Quote:
Originally Posted by bubbsy
so morning after, my thoughts gravitate back to the fact that the western conference has some ultra-elite teams, that frankly have it all. Chicago, Anaheim, St. Louis and Minnesota are just complete teams built for the 7 game playoff layout. In the west, everyone else is just a tier (or two-three) below. I think a flames series against any of these 4 teams would look about the same as what we are seeing so far in the second round.
It's kind of a eye opener to the fact that though we all should be super proud of how far this team has come along, in order to really become an upper echelon team that is in the same group as the above, there is still a lot of work to be done. Need 2 lines that can be counted on for offense, need defense that is 8 deep (having 3rd pairing guys in the playoffs playing under half a dozen mins isn't going to work). On top of that, need the size to be able to play playoff grind hockey throughout the lineup.
Really shouldn't be all that upset about the domination so far. The rebuild is coming around really well and there's plenty to be excited about. This series should be an excellent learning lesson for not only the player's growth, but also a great mechanism for management to get a feel for what is needed to evolve to not just a bubble team but to a contender.
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The good news is, we can add a big name UFA D-man to round out the D and even add a top 6 winger and still have no cap troubles. This doesn't have to be a rebuild for much longer.
Then add a full year of Bennett and Ortio and I think we'll have a pretty complete team.