2019-20 ROSTER PLANNING

[JTech780]

I was kind of hoping to finally get a look at Yelesin, but calling up the guy with the most NHL experience makes a lot of sense right now.

[robrob74]

I feel like if the season hinges on a Giordano injury and the world is ending then the team has problems with its depth on D. The talk of the Flames has been how deep they are. It’s not really looking very deep now. We have 4 excellent players and the the rest are nearly 4th liners and By the sounds of it our D and team can’t function without Gio. 
 

while the Pitts of the world get by without having Crosby and then Malkin at times.
 

We need more and are not quite done building. We were & are premature.

[Thebrewcrew]

To be honest the Flames franchise has been star-crossed this season. Nothing has went well.

 

June- Kadri denies a trade to Calgary. If that trade goes through IMO the Flames are a much better team. They are much deeper down the middle, they also add sandpaper and competitiveness in Kadri and Brown.

 

August- Valimaki suffers a significant injury. Not only did the team have high hopes for Valimaki this year, this also eliminates any chance for the Flames to acquire a top 6 forward heading into the season.

 

November- TJ Brodie collapses during practice. An extremely scary situation for him and his family as well as the franchise and fan base.

 

Decemeber- the team finally ends a lengthy losing streak, and then the Bill Peters saga begins. This drags on for a week or so before the situation is rectified. Lots of unwanted publicity for the Flames.

 

Februrary- lose the captain to a hamstring injury. I know they say week to week,  but I think realistically it ends up being a month or so until he’s back, leaving a huge void on the back end

 

 

To top it all off, the Flames “best player “ Johnny Gaudreau is a shadow of his former self throughout the entire year. He looks disinterested more often than not. For the heartbeat of the offence that has a trickle-down effect throughout the forward ranks, we’ve seen lots of listless performances offensively, hence leading the league in times shutout.

 

 

This just hasn’t been the Flames year thus far 

[JTech780]

 

Not giving Ward a pass here, but we have heard the same speech from Peters, Gulutzan and Hartley. There is something wrong with this core. 

 

Mediocrity has spread through this team like the plague. 

 

It reminds of when Ryan O'Reilly at the end of his last season with the Sabres said that the team had a mentality of being ok with losing and that he lost the love of the game because of it. 

 

I feel like that is what has happened with this team, they have decided that losing is ok. I don't know how you change that, without moving out the core, but that's the challenge with this team.

[robrob74]

21 minutes ago, Thebrewcrew said:

To be honest the Flames franchise has been star-crossed this season. Nothing has went well.

 

June- Kadri denies a trade to Calgary. If that trade goes through IMO the Flames are a much better team. They are much deeper down the middle, they also add sandpaper and competitiveness in Kadri and Brown.

 

August- Valimaki suffers a significant injury. Not only did the team have high hopes for Valimaki this year, this also eliminates any chance for the Flames to acquire a top 6 forward heading into the season.

 

November- TJ Brodie collapses during practice. An extremely scary situation for him and his family as well as the franchise and fan base.

 

Decemeber- the team finally ends a lengthy losing streak, and then the Bill Peters saga begins. This drags on for a week or so before the situation is rectified. Lots of unwanted publicity for the Flames.

 

Februrary- lose the captain to a hamstring injury. I know they say week to week,  but I think realistically it ends up being a month or so until he’s back, leaving a huge void on the back end

 

 

To top it all off, the Flames “best player “ Johnny Gaudreau is a shadow of his former self throughout the entire year. He looks disinterested more often than not. For the heartbeat of the offence that has a trickle-down effect throughout the forward ranks, we’ve seen lots of listless performances offensively, hence leading the league in times shutout.

 

 

This just hasn’t been the Flames year thus far 

I get what you’re saying and there has been a lot. 
 

but the team didn’t come out strong before a lot of the Satoshi Nakamoto went down. 
 

ok, a trade didn't go through. Is the team really that fragile that it shook them to the core? The team’s poor play began one year ago. The Ryan line kept us afloat back then. 
 

