Your Solution For Fixing The Flames - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

robbie111 · 12-21-2014, 12:29 AM

Just an observation from the games I've watched recently and comparing them to our games 10 games ago. When we were winning it was based on a SPEED first situation where other teams were having trouble keeping up to us. Opposition never had much time to move the puck and our defense was confident joining the rush and pinching because the forwards had the SPEED to cover for them defensively.

In the recent games defensemen are not joining the rush as much because they have been burned as forwards have been unable to back them up as effectively defensively. This has lead to a more dump and chase style in which the flames tend to give away possession of the puck.

My guess is that Stajan, Raymond and Colborne all might have come back from injury too soon as they were under the pressure of seeing success by the young forwards. Perhaps if they would have had a chance to ramp up fitness over the Christmas break instead of coming back soon it may have worked out better for them and the team. That's just an observation though and hindsight is always 20/20.

What I'd like to see after the Christmas break is Granlund given PP time as I think he is a bit more creative offensively than Jooris. Glencross is apparently playing with injuries from what I have heard from Steinberg on the fan 960 and wears 2 knee braces. Perhaps he could be given a bit of time to heal up. I really liked Ferlands forecheck game and physicality and think he is a vast upgrade over Bollig who should be moved for whatever we can get for him at this point. Bollig does not have Ferlands speed needed to finish checks. I could see keeping Stajan as a 4th line center to win faceoffs. I would like to see Culkin and Wotherspoon called up and given a chance to play as our #3 pairing. Both could add to our speed game and really the 3rd pairing has been an issue all season long. Byron looks like he is playing hurt to me and does not have the same speed he had in earlier games and maybe I'm wrong on that case but he might need a bit of a rest as well to heal up, just a guess from what I have watched lately. If that were the case I'd really like to see Poirier given a few games to see where he is in his development. Raymond came back too early and you can see it in his shot as it doesn't have any zip on it and his speed is not where it needs to be for him to be effective. Guess is he came back earlier out of fear of losing his job to the kids.

1. Rest Glencross, Raymond and Byron (if he is indeed playing injured, just speculation in what I have seen lately) and make sure they are healthy and up to pace when they come back into the lineup.
2. Trade Bollig and bring Ferland back up.
3. Keep Stajan for faceoffs which has been an issue this year,
4. Bring up Poirier, Wotherspoon and Culkin.
5. Give Granlund some PP time.

SPEED was what helped us in allowing our D-Pairings to be as adventurous offensively as they were and unfortunately when we don't have it we are ineffective.

So what are your thoughts and how would you fix the Flames.

Drury18 · 12-21-2014, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robbie111

4. Bring up Poirier, Wotherspoon and Culkin.

Seriously, can we stop with "Bring up Poirier". Guess what? You're going to be disappointed when he plays a couple good games before fizzling out because he doesn't even have 30 professional games under his belt. I like this guy. Let's not destroy this one. He needs to stay in Adriondack.

Wotherspoon could be a viable defenceman in for the Flames and quite possibly a good option if Smid will be out long time and Harley is willing to bench Diaz and Engelland over him. If he isn't going to play every night or at least every other night, leave him in Adirondack to develop.

Culkin is not a solution right now on defence. Same thing as Poirier, he's got 23 professional games and that's all. Yes, he's doing well in Adirondack but same thing as Poirier, he's not that experienced at this level. Maybe bring him up for a game or two and let him take a look, but if you want someone to be 3rd pairing and a little more seasoned and a little less mistake making, you need to get Billins or Cundari on the phone. Not Culkin.

troutman · 12-21-2014, 12:45 AM

Fixing the Flames will take years. Not thinking about right now at all.

GranteedEV · 12-21-2014, 12:49 AM

Caged Great · 12-21-2014, 12:51 AM

the best way to fix the Flames is to do absolutely nothing to fix the Calgary Flames. The Flames need to not waste assets or rush players to make this year better. That would help to rob the potential of winning a cup down the road. If they end up getting a top 5 pick this year, it would not be completely unexpected. They were great to start the season, but unless the Flames are gifted two top 6 forwards including a first line forward, a #3 defenseman without giving up assets, then the Flames will likely slide.

