I'm of mixed opinion. The Flames with league average goaltending last year would have been above the Vancouvers and Winnipegs of the world (although goaltending was an issue for them as well).
With Ramo and Hiller I would expect better goaltending over the Berra/McDonald/Ortio games of last year.
On the other-hand losing is demoralizing and I'm not sure you can expect the same all out effort two years in a row, particularly when you just can't score. Giordano also played at an all-worldly level last year, can he keep that up? If he regresses to being just a 'good' defenseman, the team's level of play will drop.
I do agree with Tinordi though. If you're going to suck, do it this year. A group of forwards between the ages of 18-21 consisting of Bennett, Monohan, Gaudreau and McDavid/Eichel would be the envy of the league.
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