Quote:
Originally Posted by 1qqaaz
The D-core is simply too old. Brodie is the only pre-apex player on D, and even he will be 25. Everyone else (except maybe Russell) has a good chance of regressing. The age of the players on defense is quite a predicament. Wideman does not deserve to be demoted to the 5/6 spot, yet the top 4 are too old to allow the Flames to improve. By the middle of next season, the average age of the top 5 on Calgary will be 30.5 years old.
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The average age of the top-five defense core for the Chicago Blackhawks is 31.4 years old, and the youngest player in that group will be 28-years-old before the 2015 Stanley Cup is awarded.
The Flames defense core is absolutely not too old to compete.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1qqaaz
When Gio's contract kicks in during the 16-17 season, Engelland will be 35 and will make almost 3 million, Wideman will be 34 making 5.25, and Gio will be 33 making around 7 million for many years. Brodie's contract will have kicked in, and Russell will probably have gotten a pretty big raise. 24-25 million spent on 5 defensemen who average 31.5 years old during the 16-17 season.
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The question is about
next season, not two years down the road.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1qqaaz
To summarize, the Flames' D core is too old and expensive to be sustainable, especially as a rebuilding team. Anaheim is consistently coming in first in the west with a very young d core. I think out of every "issue" within the organization, the age of the D core is the most pressing. However, if the Flames had had young and inexperienced on D this season, they probably wouldn't have made the playoffs.
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That's probably true, but it is not something that requires correction before puck drop in 2015. It is a process, and one I expect will occur with player turnover in the course of three years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1qqaaz
Goal-tending for next year is still a huge question mark. I don't like our chances if we go with Ortio and Ramo (though I doubt this will happen).
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I don't think goaltending for next season is as "huge" a question mark going into next season as it was for this year. I interpret from this that you see a drop off for next year. Please explain where that will occur. Otherwise, I think it is fair to anticipate that goaltending to be on par next year with this season, which is to say that we should expect it to be maybe just a little better than the League average. That is perfectly reasonable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1qqaaz
I don't see the Flames signing any big free agents.
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The Flames are very well positioned heading into the summer to make some significant upgrades whether by way of FA acquisitions or by trade. They will probably not sign any "big" free agents, but I do think improvement can and possibly will occur with a savvy trade or two. Besides, these sorts of deals don't always have to be big to make a huge difference. Russell was acquired in a low interest trade-and-sign, and the signing of Derek Engelland was widely panned as a terrible deal. Both payed massive dividends this season.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1qqaaz
If the Flames do make the playoffs, I think it will be thanks to huge steps forwards from Johnny and Monny. Nearly all of Backlund, Colborne, Granlund, Shore, Ferland, Bouma, or Jooris will have to take a sizable jump forward.
If the D core can perform as well as they did year, I think the forward group may collectively improve enough to make the Flames edge out teams like San Jose, Vancouver, and Edmonton.
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"Edge out" Edmonton?! The Oilers will need to make a +25-point leap just to be in the conversation of
top ten for next season. This will probably require a
+70 improvement in their goal differential to do so. This IS NOT happening. You need to do a better job of sussing out your superficially arbitrary "slightly below 50%" figure.
No. For the Flames to make the playoffs they need to be a top three team in the Pacific: that is all. The Canucks are embarking on a precipitous decline. The Sharks are a gongshow. The Oilers and the Coyotes are nowhere near competing for the playoffs. As I see it, the Flames are a good bet to finish either 2 or 3 in the Pacific with the LA Kings. If they played in the Central Division, then I would say they are likely to be out. But within the current system, they look to me like a prohibitive favourite for a spot in their own Division.