Quote:
Originally Posted by Yrebmi
To be fair Frolik is 29
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Lol
But is he core? Probably falls into the supporting cast (and a gem, at that if we're going to bring up depth).
Backlund is the one that drives that line.
If Sadbert was realistic about how the Flames fared in their most recent season and really knew the team and its strengths, he'd know that the Flames were brought down last year by
-Slow starts by Monahan and Gaudreau + wrist injury issues
-Elliott crapping the bed from october to november, then again in april
-Brodie struggling playing on his wrong side with poor partners until Stone
-Players nursing injuries going into the Anaheim series
-3M's offence fizzled out late in the season
-Unreliable 5-7 d-men
-Sam Bennett has a sophomore slump
Point 1 was attributed to Monahan having back issues early, and Gaudreau joining the team late with the contract stalemate. Both should be healed up with no off ice distractions heading into this season. And one can only hope that the NHL will make good on its promise to crack down on targeting of the wrist.
Point 2 could be addressed by a goaltending change in both positions. There is no guarantee, but Smith has the advantage of being a proven starter over Elliott, who never demonstrated on ability prior to carry the workload for more than 45-50 games.
Point 3 could very well be addressed with the addition of Hamonic. Hopefully allowing Brodie to play on his strong side again. He's played at a much higher level so we know he's capable of rebounding.
Point 4 is addressed by the players getting to heal from injuries and surgery etc (Monahan)
Point 5 we do not know the exact reasons for this, but the guy on left wing will only get better and Backlund and Frolik excel at turning defensive zone starts into offensive zone time and are a couple of the better 2 way players in the game. I'm not too concerned.
Point 6, well you now have one of the strongest top 5s in the league on paper. My concern about depth defencemen has all but diminished with Hamonic and Stone being here as opposed to Wideman, Engelland and Grossman last season.
I bring up point 7 because Lambert seems to think that Sam has plateaued or something at 20 years old and actually questions his potential of again surpassing 30 or 40 points after a great Anaheim series that followed what was in truth a sophomore slump, nothing more or less. People seem to forget that this is a thing. There is nowhere to go but up with this kid, and yes, as a third line center he can certainly be one of the better ones in the league this year that WILL again pass 30 points...
Just such a dumb article that only has any legitimacy in calling out the goaltending. But also fails to recognize the potentially elite talent in goal that is currently in the pipeline. Trollish indeed.