[wingmaker]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

YOu spot them seasons until they actually have a roster decent enough where you can expect playoff success.

Just look at last night's game:

- Calgary got pushed around all night
- Calgary's top line was on fire and the team still lost
- Calgary's goaltending was only marginally worse than Anaheims
- 3 Blown leads.

These are all symptoms of being a bad team. If you are getting pushed around all night, you aren't dictating the play as much as you might think you are. If your top line is on fire and you still can't win, it means you have no secondary scoring (and are thus a bad team).You should win a game where you score 4 goals, even if 3 of Hiller's were awful, the team still allowed 3 more. If you're blowing multiple leads in a game, it's a sign you can't play any style other than loose. Good teams can 'lock it down', the Flames are gunning it whether they are winning or losing.

If you expected this team to be a playoff team this year or next, your expectations are simply too high.

The top line is good, the rest of the team needs a lot of work.

Does it? If Monahan, Gaudreau, and Bennett are truly the players that will lead Calgary, how many pieces are we actually missing? How many players can we expect to add with the cap restrictions what they are once those three players get paid what they're worth? Another top offensive player for sure, and a better goaltender for sure. Beyond that, this team should have enough to compete. The defence is solid, and there are enough second line/third line depth to be able to step up when needed (Frolik, Backlund, Ferland, Bouma, etc). So the question is, how long does it take the young players to play to the level needed for them to lead Calgary? If you look around the league at other young players who went on to lead their team, it didn't take that long. Usually by the time a player is past their entry level contract, they are established leaders. If not, than they probably are just complimentary pieces and not the corner stone pieces that we all expect them to be. The NHL has changed. It is no longer a 25 to 30 year old league, it is a 22 to 27 year old league.