to drag me into the muck where you make statements unrelated to what I said...   

 

But I have a few minute while I work on a coffee, so I will try and make some sense of what you posted...

 

14 hours ago, jjgallow said:

 

How about one where it occurs to people that someone hired that coach you hate (and previously loved), and someone hired that goalie who was overplayed and who you hate (and previously loved), by that coach you hate (but previously loved)?

 

As for Gully, he has done a lot of good for the team, and he has made some mistakes...   I look at it as part of his learning curve as a newbie head coach in the league...   I have voiced criticism of a number of these mistakes like when he kept Chiasson on the top line and a good number of other lineup decisions, or kept using predictable strategies that failed, on several occasions...   Go ahead and try and show me where I gave him the blind support you claim, because I didn't...

 

I gave both goalies support when they earned it, and criticism when they deserved it...   No more, no less...   Elliott played 49 games and Johnson 33...   Neither goalie was overplayed...   A good goalie wants to play and not sit on the bench, ask one...

 

Quote

How about a scenario where people realize that we were 9th out of 15 teams for Goals For per game?  And that this alone defeats the purpose of even going in the playoffs?  http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/statistics#/team-stats

 

There were a lot of people that didn't expect the Flames to even make the playoffs at this stage of the rebuild...   You try make it sound like it would be better if they tanked at the end of the season to avoid the playoffs...   The lack of a higher number of goals for can be attributed both to players that failed to put the puck in the net, and coaching that at times could have provided better opportunities to do so...

 

Quote

Who had Elliot's back?

 

The puck, when it got behind him when it shouldn't have...   Same for Johnson...

 

Quote

 Did the organization groom anyone else?   Other teams sure did.

 

Gillies and Rittich are getting there, and could be close to making the next step...

 

Quote

We shouldn't have needed shutout miracles to beat Anaheim...they're just Not that kind of team, sorry.

 

Who said they did?...   But when they happen, they can sure come in handy, because they can plant seeds of doubt in the heads of the other team...   The soft goals however, they can get into the head of the goalie, and the rest of the team...   The odd one can and will happen, but when it happens too often, it is a game killer...

 

Quote

How about admitting that Gaudreau contributed almost nothing in the playoffs?  Again?

 

Where did I post about Gaudreau having made these contributions in the playoffs?...   I didn't...   Nor did I in the regular season for that matter...   He did ok, but not great...   He also had a broken finger, which no doubt was a factor, but we need to see better from him...

 

Quote

How about admitting that our Defence, while ok, was not amazing?   And that our top defenceman is exiting his prime now?

 

I was critical of the defence several times this season, including Giordano...   

 

 

I have zero interest in getting dragged any further into one of your long drawn out debates where you bounce around the subject like a ping pong ball, but maybe another time you can try and avoid attempting to make it look like I said things that I didn't...

[phoenix66]

I think what gets lost in the shuffle of the disappointment, is black and white reality.

There was one team..ONE TEAM that had the ability and high likelihood of bouncing us in the first round, and we drew them .

We talk about bad bounces ,  but the fact is we made very few mistakes in this series, they just made us pay for every single on of them ..   Anaheim made mistakes, we hitr posts or missed empty nets..those need to get buried

Anaheim is not only Calgary's Kryptonite.. but they were/are Brian Elliot's as well in is career...double whammy..worst possible draw.

To top it off they have havent lost in regulation in how many games now ?  The Oilers are about to find out after having some difficulty against a team that stunk down the stretch and almost went from 1st to Wild card .

 

Truth is we would have needed 100% flawless hockey as it played out..no team can do that ..  Carey Price allowed a goal yesterday , very similar to the one Elliot allowed in Game 4..nobody is calling for Price's head 

 

This is why I say build a team to beat Anaheim , the rest will come...and we are almost there ..  I still say shore up the net with a Stud starter,   replace Stajan , Bouma and the bottom D pair ,  determine if its Stone or someone similar for the 2nd pair.. and you have a team that goes past the 1st round next season 

[MAC331]

15 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

 

Simmer down there bud.  You don't spend $1.7m on a backup, unless that guy showed he can play 1/2 a season.  The only reason CJ didn't get as many games as Elliott was his horrendous December and January.  That is the point of the season where Gully declared Ellott to be the #1 guy.

