Do you think this team's core has Stanley Cup potential?

[Kipper_3434]

Originally Posted by Par

There is a lot of negatively in this thread and it has mostly to do with the Flames not getting further in the playoffs. If the Flames make it past the Ducks, than this thread would likely be less negatively.

At least we should have a team that can skate with the ducks better this season. Can't think of any other team we dont match well with in the west. I would say that yes this core has cup potential.

[Gaudfather]

How cool would it be for Gio to be doing this instead of Sid.

Spoiler!

Heck yeah this core has the potential.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I will argue that Giordano stirs the drink on any pairing. He literally does it all, and does it all at a very high level. I also believe that Giordano has been incredibly underrated around the NHL. He is a beast out there, and he is a beast in all zones out there.

With that being said, one only has to look at Dougie's age and his accomplishments - or better yet, just watch him play! - and conclude that he is already a very effective defencemen and is progressing in his development really well.

Repeat - he is NOT a finished product, and NOBODY knows what that finished product is. If he completely stops developing right this instant, you are left with a very good #2 D on any team.

If he continues developing, and his progression takes him to where I think he will finish off at, he will not just be a #1 defencemen, but a damn good #1 defencemen.

I just don't understand how someone can conclude that Hamilton isn't a #1 AND WILL NEVER BE a #1 when you factor in his age, and when you factor in that right before your eyes he is getting better and better. You actually see him improving, no? You can not tell me that the first half season of Hamilton when the Flames acquired him from Boston is the same Hamilton that you see before your eyes.

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by timbit

Interesting.

I wonder if Hamilton will be a better D than Matteau?

What's lost in all the talk about moving Bennett to wing is trying Dougie out there, too.

[Igottago]

Every Flames fan should be happy with this roster right now. Fantastic centre depth, amazing defence, a lot of young core pieces who have already proven their worth in the NHL with a couple more that need a little more seasoning before they fully hit their stride. This team is going to get better and better. While the roster isn't perfect yet (goaltending is the biggest question mark), I actually think the Flames are on the brink of becoming one of the best teams in the NHL. They will be a contender in the not too distant future.

[CliffFletcher]

Player X is a 10/10!

I think more like an 9 right now, but could be a 10 in the future.

HATER!!!!

Never change, CP.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Player X is a 10/10!

I think more like an 9 right now, but could be a 10 in the future.

HATER!!!!

Never change, CP.

That is not at all an illustration of this thread

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Player X is a 10/10!

I think more like an 9 right now, but could be a 10 in the future.

HATER!!!!

Never change, CP.

Where are you seeing this? I think you're misinterpreting which posts/opinions are drawing responses about Hamilton's progression.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by the2bears

What's lost in all the talk about moving Bennett to wing is trying Dougie out there, too.

why on earth would they do that?

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Wild GM

why on earth would they do that?

Here's a bold idea!

First line: Gaudreau - Monahan - D. Hamilton
First pairing: Giordano - F. Hamilton

No one will even notice!

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

I'm clearly going crazy thinking Matteau was a defenceman. Still a horrible trade though, Yawney was useless.

Originally Posted by timbit

Interesting.

I wonder if Hamilton will be a better D than Matteau?

Originally Posted by Wild GM

why on earth would they do that?

Here's the short version of the background. timbit, I think, was joking about the earlier slip and I continued that...

[djsFlames]

Lmao at how underrated Hamilton is.

He's 50% of one of the top few top pairings in the league right now. What are you talking about "might" develop into a top guy in the future? He already is.

The defensive side of his game can improve yet but he contributes far more than he gives up while out there as is, and that's what you want out of a top pairing D

[JFK]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Player X is a 10/10!

I think more like an 9 right now, but could be a 10 in the future.

HATER!!!!

Never change, CP.

Man, stop making things up. You've gone from a good respect poster to a guy who creates the biggest wildest strawmen to prove your points. It's downright embarrassing watching you throw these mini-hissy fits when some disagrees with you.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

I also believe that Giordano has been incredibly underrated around the NHL. He is a beast out there, and he is a beast in all zones out there.

I guess I'm going to say something unpopular here, but I don't think he's underrated.

Sports is about results, and Giordano doesn't have the high end results. Only one healthy season with high points (2015-16), never helped his team past first round. Never been on an Olympic or World Cup team, no international success on any other level either (U18, U20 or mens world championhips).

Yes that's unfair when it comes to team sports, but it is what it is. I actually think he's quite well rated considering the lack of results, it's not like he's some secret either.

If he can stay healthy, I expect him to get a lot more press in the next couple of seasons.

