To me, there are a few key questions to ask on whether we will be better or worse next year:
1. Can we find one more top 4 dman (Brodie, Gio and Russell gives us 3)? Could be from farm team but I'd think about signing someone more defensive and trading Wideman. Always need extra dmen! See game 82's lineup for why!
2. Who is going to replace Cammi's scoring? I see it as we have two top 6 pairings: Colbourne-Monahan and Backlund-Hudler meaning that there are 2 spots in top 6 available. Likely one spot goes to whoever we draft in round 1 by halfway through the season. But still need someone else to step up from our farm team or a signee of the Hudler type.
3. Can goaltending remain league "average" at minimum? The flames will likely still be a low scoring team so key to doing better will be better defensive play or goaltending. I like Ramo's play in the second half and Ortio looked good in his 9 games but we all saw the Oilers absolutely bomb when their goaltending bombed to start the season. Counting on relatively inexperienced goalies is always a risk.
Overall, I'm betting on a slight improvement as I think Burke gets a few more pieces that are obvious holes in the lineup so that young players are fit in where they belong and have to earn their spots. Top 10 pick next season.
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