Your opinion your entitled to it.

[MAC331]

9 hours ago, lou44291 said:

I've gone through every post and figured I'd weigh in. Here's my 2 cents on a few of the topics. 

 

Treliving - give him a contract already. I've made my point on this matter in the GM evaluation thread. 

 

Gio - you keep him. 1 half of arguably the best top pairing in the league. His age I don't believe is a factor - recall, Gio was a late bloomer and hasn't played as many "hard minutes" as other top D his age or even younger in the league. Given his commitment to fitness, I anticipate Gio will continue to be effective through most of his contract (a la Neidermeyer)

 

Backlund - you keep him. He is just damn good at what he does. I think he saves us from disaster more than we are aware, and that trading him would be a mistake. I understand the concern for his next contract, but my hunch is he takes an easier to swallow salary than anticipated (home town discount). He is a home grown player. I think he'd be a major role player in any cup run and that he wouldn't be as easy to replace as some suggest. Reminder: he was a consideration for the Selke this year... why get rid of a player like that?? 

 

Oshie - don't get him. Just being honest here, I don't think he is a fit here or in the western conference for that matter. I feel he's a fragile player. I seem to recall he got his bell rung (concussions?) a few times while in St. Louis, no? 

 

Gaudreau - You keep him. I think he had an off-year. His contract. Missing camp. Broken hand. Continuous slashes to the hands all year. I think this off season he prepares better, and figures out how to better protect those mitts he has. 

 

Versteeg - bring him back. For more than 1 year - especially if Vegas takes Brouwer or Stajan. Instrumental on the power play. More dynamic with the puck than most of our other forwards. Can make plays or score himself. Has motivation playing in front of family and friends in Calgary. 

 

Brouwer - whether it was an off-year or not, I'd say bye-bye here. There wasn't a single point this year where he impressed me, and I realized that I started lowering the bar for him just to give myself an opportunity to be happy with his play. I believe we brought him into the fold for some much needed toughness, grit, leadership, and we expected a few more goals or points from him getting involved in the dirty areas... pardon my honesty here, but if Brouwer is by some stroke of luck not a flame next season, I have Iggy's number on speed dial. Iggy did have more points than Brouwer this year...

 

I expect to take some flack for suggesting Iggy returning to the flames next season, but it isn't for nostalgic reasons. I think he brings to the table all of those things we expected from Brouwer, would be less expensive, and would drop the mitts instantly to protect the likes of Johnny, Mony, or any other one of our young players. Iggy didn't look too out of place on the King's top line (not that I'd slot him there on ours) but he could take a couple twirls with Mony and Johnny on the PP, or a shift here and there. 

 

Brodie - keep him. I think he had an off year as well. Was split from Gio, he was playing with wideman and England, his wife had health issues... I think he comes back stronger next year, and if it isn't Stone he's playing with, then hopefully BT signs/trades for someone decent to play with him. 

 

Thats all for now. I'll try to think of an alternative suggestion to Oshie and post back when I do. 

 

I would love to hear more on why you think Oshie isn't a fit for a Western Conference team like ourselves ? If it is because you favor Iginla for that RW spot, forget it now as there are a lot of personal reason Flames management doesn't do that one.

Gaudreau is a very good player but he has to toughen up and fight through the attention he will receive continuously from here on. He played like a scared kid out there for a lot of this season. Also I don't expect him to fight his own battles, the Flames will need additional muscle should Engelland depart.

I don't know this for certain but Brouwer and Versteeg may be a bit of a package as they are close friends. I think we can live with both but in different roles next season. If we were to put Frolik on LW with Backlund C ( I agree we should keep) and Brouwer RW we could have one of the best shut down line in hockey.

Brodie had it tough for most of this season, no denying that however he has to come back next season with the confidence to be a force for us and shoot the puck more. I have a different thought due to Brodie's experience pairing him with someone like Rasmus Andersson on his RS not Stone. I would like to see Stone back but used on the 3rd pairing so we have experience there.

