Quote:
Originally Posted by IGGYFORMVP
Losing is not the new winning. Selling off your vets after a team tries this hard to make the playoffs would be gutting for the whole team. Terrible message to send the young guys. This team has great chemistry, you do not mess with that. The reason this team is where they are at is because they try so damn hard. That can go down the tubes in a hurry if you were to sell off some vets.
Besides who say that this team doesn't have the talent to make some noise in the playoffs? I am not going to write off a team this scappy without giving them a chance. I like our 4 line depth as much as most teams, and depth wins in the playoffs.
Just say no to Oilering (the new term for losing).
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I do agree it's got to be a balance for sure. Figure out who are the key vet cogs in that room, keep them. The rest, ship off and let the Ferland's of the world slide in for more ice time.
You can always replace mid-level vet talent with new mid-level vet talent in the offseason, so trading them away to get future assets when the deal makes sense is not necessarily Oilering it.
Also, the closer this team gets, the better they play, and the more our culture and hard work ethic resonates around the league, the Flames will quickly become a somewhat appealing destination again for SOME UFAs. Which was not the case even in the last offseason, so I would wager the Flames may have some more appealing options to choose from, and won't likely have to overpay anymore like they did this past offseason just to attract some bodies to fill out the roster, the cap space and create competition for the young guys development.