Quote:
Originally Posted by Caged Great
Treliving seemed really enthusiastic towards Hartley in all the reports I've heard, which was absent with Ward, so that is something I'd consider a positive regarding Hartley.
As for my expectations for 2015, is either dead last, or right near it. We managed to get worse up front than we already were, while all of Buffalo, Edmonton, New York, Nashville and Florida improved. None of the teams immediately ahead of us got worse either except Ottawa, and they didn't get hit hard enough to be a top 3 pick (still have Anderson/Lehner)
Add in that the Flames have to play 54 games against the west, where Buffalo and Florida play 54 against the east, and it should help to limit our points.
There is pretty much no way the Flames finish out of the bottom 10 unless we luck out and Bennett, Gaudreau, and Baertschi all make the team and instantly become all-star calibre players.
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I don't think they would have to be all-stars, but if one was able to match Camalleri's contribution, and the other two were very good, this Flames team could be much better than last years.
You can't forget just how close they were to several more wins last year, even with a horrendous number of injuries, rookie goaltenders and placing a lot of responsibility on their prize rookie center.
Just a normal year for injuries, some stability in goal, growth from players like Monahan and better years from players like Glencross, additions like Mason and the ongoing excellence of Hartley's coaching, should make a huge difference. If they find amongst those rookies a replacement for Cammalleri, and this team should be head and shoulders above last years team.
Not to say all of these elements will occur, but there are some impressive building blocks in place already, and you can't ask for more than that.