Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntingwhale
Again, the Sharks have the 2nd most wins out of any team since the '05 lockout. During that time they have 5 division titles, have had 50+ wins four times, 105+ points six times, a presidents trophy. Their list of accomplishments go on. So yeah, I'd say the Flames are quite a fair ways away. We made the 2nd round last season because teams like the Sharks had poor seasons and we played a weak Vancouver team in round 1. And yet people trot it out like it was some massive accomplishment to piggy back off the failure of other teams.
I'm not going to comment on how many players away I think we are, because frankly no one knows. But I do think the organization itself is quite a ways away from having the success the Sharks have had for the last decade. And more to that, it's more then just players we need. We need a change in style, a change in special teams, defensive structure ,etc. The Sharks have that in spades.
You say the Sharks aren't a perennial contender. Why not? They missed the playoffs once in the last 12 seasons. The definition of perennial is
So I guess if we're taking the literal definition, no team in NHL history is a perennial contender. But you could definitely say the Sharks making the playoffs is a mostly continually recurring event.
Otherwise I'm not really sure what we are arguing about. The Sharks are a damned good team, and have been for a while, and are at present. The Flames aren't. I'm not sure what there really is to argue. I guess if you're trying to say the Flames are close to what the Sharks are AT PRESENT (ie regular season 98 pts team), I still disagree. But it's extremely hard to make any argument against a team like the Sharks vs Flames at present when they are playing in the WCF and we are picking 6th overall in the draft  |
As I said, they were a power-house and perennial contender (I'm sort of lumping those two terms together, rather than the strict definition). I just don't see them as that same team - they're on the decline I think. They're having a great year, but they're also not a young team. So, I don't see them keeping this up like they were, hence I don't think they're a perennial contender going forward.
Again, though, just how "very very far off" are the Flames? Never once did I suggest they were near "perennial contender" status, just that they're closer to the current Sharks than you seem to think.