Valamaki shouldn’t have affected the team so much as well. He’s not a core player yet, and it gives others a chance to prove themselves. 
 

but maybe you’re right, it’s just one of those years. It could be me with all of the bad luck. Sorry guys, once clock turned 2019 my life got eerily darker and darker... the team is reflective of my life lol

[travel_dude]

45 minutes ago, JTech780 said:

 

Not giving Ward a pass here, but we have heard the same speech from Peters, Gulutzan and Hartley. There is something wrong with this core. 

 

Mediocrity has spread through this team like the plague. 

 

It reminds of when Ryan O'Reilly at the end of his last season with the Sabres said that the team had a mentality of being ok with losing and that he lost the love of the game because of it. 

 

I feel like that is what has happened with this team, they have decided that losing is ok. I don't know how you change that, without moving out the core, but that's the challenge with this team.

 

The last three coaches have something in common.

None of them could sustain a winning streak.

They make perplexing decisions and wonder why the team loses.

Players get sat after a decent game, because it's time to play the other guys.

Get a win, change it up.

There is not a lot of difference in icetime between the first through 3rd lines.

The PP is middle of the road.

 

 We have gone from a speedy, attack on the rush team to a slow plodding, dump and chase team.

A lot of the time, a dump is followed by a line change.

No forecheck, let the other team gain the zone at ease.

 

Largely the same team as last year, but the players are being used differently.

Gelly should be seeing this and talking to BT about it.

The players are lost.

 

Lucic, Rieder and Robinson all had shifts on the top line.

Backlund has played there.

Zero chemistry with any of them except for a few good shifts with Buddy.

What could go wrong.

 

[MP5029]

Well this is one of two things...hopefully it’s more related to a growing thing...Stl, Col etc all went through a few years of great play followed by a horrible lost season..a pattern they cycled through for 3-4 seasons and then they put it tighter last year and this year...if this is the team figuring things out, learning some adversity etc...no worries, a few changes here and there to offset UFA’s and move out some bad contracts etc and tinkering for better chemisty and I’m ok with this junk season...

 

the other possibility is the team core has absolutely no sense of compete, drive and determination say less for Tachuck and a few others maybe...if this is the case it screams full scale overhaul.

 

id say BT should just stand pat this year...use the deadline if there is a chance to add anyone decent, particularly if the thinks they should be resigned long term or have contract...do what you can but don’t sell the farm...if nothing is worth the price, that’s fine, try and move out some contracts of guys your not looking to move forward with...make a decision and either cut bait or commit to others like Bennet (is he a bottom 6, is he worth moving to the top 6 and letting him prove it the rest of the season) and pending on that, either keep him or trade him 

 

I’d be inclined to keep Brodie as long as you plan on keeping Gio I’d suggest That pairing is definitely tied to Gio’s serviceability as long as gio and Brodie are a pair on your team you keep Brodie, he’s good on his own but the two compliment each other perfect...always have but Gio is getting up in age so it’s soon time to make a decision on that too 

 

they also need to figure out Hanifin he should say better by now, I’m of the thought Valimaki and Hanifin aught to have been the Gio Brodie replacement growing on line 2 but obviously injuries have changed that a bit..I’d suggest that needs to be reworked no so much because of the Valamaki injury but because of Hanifin’s lack of growth...arguably he’s regressed 

 

in any event I’d say this deadline should be a carful thought out plan leading  into the draft and offseason make the right moves at this draft and the team could turn around without a full scale burn it down...otherwise we are into a full scale blow this up and start over 

[travel_dude]

The problem I see is a lack of recognizing the talent we have.

Hanifin and Hamonic are what they are; 2nd or 3rd pairing, even strength at best.

Buddy and Lucic are 4th line players.

Brodie is not a PP player.

Dube is struggling.

Top 4 players needs top 6 talent.

Mangiapane is playing well enough to be there, but not scoring at a rate you need.