[MAC331]

55 minutes ago, phoenix66 said:

I think what gets lost in the shuffle of the disappointment, is black and white reality.

There was one team..ONE TEAM that had the ability and high likelihood of bouncing us in the first round, and we drew them .

We talk about bad bounces ,  but the fact is we made very few mistakes in this series, they just made us pay for every single on of them ..   Anaheim made mistakes, we hitr posts or missed empty nets..those need to get buried

Anaheim is not only Calgary's Kryptonite.. but they were/are Brian Elliot's as well in is career...double whammy..worst possible draw.

To top it off they have havent lost in regulation in how many games now ?  The Oilers are about to find out after having some difficulty against a team that stunk down the stretch and almost went from 1st to Wild card .

 

Truth is we would have needed 100% flawless hockey as it played out..no team can do that ..  Carey Price allowed a goal yesterday , very similar to the one Elliot allowed in Game 4..nobody is calling for Price's head 

 

This is why I say build a team to beat Anaheim , the rest will come...and we are almost there ..  I still say shore up the net with a Stud starter,   replace Stajan , Bouma and the bottom D pair ,  determine if its Stone or someone similar for the 2nd pair.. and you have a team that goes past the 1st round next season 

I think that team is being built now and management needs to stay the course. A few additions along with more experience and maturity our team will be better next season.

BTW it is fast becoming time to no longer under estimate the Oilers, they to are putting together a good team.

[jjgallow]

2 hours ago, Carty said:

I have zero interest in getting dragged any further into one of your long drawn out debates where you bounce around the subject like a ping pong ball, but maybe another time you can try and avoid attempting to make it look like I said things that I didn't...

 

I have zero interest in that either, as you're one of the nicer folks on the board.  But that actually doesn't make you right every time, and the one thing you failed to do in that incredibly long response (ironically, considering your criticisms), is explain what I accused you of saying that you didn't say.   That was your beginning and ending arguement and I saw nothing inbetween which addressed it.  So...basically, I still didn't come away from that knowing what got your back up, other than the fact that I dared to disagree with you.

 

Naturally I disagree with much of your response, and respectfully won't get into it, although I will concede that the part about the puck having Elliot's back was funny.

[jjgallow]

49 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

I think that team is being built now and management needs to stay the course.

 

The question is...what course?  Redwood Meadows?  Heritage Pointe?  A year ago, BT fired Hartley because "Hartley has taken this team as far as he can".

 

That was the guy who won coach of the year for taking a rag-tag team of much younger, inexperienced Monahans, Gaudreaus, and even Bennetts TO the playoffs, AND into the 2nd round.

 

Fast forward a year, and we have a FAR more experienced, better equipped team, and VASTLY better goaltending (which never had anything to do with Hartley to begin with), and we're the playoff embarrassment of the League with a 4-0 punt.   If there was one team which clearly showed we didn't belong there, overall, it was us.    Our only salvation was out-shooting the opponent (without actually scoring any goals).

 

I was out on 17th Ave last night.   Do you know what I saw?

 

I saw entire pubs full of BLUE JERSEYS.      BLUE.   Including the bartenders.   I watched entire establishments go WILD as the Oilers clinched the series.   Fair enough, supporting the province.   WAY too soon, if you ask me.  They could have waited another week or two.    But either way:

 

THAT IS NOT PROGRESS.   This is NOT a course I want to Stay on.

 

(Golf Course)

 

BT never specified, when he said "Hartley has taken us as far as he can go", whether he was talking about golf, or Hockey.  But in Hartley's time here, this team was all upside, and he quite honestly blew away expectations.  We do not have Nearly as much upside now.  We have vastly less ways of improving next year, if at all.   And, this is, to me, underwhelming.   Last night's crowd, definiteley a low point.

[MAC331]

4 minutes ago, jjgallow said:

 

The question is...what course?  Redwood Meadows?  Heritage Pointe?  A year ago, BT fired Hartley because "Hartley has taken this team as far as he can".

