I feel the Flames have responded much better the summer after their "bucking the advanced stats season" than either Toronto or Colorado did.
The Leafs snuck in the playoffs and lost in round 1 game 7. Next summer they sign Clarkson and trade for Bolland. those moves did not really help the Leafs and they fell back down to earth the next year and are in full scale rebuilding mode.
Colorado went in a weird direction. They won their division and lost in game 7 first round. They swapped Parenteau for Briere, let Statsny go and signed Iginla instead. Lastly they addressed their weak blueline acquiring 35 year old Brad Stuart. The Avs didn't make the playoffs but still were a 90pt team and still have several young pieces. They added another graybeard in Beauchiman this summer and have a weird roster of players in their early 20's and several in their mid-late 30's.
The Flames snuck into the playoffs last year but also won their first round matchup with the Canucks while their best player watched from the press box. Obviously I think they have responded perfectly this offseason. To avoid regression and to move the rebuild forward they trade draft picks for a 22 year old stud D who should help immensely. They also added a solid 27 year old utility winger that also was a need. Lastly the Flames are adding an elite prospect to their lineup something that neither the Leafs or Avs had in their cupboard the year after their "fluke" seasons. I feel Hamilton, Frolik, and Bennett along with Gio's return will help Calgary avoid the regression many predicted we will have next year
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