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Old 07-13-2017, 05:34 PM   #21
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Yeah #1 is definitely goaltending. A faltering tandem and the flames are left spinning their wheels and will be the thing that costs the GM his job.
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Old 07-14-2017, 03:36 AM   #22
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Where does Jagr fit in?
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Old 07-14-2017, 05:15 AM   #23
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1. Goaltending - big gamble on a 35 year old that based on how goalies performance declines with age is risky. He's had some bad years recently so I'm hoping for a rebirth instead of a fall back

2. Third pairing - Michael Stone is an expensive number 5 that I'm not convinced it's much better than replacement level guys like Wotherspoon. Having said that, we just had a few years with below replacement level so it could work out well. Please forget Bartkowski exists. Please

3. The Start - need a better start from the big forwards. The depth is there in the forward ranks assuming Bennett takes a step. Can't afford to be a 3M line only team for the first month
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Old 07-14-2017, 06:38 AM   #24
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1. Goaltending as stated by others, dont know what they have.
2. Bennett, can he take another step and provide some secondary scoring or will he forever be a bottom 6 forward with "more potential then Monahan?"
3. Hamonic and the defence, will they be as good as advertised?
4. Gaudreau, last year wasn't good fo him. Can he trend upwards again?
5. 3M guys, will they all be as good as last year?

Besides #2, if any if the other 4 doesnt turn to be a big success then they will be in trouble.
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Old 07-14-2017, 07:49 AM   #25
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dang, i have a COMPLETELY different set of concerns/question marks going into next year.

1) Goaltending..... It's such a big question mark, i'd be fine to make it concern #1, #2, #3.

2) Young forward impacts - will bennett be able to grow into a more offense producing player? Will tkachuk see any kind of sophmore slump? There's a spot there for one of the kids on the farm to grab a spot in camp (Jankowski, Shinkaruk, Klimchuk, Poirier), can they do it and in what capacity?

3) Consistency - last year this team had a extremely streaky season. Brutal start, 2 great hot streaks, with a bunch of 'meh' in between. Can they hit the ground running this year, and take the step from a bubble team plagued by inconsistency to a division contending team that is able to avoid long duration lapses?

i minor issue, likely one i have due to being burned in the past is: Can the great defense on paper translate to a great defense on the ice???? Not too long ago, this team went into a season with Bouwmeester, Phaneuf, Regehr, Giordano all in the starting 6. It didn't do much, will this Defensive group provide more of an impact to the team's success remains to be seen.
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Old 07-14-2017, 08:17 AM   #26
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Goaltending
Smith and Lack performing well behind our team.

Defence
Our defence on paper is pretty impressive but can they translate that into success on the ice?
Getting the puck out of our zone without getting hemmed in by teams that have an aggressive,fast, forecheck will be one of the tests.

Keeping screens and bodies away from the front of the net so our goalies can do their jobs.

Defence Scoring
Can our defence contribute offensively?

Gulutzan's system

Can this team grasp the system right off the bat to start or will there be issues again??

We saw Glen stick to his guns and them start playing better during the regular season but there were some real question to me about the way the system was being executed during the playoffs.

Will the players listen and execute or try doing it there own way to start this year?
I think the systems work well when everyone is on the same page but when they try doing it individually or not like a team we see constant breakdowns.

These are just my questions for the upcoming season and I hope they are answered quickly with a good start to the season.

I'm not expecting wins every night......I just want to see them be very competitive.....not so many highs and lows as we see sometimes.
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Old 07-16-2017, 10:42 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bubbsy View Post


i minor issue, likely one i have due to being burned in the past is: Can the great defense on paper translate to a great defense on the ice???? Not too long ago, this team went into a season with Bouwmeester, Phaneuf, Regehr, Giordano all in the starting 6. It didn't do much, will this Defensive group provide more of an impact to the team's success remains to be seen.
I agree with mostly everything else but you need to remember that was Brent Sutter coaching that team.
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Old 07-16-2017, 11:51 PM   #28
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Mine are definitely a little different then most. I am more confident in Mike Smith then I ever was in Brian Elliott, and with Eddie Lack returning to Glen Gulutzan it feels like a strange home coming. I feel we have a better starter then last year and a cheaper but equivalent backup. Anyways on to the questions.

1. Loosing Deryk Engelland was a huge blow to the teams physical play. Who is going to take that big step up to fill his shoes? Gazdic I hope never makes an NHL game unless it's game 1 vs the oilers and then sent down. But really who? Ferland? If he's top line I see him stepping down in this department.. Stone? Hamonic? Bennett? I see all those guys to valuable to be dropping the mits and risking injury every other game. Iginla? (Last resort) Hathaway? (Think we have other more skilled players then him)

2. Top line RW. I really do hope Ferland is this guy. However it seems after the hot stretch they really seemed to "cool" off, was that teams just figuring out our new 1st line? I don't see jagr or iginla filling this roll. I do however like the idea of Bennett for a good long test run (move back to C after a season of hopefully a major confidence boost) The way Brad has talked in interviews really seems like he is working hard on finding another capable winger, Who will that player be? (Please be James Neal)

3. For some reason I agree with the OP in asking what do we have in Troy Brouwer? I understand he isn't a top 6 forward liked they had hoped, but has his play declined so much that he really is an anchor even on the 4th line? I like to think he will have a slight bounce back season or atleast play the way he did before the injury (I remember being relatively impressed with him for the first 10 or so games when Monahan and Gaudreau were invisible) regardless of where he plays aslong as he isn't on Bennett's line I will be happy!