 

That was the guy who won coach of the year for taking a rag-tag team of much younger, inexperienced Monahans, Gaudreaus, and even Bennetts TO the playoffs, AND into the 2nd round.

 

Fast forward a year, and we have a FAR more experienced, better equipped team, and VASTLY better goaltending (which never had anything to do with Hartley to begin with), and we're the playoff embarrassment of the League with a 4-0 punt.   If there was one team which clearly showed we didn't belong there, overall, it was us.    Our only salvation was out-shooting the opponent (without actually scoring any goals).

 

I was out on 17th Ave last night.   Do you know what I saw?

 

I saw entire pubs full of BLUE JERSEYS.      BLUE.   Including the bartenders.   I watched entire establishments go WILD as the Oilers clinched the series.   Fair enough, supporting the province.   WAY too soon, if you ask me.  They could have waited another week or two.    But either way:

 

THAT IS NOT PROGRESS.   This is NOT a course I want to Stay on.

 

(Golf Course)

 

BT never specified, when he said "Hartley has taken us as far as he can go", whether he was talking about golf, or Hockey.  But in Hartley's time here, this team was all upside, and he quite honestly blew away expectations.  We do not have Nearly as much upside now.  We have vastly less ways of improving next year, if at all.   And, this is, to me, underwhelming.   Last night's crowd, definiteley a low point.

Keep living in the past JJ it seems to where you dwell. Those Blue jerseys were likely Blue Jays since they are playing later games in ANA these nights.

If this team embarrasses you to bad, I wasn't embarrassed because I know how a team has to be built and the time it takes to have them be solid contenders year in and year out NOT flash in the pans like 2015 when they snuck up on everyone.

[DirtyDeeds]

13 minutes ago, jjgallow said:

 

The question is...what course?  Redwood Meadows?  Heritage Pointe?  A year ago, BT fired Hartley because "Hartley has taken this team as far as he can".

 

That was the guy who won coach of the year for taking a rag-tag team of much younger, inexperienced Monahans, Gaudreaus, and even Bennetts TO the playoffs, AND into the 2nd round.

 

Fast forward a year, and we have a FAR more experienced, better equipped team, and VASTLY better goaltending (which never had anything to do with Hartley to begin with), and we're the playoff embarrassment of the League with a 4-0 punt.   If there was one team which clearly showed we didn't belong there, overall, it was us.    Our only salvation was out-shooting the opponent (without actually scoring any goals).

 

I was out on 17th Ave last night.   Do you know what I saw?

 

I saw entire pubs full of BLUE JERSEYS.      BLUE.   Including the bartenders.   I watched entire establishments go WILD as the Oilers clinched the series.   Fair enough, supporting the province.   WAY too soon, if you ask me.  They could have waited another week or two.    But either way:

 

THAT IS NOT PROGRESS.   This is NOT a course I want to Stay on.

 

(Golf Course)

 

BT never specified, when he said "Hartley has taken us as far as he can go", whether he was talking about golf, or Hockey.  But in Hartley's time here, this team was all upside, and he quite honestly blew away expectations.  We do not have Nearly as much upside now.  We have vastly less ways of improving next year, if at all.   And, this is, to me, underwhelming.   Last night's crowd, definiteley a low point.

• And BH did it without his #1 D Gio who was heavily in the Norris race when injured.
• It is seemingly fashionable to bash BH now that he is gone, but he is gone because the GM wanted his own guy in there who coaches his preferred style of game.
• Hartley managed to get back to back career years from many of our top D and top 6 forwards.

 

While we are discussing style of play, I can easily question the possession style of play too. It is not necessarily a guarantee of better success or wining cups. Just ask LA(annually one of the highest possession teams) how the possession game has helped them this year towards a playoff berth and Stanley Cup run?????

 

[jjgallow]

8 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

Keep living in the past JJ it seems to where you dwell. Those Blue jerseys were likely Blue Jays since they are playing later games in ANA these nights.

If this team embarrasses you to bad, I wasn't embarrassed because I know how a team has to be built and the time it takes to have them be solid contenders year in and year out NOT flash in the pans like 2015 when they snuck up on everyone.

