Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - This is the year for the Flames to prove they can graduate prospects from the AHL

Itse · 07-05-2017, 05:59 AM

I think the OP raises questions worth asking, and others have already made longer comments worth reading, so I'll just make a few quick notes here.

FORWARDS:
- Only forward we added this season is Versteeg, and that's such a sweetheart deal, you don't say 'no' to it just because you might have a prospect ready. It's also just 1 year.
- We didn't re-sign Chiasson, although I'm sure he could have been had for a reasonable price, and we bought out Bouma. All the other guys are must-signs or guys already under contracts. That's as many spots left on the roster as we can currently have.
- When Brouwer was signed we clearly needed someone on the RW. Same goes for Frolik. You usually have to give free agents some term to get them.
- We didn't lose Granlund, we traded him for another prospect.
- Baertchi kind of sucks, plus we wanted to get bigger anyway. Baertchi wasn't the player we needed.

GOAL:
- In goal, we have 1 guy inked for 2 years and the other for 1 year, so there's no one blocking our prospects on that front.

DEFENSE:
- Here I think there's a valid question of where are the opportunities supposed to come from. There's just 1 spot open for the next 3 years. Unless our defensive prospects are going to be a major disappointment, or we'll see a trade or a serious injury, there's a logjam coming before the end of those years.

SPOTS:
- Brouwer ended the season on the 4th line, and can be pushed down there again. Same could happen to someone else.
- It's far from obvious that the 1st line RW spot is taken.
- It wouldn't surprise me if Backlund-Frolik once again got a prospect on their line.
- There's always injuries.
- Stajans spot on the roster is far from guaranteed.

In other words, the lines are very far from set.

07-05-2017, 05:59 AM	#7
Itse Franchise Player Join Date: May 2004 Location: Helsinki, Finland Exp:	I think the OP raises questions worth asking, and others have already made longer comments worth reading, so I'll just make a few quick notes here. FORWARDS: - Only forward we added this season is Versteeg, and that's such a sweetheart deal, you don't say 'no' to it just because you might have a prospect ready. It's also just 1 year. - We didn't re-sign Chiasson, although I'm sure he could have been had for a reasonable price, and we bought out Bouma. All the other guys are must-signs or guys already under contracts. That's as many spots left on the roster as we can currently have. - When Brouwer was signed we clearly needed someone on the RW. Same goes for Frolik. You usually have to give free agents some term to get them. - We didn't lose Granlund, we traded him for another prospect. - Baertchi kind of sucks, plus we wanted to get bigger anyway. Baertchi wasn't the player we needed. GOAL: - In goal, we have 1 guy inked for 2 years and the other for 1 year, so there's no one blocking our prospects on that front. DEFENSE: - Here I think there's a valid question of where are the opportunities supposed to come from. There's just 1 spot open for the next 3 years. Unless our defensive prospects are going to be a major disappointment, or we'll see a trade or a serious injury, there's a logjam coming before the end of those years. SPOTS: - Brouwer ended the season on the 4th line, and can be pushed down there again. Same could happen to someone else. - It's far from obvious that the 1st line RW spot is taken. - It wouldn't surprise me if Backlund-Frolik once again got a prospect on their line. - There's always injuries. - Stajans spot on the roster is far from guaranteed. In other words, the lines are very far from set. Last edited by Itse; 07-05-2017 at 06:11 AM.