I have been thinking about this. It is hard to say what will happen next year or when the group will become legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, if ever. The future is always yet to come. If a team is properly managed they will always have some good young guys in the system, so the future should always be bright. Alas, that is hard to do, and trading off prospects to solidify your team for a deep playoff run is too tempting to do. Hopefully Treliving learned from this year that you don't need to do that.
One thought on Gaudreau. He is only coming off of his rookie year? It feels like he has been here for a couple of years now. They way he quickly became a key player it doesn't feel like we had a couple of years watching this guy develop into what he is right now. Can you imagine if he continues to get better?
Anyway, right now we're all riding on a high. The Flames had an unexpectedly good season, overcoming the odds that the naysayers put on the Flames. This team wasn't supposed to be good. Bottom 5 or bottom 10 team in the league. Most of us die hard fans all thought the same. Then all of a sudden playoffs looked like a reality. Then all of a sudden we're in round 2!
Hard not to get caught up in that and expect growth for next year. What if we fall back a bit? What if we miss the playoffs by 1 point, or 10 points? Plenty of panic will ensue, but hopefully only in the eyes of the fans and not from within management. Flip slide, we did well without our top player and captain. Should a key player like Monahan or Gaudreau have an off year, or get injured for a long period, this team should be able to do well in spite of that... or was this year setting the bar too high?
The future does indeed look bright, but to avoid disappointment, and to help make it more fun when they do improve, I'm going to approach the future with guarded optimism.
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