 

Dude, first of all, have some class.

 

Secondly, what are you talking about?  The Oilers clinched the series last night.  It was on every TV in every pub on 17th Ave, basically....and Oilers jerseys everywhere.

   Here is the link (I guess?) to the Oilers game last night:   http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/oilers-win-edmonton-party-playoffs-sharks-series-cheering-1.4081798

 

I couldn't bare to take a picture of what I saw, but TRUST me. Not the Blue Jays, dude.  Holy.

 

Meanwhile, Calgary finishes the season scoring Less goals than last year, and gets Royally snuffed out of the playoffs.  Yes, I'm talking about the past, but only because that's what the Flames playoffs Are now.

[MAC331]

Just now, DirtyDeeds said:

• And BH did it without his #1 D Gio who was heavily in the Norris race when injured.
• It is seemingly fashionable to bash BH now that he is gone, but he is gone because the GM wanted his own guy in there who coaches his preferred style of game.
• Hartley managed to get back to back career years from many of our top D and top 6 forwards.

 

While we are discussing style of play, I can easily question the possession style of play too. It is not necessarily a guarantee of better success or wining cups. Just ask LA(annually one of the highest possession teams) how the possession game has helped them this year towards a playoff berth and Stanley Cup run?????

 

Puck possession is part of the strategic play not all of which an offense is built around. I think we saw GG break from parts of his own system part way in once he could see what his players were or were not capable of within games. We saw more stretch passing and a variety of ways to press the offense. There is work to do in regards to puck possession no question. BT brought in more size with Chiasson, Brouwer and had Ferland and Bouma already here, I would dare say not one of these players did enough to push the puck possession % in the right direction. We had players that coughed up the puck way to much Gaudreau, Versteeg and Brodie as the main culprits. We were by no means a fine tuned finished product at an time this season.

[travel_dude]

6 minutes ago, DirtyDeeds said:

• And BH did it without his #1 D Gio who was heavily in the Norris race when injured.
• It is seemingly fashionable to bash BH now that he is gone, but he is gone because the GM wanted his own guy in there who coaches his preferred style of game.
• Hartley managed to get back to back career years from many of our top D and top 6 forwards.

 

While we are discussing style of play, I can easily question the possession style of play too. It is not necessarily a guarantee of better success or wining cups. Just ask LA(annually one of the highest possession teams) how the possession game has helped them this year towards a playoff berth and Stanley Cup run?????

 

 

You could say that he was fired because he followed up a playoff season (without Gio) with a lottery season.  The lottery season was also career years for Johnny and Monahan.  So, it's a weird mix of success and failure.  We joked around here about the goalie "schedule" that last year, but having three goalies and not using them probably irked BT quite a bit.  Remember that BT also said they didn't agree on a lot of things.

 

I'm not going to say that possession is the only way to go.  It's not just LA that excels in that respect, though.  Teams that win the cup have a better possession game.  LA is out because they chose to play a heavy trap game, not being able to score.

[MAC331]

4 minutes ago, jjgallow said:

 

Dude, first of all, have some class.

 

Secondly, what are you talking about?  The Oilers clinched the series last night.  It was on every TV in every pub on 17th Ave, basically....and Oilers jerseys everywhere.

   Here is the link (I guess?) to the Oilers game last night:   http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/oilers-win-edmonton-party-playoffs-sharks-series-cheering-1.4081798

 

I couldn't bare to take a picture of what I saw, but TRUST me. Not the Blue Jays, dude.  Holy.

 

Meanwhile, Calgary finishes the season scoring Less goals than last year, and gets Royally snuffed out of the playoffs.  Yes, I'm talking about the past, but only because that's what the Flames playoffs Are now.

I find that hard when it comes to you. You only make sense in your own mind. The Flames were in every one of those 4 games and could have won 1 or 2 of them and still be playing, wasn't to be. As far as people cheering for the Oilers good for them, we have two team in Alberta and lots of migration between cities so there are Oiler fans around. Go to a Stampeder/Roughrider game same thing no shortage of Rider fans that live in Alberta and show up.

