Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan
Excellent point, and it makes you wonder if Iggy was still with this team, what would they look like? He obviously would provide that 20+ goals to put us on the bubble in a very tough conference, but would there be such a selfless team work ethic if he was still here? I'm merely speculating, but the culture did seem to change when he left and Giordano was made captain. Not hating Iggy, but things grow stale and I don't think any amount of talent brought into this team with Iggy still here was going to put us over the hump. The Flames needed a fresh start (as did Iggy obviously) and I think we'd be an even worse team this year if Iginla had not been traded. I certainly don't think you'd see leadership from Backlund and Gio the way you have this year if Iginla is still on this team.
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For years the mantra was finding a center for Iggy's line. We would keep making subtle changes but opposing teams could approach the Flames with the same simple strategy: stop Iginla's line. If they couldn't, the Flames would win, but that wasn't enough wins to get us anywhere.
Now, I don't think a lot of teams are sure how to prepare for the Flames. As the new core forms and matures, it will get harder still. Its why I feel we don't necessarily need superstar talent for a successful rebuild. Obviously we'll need some very good players, especially in goal and at center, but a team that can roll four lines with defence that can jump into the play will be tough to stop. We can already see that starting to happen, even with our neophyte collection of rookies, castoffs, and disrespected vets. Kudos to Bob Hartley and the inspired leadership of our new captain. I hope we can retain the team chemistry we have now as we add more pieces.