It sucks, but we really are not that good. If you take away the three last minute comebacks from last month, we'd be 1 whole point ahead of a top 5 pick.

Caged Great · 12-21-2014, 12:54 AM

Plus Adirondack is one of the elite teams in the AHL largely on the backs of the awesome prospects that will soon be Calgary. I would much prefer them being together on an elite team and get that bond of winning as a group than to chip away at that just to make this season slightly better when it doesn't really matter.

robbie111 · 12-21-2014, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drury18

Seriously, can we stop with "Bring up Poirier". Guess what? You're going to be disappointed when he plays a couple good games before fizzling out because he doesn't even have 30 professional games under his belt. I like this guy. Let's not destroy this one. He needs to stay in Adriondack.

Wotherspoon could be a viable defenceman in for the Flames and quite possibly a good option if Smid will be out long time and Harley is willing to bench Diaz and Engelland over him. If he isn't going to play every night or at least every other night, leave him in Adirondack to develop.

Culkin is not a solution right now on defence. Same thing as Poirier, he's got 23 professional games and that's all. Yes, he's doing well in Adirondack but same thing as Poirier, he's not that experienced at this level. Maybe bring him up for a game or two and let him take a look, but if you want someone to be 3rd pairing and a little more seasoned and a little less mistake making, you need to get Billins or Cundari on the phone. Not Culkin.

I understand what you are saying and you are worried he might end up like Baertschi who was rushed in too early, but I only said to bring him up for a few games to see where he is at and only if Byron was indeed playing injured.

calgarywinning · 12-21-2014, 01:00 AM

Seriously, let it run its course. Nice to see some great action and player development and Gaudreau prove himself in the league, but to be a contender we need some more building and great drafting.

I have this theory that a youthful team is wound up and wheeling at the beginning of the season, they throw teams off guard. Then as the rest of the league gets spun up and the pure skill, talent and experience come to bear that performance becomes more of a function and less of an anomaly. The Flames start this year was a great anomaly and hopefully a sign of things to come.

Personally, I also don't care if it's this season or the next season, or after that. We have very good forward momentum. Couple more great pieces is exactly what we need.

Drury18 · 12-21-2014, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robbie111

I understand what you are saying and you are worried he might end up like Baertschi who was rushed in too early, but I only said to bring him up for a few games to see where he is at and only if Byron was indeed playing injured.

What are you expecting Poirier to show with 20 odd games of professional experience?

Is removing him from a winning environment where he is still working on consistently contributing worth it to see if after 3 months of being a pro that he can hang with the NHL guys?

GoJetsGo · 12-21-2014, 01:05 AM

Time, and staying the course.

Keep building through the draft, don't make impulsive decisions based on stretches like earlier this season, and rebuild properly.

This is all part of what happens during a rebuild. The people panicing and hating their pastime over this losing stretch really need to walk away from hockey for a while. This isn't going to be a speedy process.

mile · 12-21-2014, 01:12 AM

Our defense is jumping into the rush plenty of times right now, almost to the point where I think they need to reminded to pick their spots wisely.

They had good second and third periods tonight. I think it just comes down to avoiding simple errors, such as bad pinches and trying to force long outlet passes up the ice like in the first period (the forwards are to blame for that, at least one should be near the defensemen and be available for a pass). Other than that, the talent on this team is limited and that is something that can't be fixed overnight.

Call ups are fine, but they let's not view them as a solution for the problems surrounding this team right now. If we call guys up it's because these they are players knocking on the door right now and we want to see whether or not they project to be NHL players. We're looking to see whether or not guys like Ferland, Hanowski, Baertschi, Reinhart, Knight, etc. are finished products. Poirier should stay in the AHL for now.