[Brick]

Personally, I would like to see the Flames get bigger and tougher up front. Obviously players need to have skill as well. Not easy to do but that is what I would like to see eventually.

[jaikorven]

Originally Posted by Brick

Personally, I would like to see the Flames get bigger and tougher up front. Obviously players need to have skill as well. Not easy to do but that is what I would like to see eventually.

I think that is most people's hope and as you say, not an easy thing to do. Skill with size will always trump skill with limited size.

Edited due to other important factors coming into play. E.g. Speed All things being equal you will always take the bigger player if he has an identical skill set.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Lmao at how underrated Hamilton is.

He's 50% of one of the top few top pairings in the league right now. What are you talking about "might" develop into a top guy in the future? He already is.

The defensive side of his game can improve yet but he contributes far more than he gives up while out there as is, and that's what you want out of a top pairing D

Yeah, I remember posting at one point last season that he is our best player. He was at that time in my opinion.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Brick

Personally, I would like to see the Flames get bigger and tougher up front. Obviously players need to have skill as well. Not easy to do but that is what I would like to see eventually.

It was a huge need a couple years ago but I think they've done most of the work required there.

-Ferland has bodied his way onto the top two lines. He provides size and toughness with skill.
-Tkachuk was drafted to provide size, toughness and skill. He's working out great. Basically between Ferly and Tkachuk you can have a power forward on each of the top two lines.
-Brouwer was signed to add size and toughness and a right shot. He's been a bit of a disappointment so far but there's potential for him to rebound.
-Bennett although only slightly above average in size plays a very strong and tough game along the boards and in front of the net. Physicality will always be part of his game.
-Hathaway is likely the guy providing the size, toughness and agitation on the 4th line.
-Lazar was brought in and although he doesn't have better than average size, he certainly doesn't shy away from the physical part of the game.
-Then you have guys like Monahan and Janko who aren't particularly physical but do have nice size. You have a guy like Backlund who is about average in size but is very tenacious on the puck. Frolik has slightly above average size/strength and while not very physical he's tenacious like Backlund and doesn't play a soft game.

On the other end of the spectrum we've only got Versteeg and Gaudreau with below average size/strength. The big/strong forwards outnumber the small/weak ones by a significant margin. We could make a whole line of gritty, skilled forwards with Tkachuk-Bennett-Brouwer and still have a few physical forwards in Ferland and Hathaway to compliment the other lines.

I'm one of the posters on here accused of being the most concerned about size/strength/physicality and I'm fairly happy with where we're at. It'd be nice if we had one more power forward develop through the system in the next few years but it's not as big of a need as it once was. And with Smith, Carroll, Fisher we do have some guys in the system who may be able to bring that down the line.

The far bigger need this summer was adding some size/strength/toughness on the backend as that's been a big need for a couple years and was going to even bigger with the loss of Engelland. But the addition of Hamonic and the re-signing of Stone gives us a couple guys who can play big minutes while giving us some size/strength/physicality. Gio plays a tough game but has only average size on defense. Hamonic and Stone bring the ability to really staple guys to the boards and body them out of the front of the net. However I'd say they are even better puck movers than Engelland was so overall the defense is a lot stronger. Hamilton will probably never be considered a huge banger but he's playing a lot less soft than he did when he first came here. With Russell gone we don't have any defensemen with below average size/strength. 1 through 5 I think our defense is one of the hardest to play against in the league.

I'd say we're nicely balanced overall. We have a nice blend of skill, skating, size and toughness at all positions. We even have some size and toughness in goal now :P LA may not play as physical of a game with their coaching/management turnover. ANA has a lot of powerforwards to contend with but I think we're in better shape than we used to be. EDM has improved a lot in this area in the last couple years as well. I think we're as hard to play against as anybody in the division.

[Regorium]

I don't think we do unless one of Bennett or Jankowski puts up a consistent 70 points a year. I think this team is just starved for playoff offence (ie. Something that gaudreau just physically cannot consistently provide)

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Regorium

I don't think we do unless one of Bennett or Jankowski puts up a consistent 70 points a year. I think this team is just starved for playoff offence (ie. Something that gaudreau just physically cannot consistently provide)

Why does it have to fall all on Bennett/Janko? I think they'll be important pieces but Tkachuk is a real playoff type performer and I'd expect big things from him. Bennett I do think will be another key guy in the playoffs but not because he specifically nets 70 points or not. I'm not too worried about playoff offense. It's playoff goaltending that let us down. Playoff offense will come no doubt as our young core matures.