Backlund doesn;t fit with anyone right now.

Bennett thinks he's a dangler, but can;t do it.

There's no speed on the rush.

 

Missing a shutdown line.

Missing a couple of top 6 wingers.

Brodie and Hamonic is a tire fire.

Hanifin needs to stop rushing the play and learn defense.

 

[cross16]

11 hours ago, Thebrewcrew said:

To be honest the Flames franchise has been star-crossed this season. Nothing has went well.

 

June- Kadri denies a trade to Calgary. If that trade goes through IMO the Flames are a much better team. They are much deeper down the middle, they also add sandpaper and competitiveness in Kadri and Brown.

 

August- Valimaki suffers a significant injury. Not only did the team have high hopes for Valimaki this year, this also eliminates any chance for the Flames to acquire a top 6 forward heading into the season.

 

November- TJ Brodie collapses during practice. An extremely scary situation for him and his family as well as the franchise and fan base.

 

Decemeber- the team finally ends a lengthy losing streak, and then the Bill Peters saga begins. This drags on for a week or so before the situation is rectified. Lots of unwanted publicity for the Flames.

 

Februrary- lose the captain to a hamstring injury. I know they say week to week,  but I think realistically it ends up being a month or so until he’s back, leaving a huge void on the back end

 

 

To top it all off, the Flames “best player “ Johnny Gaudreau is a shadow of his former self throughout the entire year. He looks disinterested more often than not. For the heartbeat of the offence that has a trickle-down effect throughout the forward ranks, we’ve seen lots of listless performances offensively, hence leading the league in times shutout.

 

 

This just hasn’t been the Flames year thus far 

 

Very good Summary.

 

This is the most bizarre season I can remember as a Flames fans. And that's not to suggest that I think luck has conspired or fate has robbed them, it's just a comment that this season has been bizarre. It's really hard to put your finger on whats going on. 

[cross16]

11 hours ago, JTech780 said:

 

Not giving Ward a pass here, but we have heard the same speech from Peters, Gulutzan and Hartley. There is something wrong with this core. 

 

Mediocrity has spread through this team like the plague. 

 

It reminds of when Ryan O'Reilly at the end of his last season with the Sabres said that the team had a mentality of being ok with losing and that he lost the love of the game because of it. 

 

I feel like that is what has happened with this team, they have decided that losing is ok. I don't know how you change that, without moving out the core, but that's the challenge with this team.

 

 

There are so many times I go back to Gulutzan's rant in Monteal. "we play when it's easy". 

 

That stuck with me. It helps explain so much about the team. 

[phoenix66]

10 minutes ago, cross16 said:

 

 

There are so many times I go back to Gulutzan's rant in Monteal. "we play when it's easy". 

 

That stuck with me. It helps explain so much about the team. 

yep.. this to me is Ward's defining moment .. how we come out of this , or dont will go a long way to determining his future 

they wont get mad, he needs to make them mad 

[sak22]

12 hours ago, JTech780 said:

 

Not giving Ward a pass here, but we have heard the same speech from Peters, Gulutzan and Hartley. There is something wrong with this core. 

 

Mediocrity has spread through this team like the plague. 

 

It reminds of when Ryan O'Reilly at the end of his last season with the Sabres said that the team had a mentality of being ok with losing and that he lost the love of the game because of it. 

 

I feel like that is what has happened with this team, they have decided that losing is ok. I don't know how you change that, without moving out the core, but that's the challenge with this team.

In Calgary that generally leads to one player being scapegoated as the problem, with stories of museums and such.  Its started to lean on it being a 1 man problem again in the media again.

 

One thing minor caught my eye during warmups yesterday.  1 minute left and Monahan, Gaudreau and Rinaldo are the only Flames on.  Monahan and Rinaldo stay 10 more seconds and Johnny leaves with about 30 seconds.  I look at the other side and there are still 8 Preds that stayed the entire time but looked more loose and having fun, and that was the team chasing in the standings.  I know its only warm ups and shouldn't be a big deal just caught my attention.

