Thank you Flames!

[belsarius]

Thank you Calgary Flames for a great season!

Losing in the first round sucks, but if on US Thanksgiving someone told me this team would not only be in the playoffs but in the first wildcard spot I would have been elated! And then even though they lost in 4, they were not out of their league and played the most even 4 game sweep I can remember seeing.

So many ups and downs (downs then ups?) this season to count but overall I would call this a very successful season for a young team just completing the last stages of a rebuild.

Lots of adversity and growing from it, two goalies who both had very hot and very cold streaks, star players who had trouble adjusting to a system, and a new coach with a very different philosophy to Hartley.

In the end the team improved 17points in the regular season, had a rookie play on one of the best possession lines in the league, had a franchise best winning streak and from Nov 15th on was a top 5 team in the league.

Sure there are some tweaks to do, I don't know that either goalie will be back, there will probably be a brand new bottom pairing and hopefully some fresh faces in the fall.

In the end, thank you for a great season Flames. Lots of entertainment, some heartbreak but some resilience. I was worried the 2015 Flames were unsustainable, I am not worried about the 2017 Flames. Congratulations on a great season even if in the end you deserved better.

The 2017/2018 Snek awaits!

[CroFlames]

I was entertained, and I'm thrilled with Monahan.

Lost 4 one-goal games that could have gone either way if we had just decent goaltending. Hopefully this is the start of many consecutive playoff seasons.

Thank you Flames.

[edn88]

As much as it sucked to watch a 4 and out playoff series against the Ducks, this year was way more fun than last year. And the fact that we had any playoff games the way the season started.

Some pretty memorable moments including the win streak. I think that this is another stepping stone for our young guys who are going to be part of the core.

[shermanator]

Nice to see a positive thread this morning in a see of irrational ones.

I can say this, I feel a lot better about this team at the end of this season than I did at the end of last season. Goaltending is again the priority this season. Defense looks very solid, whereas last year it looked incredibly weak. A lot of young talented forwards to get behind, perhaps some tweaks on the bottom 6, and hopefully Gaudreau shows up at the start of the season now that there are no contract issues.

[Puppet Guy]

A playoff season is always more fun than a non-playoff season.

[alan21]

This first round exit has a different feel from the Iggy era since that window was rapidly closing while this one is about to swing open with our young core.

There's plenty of room for improvement and they will learn from this and only get better.

[Robbob]

Despite the loss I am pleased with the progress the team has made. I think sometimes since the kids have been around for what seems forever, you forget how young they are. Using the old crawl-walk-run-sprint analogy, I think they are on the cusp on the run stage.

I think learning and understanding the new system this season will allow them to fly out of the gates next year. I look froward to see Tkachuk, Bennett, Monahan, and Gaudreau with another year of development under their belt. They are all still under 24 and have had some pretty important learning/teaching moments that will only benefit them.

It was a fun ride as IMO they are headed in the right direction.

I am already looking forward to Penticton to see the next wave that I think will start making a push to help bolster this squad.

[flame^thrower]

Up and down season, but in the end they made the playoffs. Got to love how they pulled that off. I've been working doubles and missed game 4 ... maybe a good thing. I hope they make the proper moves to go further next year.

Thank you guys!

[midniteowl]

Despite the loss, I'm so very happy to see there is a playoff Bennett! And Monahan scored a powerplay goal in back to back to back to back, how awesome was that!

Thank you boys, we have a lot to look forward to next season!

[javer]

Hey CP, Oiler fan here. Long-time lurker who joined originally after your last Duck game of the regular season to join the criticism of the appalling officiating in that one. Just brutal overreaction against the Flames over what was a chippy game on both sides. Anyway, that one's long in the past.

Wanted to congratulate the Flames on a great season and a fun-to-watch team. Wearing my goggles, I wouldn't join in saying there's a league conspiracy against the Flames, but would concur some horrid judgement cost you at least one game in Round 1. I watched every game and was surprised (and a bit disappointed in myself ) about how badly I wanted to see the Flames tie it up last night. The Flames played well all series and didn't deserve that result.

I like to think we're seeing the beginning of the end of the California domination of the Pacific. If last game was any indication, our season may be coming to an end too, but hopefully not yet. With a look at goaltending for the Flames, and perhaps some upgrades for both squads, I hope to see Alberta being the place to duke it out over the Pacific title. BoA, round 2, 2018!

[BigRed]

You look at this series vs 2015 against the Ducks and it's night and day. That was men against boys, regardless of results. This year they were right there -- the better team overall in my opinion. That's a huge leap any way you look at it.


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[BigRed]

Originally Posted by javer

I like to think we're seeing the beginning of the end of the California domination of the Pacific. If last game was any indication, our season may be coming to an end too, but hopefully not yet. With a look at goaltending for the Flames, and perhaps some upgrades for both squads, I hope to see Alberta being the place to duke it out over the Pacific title. BoA, round 2, 2018!

Thanks Javer and I agree, we do seem to be seeing the changing of the guard. I can't be as generous as you though -- dying for an Oilers loss to join our misery! But here's to a few years of epic battles between north and south like the old days.


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[javer]

Originally Posted by BigRed

dying for an Oilers loss to join our misery!

I wouldn't have it any other way! My reasons were not all altruistic, also wanted to see the series extended to tire out the Ducks a little. Flames & their fans deserved better after the season they had. And Kesler, Perry, Bieksa and the rest of them deserve worse. A lot for the Flames to actually build on as opposed to the last decade we've had up north... Hoping for a good off-season for you guys so I can go back to normal: wishing for Flames' losing no matter the circumstance.

[Mony]

Originally Posted by javer

Hey CP, Oiler fan here. Long-time lurker who joined originally after your last Duck game of the regular season to join the criticism of the appalling officiating in that one. Just brutal overreaction against the Flames over what was a chippy game on both sides. Anyway, that one's long in the past.

Wanted to congratulate the Flames on a great season and a fun-to-watch team. Wearing my goggles, I wouldn't join in saying there's a league conspiracy against the Flames, but would concur some horrid judgement cost you at least one game in Round 1. I watched every game and was surprised (and a bit disappointed in myself ) about how badly I wanted to see the Flames tie it up last night. The Flames played well all series and didn't deserve that result.

I like to think we're seeing the beginning of the end of the California domination of the Pacific. If last game was any indication, our season may be coming to an end too, but hopefully not yet. With a look at goaltending for the Flames, and perhaps some upgrades for both squads, I hope to see Alberta being the place to duke it out over the Pacific title. BoA, round 2, 2018!

This forum needs Oilers fans who behave more like you!