[MAC331]

1 minute ago, travel_dude said:

 

You could say that he was fired because he followed up a playoff season (without Gio) with a lottery season.  The lottery season was also career years for Johnny and Monahan.  So, it's a weird mix of success and failure.  We joked around here about the goalie "schedule" that last year, but having three goalies and not using them probably irked BT quite a bit.  Remember that BT also said they didn't agree on a lot of things.

 

I'm not going to say that possession is the only way to go.  It's not just LA that excels in that respect, though.  Teams that win the cup have a better possession game.  LA is out because they chose to play a heavy trap game, not being able to score.

Not to mention possession starts in the face off circle and we were lousy at it. We were better at it this season but still have a ways to go. I like where we are possibly going next season with having a RH compliment on each line that can also take strategic faceoffs.

[LouCifer]

1 hour ago, MAC331 said:

I would love to hear more on why you think Oshie isn't a fit for a Western Conference team like ourselves ? If it is because you favor Iginla for that RW spot, forget it now as there are a lot of personal reason Flames management doesn't do that one.

Gaudreau is a very good player but he has to toughen up and fight through the attention he will receive continuously from here on. He played like a scared kid out there for a lot of this season. Also I don't expect him to fight his own battles, the Flames will need additional muscle should Engelland depart.

I don't know this for certain but Brouwer and Versteeg may be a bit of a package as they are close friends. I think we can live with both but in different roles next season. If we were to put Frolik on LW with Backlund C ( I agree we should keep) and Brouwer RW we could have one of the best shut down line in hockey.

Brodie had it tough for most of this season, no denying that however he has to come back next season with the confidence to be a force for us and shoot the puck more. I have a different thought due to Brodie's experience pairing him with someone like Rasmus Andersson on his RS not Stone. I would like to see Stone back but used on the 3rd pairing so we have experience there.

Hey Mac! Sure, let me elaborate.

First, let me be clear that in my post I was suggesting Iginla as a replacement for Brouwer, and having Iggy as an option for PP. I'm not opposed to other players on the PP, I'm just flirting with the idea here if Iggy were back in the fold. 

 

Second, I'm not suggesting Iggy for 1st line RW instead of Oshie at all... it's just that Oshie doesn't pass my "eye test". Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of advanced stats as well, I just need someone else to do the math for me! LOL And  if we're going that route, I'd prefer to see Oshie's advanced stats as a member of St. Louis over Washington as I think it'll be a better indication of how Oshie would play with us. Getting back to Oshie though, I think he's a skilled player, but I also think he's too susceptible to injury the way he plays. I appreciate players with "fight and will" in them, but for some reason, I always see him losing those hard battles despite his moxie, and putting himself in precarious positions which could (or has) resulted in injury. I guess, I see him as a higher risk than I'm comfortable with?... but you may be fully correct in that he could potentially be the best fit for our top line given what's available on the market. I just haven't investigated alternatives to your suggestion, and hopefully I'll come back to this thread with another option.

 

It's worth a shot trying Brouwer with Backlund and Frolik, but from everything I've read on the 3M line and Brouwer, Brouwer seems to be a possession "slug" as they say, and the 3M line drives possession and other advanced stats heavily in our favour. Again, I think your suggestion is worth a try, but if the numbers curtail significantly with Brouwer on that line, we may be better off keeping him in a reduced role.

 

Regarding Brodie, yes I expect better next year as well. Rasmus Andersson is an interesting suggestion for a partner - I did watch a lot of Andersson as a member of the Barrie Colts - and he was impressive - I'm just not sure he's ready to jump in as a 2nd pairing D yet. And while he does have a lot of offensive skill, he doesn't have a lot of "bite" in his game and I'm not sure having 2 defencemen who are not very physical as a 2nd pairing will work well in our conference. I believe we should keep one of Stone or Engelland (unless Engelland is willing to take a significant cut to his salary to stay as well) and I'd like to see what a full year of Stone and Brodie looks like. Does Stone ever drop the mitts?

 

to be continued i guess