[JTech780]

Yelesin was scratched from Stockton's game this afternoon, it's a good bet that he is on his way to San Jose to meet up with the Flames.

 

[travel_dude]

58 minutes ago, JTech780 said:

Yelesin was scratched from Stockton's game this afternoon, it's a good bet that he is on his way to San Jose to meet up with the Flames.

 

 

One can only hope they give him a shot.

A defensive D-man with a RHS.

Kinda what we had in Hamonic, no offense to Davidson.

[JTech780]

The idea that Stone or Kylington could be playing top 4 minutes tonight, is the stuff of nightmares. 

 

This gif sums up how Rittich/Talbot probably feel going into tonight.

 

[The_People1]

55 minutes ago, JTech780 said:

The idea that Stone or Kylington could be playing top 4 minutes tonight, is the stuff of nightmares. 

 

This gif sums up how Rittich/Talbot probably feel going into tonight.

 

 

Watch us win and prove we can trade Giordano and be fine.

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, JTech780 said:

The idea that Stone or Kylington could be playing top 4 minutes tonight, is the stuff of nightmares. 

 

This gif sums up how Rittich/Talbot probably feel going into tonight.

 

 

My biggest fear is that actually think Stone is capable of top minutes.

Against a neutered Canucks team (Pettey injured), he held his own, but I'm not sure what that means.

Did he play those minutes - Yes.

Was he capable during those minutes - Not sure. 

 

As much as Kylington gets a bad rap, he is capable of playing more minutes.

He will make more mistakes, but he can recover from most of them.

Stone doesn't seem to recover.

[cross16]

Yelesin up and Robinson down. 

 

 

[JTech780]

1 minute ago, cross16 said:

Yelesin up and Robinson down. 

 

 

 

Davidson looked fine in his last game and he brings more experience, but it would be nice to see what Yelesin can do. 

[ABC923]

Always should have a spare d around at the very least.  Even if Yelesin doesn't play tonight, getting a few practices in will be key to gelling with the team in case he is needed.

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, ABC923 said:

Always should have a spare d around at the very least.  Even if Yelesin doesn't play tonight, getting a few practices in will be key to gelling with the team in case he is needed.

 

We should have played him the last time he was up.

Now we are reluctant to play him due to the Hamonic and Gio injuries.

He's a defensive D-man, and not a rookie pro, just in North America.

Play him now and see what he is.

Davidson is fine, but I would be interested in seeing a RHS D-man on a 3rd pairing.

Might want to alternate him with Ras, just to give him a more veteran than Kylington.

[cross16]

Hamonic to IR so Robinson back up

 

 

[WRuCOS]

In my opinion, Calgary is one of those teams, they are not alone, that over concern themselves with Dmen. Stone can play in most teams 6 dmen and be fine. It's a nice luxury to have 6 overly capable, but not a requirement. Go back to Commodore and the cup run, where he was told to bank the puck off the glass and down the ice, while he ate up 6-8 minutes of ice time. Furthermore, it's not healthy for the Flames to not rotate in some fresh dman once in awhile, whether you sit Klyington or Hanifin, Hamonic its not like were sitting a future HOF. They are good dmen, but like our forwards not head and shoulders above replacement, requiring 82 games of loyalty.

 

I'm loving that Rieder, Lucic and Janko are finally clicking and some production from them, once in awhile will go a long way to taking pressure of our top 6, which must feel they have to do something every night.

[The_People1]

Do we think Zac Rinaldo has effectively replaced Sam Bennett?

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

5 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

Do we think Zac Rinaldo has effectively replaced Sam Bennett?

I wouldnt say he's any worse, his skill set may be more limited but the energy and the fact he finishes checks as opposed to peeling off like most of the rest do is noticeable.  Bennett for the most part will probably stay on the 4th line so I dont think the team is any worse or better with either.