Overall I would stand pat for the most part, and ride out the rest of the season. If we make playoffs, great. If we don't, another good draft pick will come our way and it'll be another good building block. Try and look to deal guys like Bollig and Glencross along the way as well.

The solutions for this team's problems are in the long term, and can't be done with short term fixes.

Roof-Daddy · 12-21-2014, 01:13 AM

Not surprising but it seems as though the strong finish last season and the strong start this season have skewed some fans from expectations of the rebuild.

Hopefully management has the patience to see this through properly.

Caged Great · 12-21-2014, 01:16 AM

Plus there are 5 awesome defensemen in this draft, Hanifin, Kylington, Werenski, Roy and Provorov, that all look to be very good two way guys, something the Flames lack in the system.

So it's not the end of the world if the Flames end up finishing poorly this year.

GoJetsGo · 12-21-2014, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Plus there are 5 awesome defensemen in this draft, Hanifin, Kylington, Werenski, Roy and Provorov, that all look to be very good two way guys, something the Flames lack in the system.

So it's not the end of the world if the Flames end up finishing poorly this year.

Do you think Hanifin goes #3 after the big two Centres?

I don't think we'll end up bottom dwellers so winning the lotto seems unlikely, but man would Hanifin be a good fit for us.

robbie111 · 12-21-2014, 01:24 AM

I agree that we don't need to make rash moves that hurt the rebuild, but bringing Wotherspoon up to have a look when he played well in his stint here last year is not a rash move. lol. I am excited to see what Culkin could show in a few games here and it could be used as motivation and reward. If that is considered rash...YIKES.

Panic moves are not what we need and I totally agree with that as I had only mentioned moving Bollig and it won't be the end of the world if we miss the playoffs as we would have a chance at better draft picks. I like the way our youngsters are developing and look forward to the progression of this team in the future.

mile · 12-21-2014, 01:27 AM

I thought I read somewhere that a Wotherspoon call up would be one in which he stays up for good, so probably not until they offload one of our regulars.

I'm hoping the BPA at wherever we pick is a defenseman, we badly need that big all-around defenseman who can log huge minutes.

Wastedyouth · 12-21-2014, 02:03 AM

When we were winning it was because the Flames had horseshoes up there asses. No amount of moves gonna turn their rotten luck around, just time. And patience.

Caged Great · 12-21-2014, 02:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoJetsGo

Do you think Hanifin goes #3 after the big two Centres?

I don't think we'll end up bottom dwellers so winning the lotto seems unlikely, but man would Hanifin be a good fit for us.

Hanifin isn't quite as far ahead as he was at the beginning of the year, but he's still #3 overall in my book. I could easily see the team that has the #3 overall pick take Strome instead if they need a center instead (say Buffalo or Phoenix).

My top 5 are

McDavid-Eichel-Hanifin-Strome-Kylington, three big centers and two very slick defensemen. (a stretch calling McDavid big at 6-0)

After that it drops off a bit (from franchise calibre guys to really good players)

Provorov is starting to climb a lot, and with the KHL not being as much of a factor, he could slide up into the top 7 or so.

Thankfully this year is one where the likely best player available will also be a defenseman, so we don't have to worry about taking a lesser guy just because of position. If the Flames pick 4th again and the top 3 are gone, it would be a difficult choice between Strome and any of the D.

ComixZone · 12-21-2014, 03:17 AM

1. Trust the process. This is a rebuild, it takes time.

DeluxeMoustache · 12-21-2014, 04:07 AM

The Flames should consider the fact that a young team has responded early though many don't have 82 game seasons under their belt. If they treat it as though this is understood, then they can cycle in players that are sitting and keep everyone hungry.

Everyone can take part but also be on their toes. Certain players can play every game but people cycling in and out will be motivated to keep their spots.

If Setoguchi can go down, Jooris and Raymond can sit here or there

Keep that sense of urgency