Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
Seriously though if we can solve our goaltending like Florida did then I really think we're poised to take a serious step forward like Florida has. Florida is another good young team. They are just a year or two ahead of us in terms of development.
I think both the Sabres and the Flames have the chance to be next years Florida if they can solve a few key holes. We just have to keep an eye on goaltending in particular. Oilers on the other hand have more serious and systemic issues so they are still behind BUF and CGY in their rebuild. I think the Sabres and Flames are closer to contending than WPG, EDM or ARI.
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If I may...
The Panthers turned the corner when Gallant was hired. He taught defensive systems and worked hard on individuals playing well on the defensive side of things. The results in his first year was a pretty good defensive team that struggled to score goals. What's happened this year is that the term already knows how to play defense, and the offense has exploded because they can work on it more since the defensive side is mostly taken care of.
Goaltenders help, and no doubt Luongo has been good in Florida, but if you look at the last year he had in Vancouver many thought he was going to be a major burden to a team with declining play. Shows you what a good defensive team can do for a goalie's numbers and perceptions.
Here's my thought on the OP's question.
We will be a contender when we learn how to play defense. It's that simple. There are very few teams that can outscore their problems defensively. Dallas would be an outlier, but they've also assembled the very best forward group in the entire league. Chances are, unless they improve defensively, they'll have trouble making the playoffs again next year. It's just too hard these days to win if you can't keep the puck out of your net.