Last edited by Braden; 07-16-2017 at 11:53 PM. Reason: Typo
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Old 07-17-2017, 01:03 AM   #29
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What I think the storylines are going into the season:

1) How does Treliving spend the remaining his remaining cap space?

After Bennett signs in the 2M range and Kulak signs for 750k, Treliving will have about 4 million in cap space to spend headed into the season. I'm guessing it'll be one of Jagr, Iginla or Franson. The options are pretty limited but I doubt they go into the season with space.

2) Goaltending..... maybe this time?

Every year since Kipper left I've waited to be pleased by the goaltending. I can't imagine Smith and Lack playing at an elite level, but hopefully the team as a whole is good enough to win games.

3) Who graduates?

There are several prospects seemingly on the cusp of the NHL, and I'm curious to see if any of Jankowski, Kulak, Foo, Wotherspoon, Andersson, Shinkaruk, or Kylington earn a full time spot.

I can't believe it's only the 16th of July, the next 60 days are going to just suck.
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Old 07-17-2017, 01:12 AM   #30
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1) Who centres the bottom 9?

The top two lines are set with Gaudreau-Monahan-Ferland/Tkachuk-Backlund-Frolik. But there are four centres (Bennett, Stajan, Lazar, and Jankowski) all in the running for the bottom 2 lines.

Stajan and Bennett are the obvious candidates. But the first is on the decline and the latter has had more success on the wing.

For a team that struggled with depth, a shakeup may happen in camp if Jankowski and Lazar can show they are ready.

2) Do the Flames bring on a depth winger?

The Flames were close on Sharp, so clearly the understand the hole on the right side. Both in the bottom 9, but also on the PP. But the pickings are getting slim. Do they role the dice with what they have, spend even more assets in trade, or bring on a veteran guy?

3) Goaltending...?

This one is boring, but obvious. Can Smith and Lack finally solve the Flames issues between the pipes, at least for a season?
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Old 07-17-2017, 07:09 AM   #31
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I'm fairly confident Lazar plays RW. I think Treliving (and the whole organisation ) wants to set him up to succeed. Wing is the easier position with less responsibility. Also as mentioned there is already a log-jam at Center with Bennett, Stajan and hopefully Jankowski.
GG mentioned on the radio a while back that the depth forward he'd like to see was a RH shot who could take draws if need be. We'll - that's Lazar to a tee...no sense moving him !

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Old 07-17-2017, 07:26 AM   #32
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1. Will Tkachuk's mouth guard stay in his mouth this year?
2. Will people stop talking about Eddie Lack's dad?
3. Will Burke ever show up with a tie on properly?
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Old 07-17-2017, 07:57 AM   #33
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1. Will Tkachuk's mouth guard stay in his mouth this year?
2. Will people stop talking about Eddie Lack's dad?
3. Will Burke ever show up with a tie on properly?
No, no and definitely not!
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Old 07-17-2017, 08:33 AM   #34
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Will Burke ever show up with a tie on properly?
He considers his tie is always on "properly".

It's the rest of us that are wrong.
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Old 07-17-2017, 08:33 AM   #35
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1- is the goaltending improved from last year?

2- will Gaudreau take a step forward? Last year was the first regression he has had since being drafted by the Flames. He took more hits, gave the puck away more, and looked frustrated a lot. He had a strong end to the season but finished with his lowest total since coming to the league. Johnny getting back to top 10 scoring will help a lot.

3- will Hamonic and Brodie be an elite pair? Both guys coming off poor seasons by their standards. Brodie was shifted to the left side and had Wideman as his partner for 2/3 the season. Hamonic was injured a lot last year and was not far removed from a public trade request. The season before last both were regarded as legit top pairing Dmen. If they get back to that with our current top pair playing to their level this D will be the best in the league
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Old 07-17-2017, 08:37 AM   #36
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for me, it is when do I buy my Flames Jagr jersey
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Old 07-17-2017, 09:08 AM   #37
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The goaltending is obviously far and away the top concern. The rest of the maybe's I think GG has enough options to work with for both line combinations and defensive pairings. I worry about leadership both from the coaching staff and more importantly the players.

They did have some push back against the Ducks but where was the instigator. No not talking about dropping the mitts but winning other battles. In front of the net and along the boards. Maybe they get there with a team tough approach but I do wish they had a leader who was both physical and skilled. Who could grow into that role? Bennett? Ferland?
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Old 07-17-2017, 01:00 PM   #38
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1.) Does the new arena become clearer?
2.) What will Backlund's new AAV be, and can they fit it in?
3.) Do they offer Stajan a front office job at the end of the season?
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Old 07-17-2017, 01:20 PM   #39
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In no particular order:

1) Goaltending - will we finally get that solid, consistent goaltending this year?
2) Sam Bennett - what will his numbers look like this season, is he finally going to have a breakout year?
3) Hamonic - Is he going to start off well, or are his first few months going to look like Hamiltons?
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Old 07-18-2017, 09:40 AM   #40
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Originally Posted by HarryH93 View Post
In no particular order:

1) Goaltending - will we finally get that solid, consistent goaltending this year?
2) Sam Bennett - what will his numbers look like this season, is he finally going to have a breakout year?
3) Hamonic - Is he going to start off well, or are his first few months going to look like Hamiltons?
The good thing about that is if Hamonic is struggling to learn the system or adapt to the western conference, we can shelter him behind 4 other very good defencemen. This was not the case with Hamilton, who was playing #2 or #3 minutes basically from the get-go.
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