Quote:
Originally Posted by PepsiFree
There is definitely a way.
I think it would be surprising if we weren't in playoff contention. Now, last year 8th was pretty far back from the pack, but there was only a 7 point difference between 4th and 7th.
Is it likely the Flames finish 4th? No, but with as much parity as there is, there are many teams 'likely' to be in the top four.
I think another year of maturity for Johnny and Monny as well as solid goaltending, a better system, and a few top teams getting worse could easily spell a significant leap in the standings.
Besides, Smid and Bollig are irrelevant (LTIR/low contract), Engelland has been good, Wideman can contribute normally (last season was horrible), and Stajan is solid. The last three are overpaid, but they aren't negatively impacting the team. We could've signed nearly any free agent we wanted to this summer, therefore there is no evidence their contracts are holding us back. Plus, you always overpay for FA.
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I agree that we could be in playoff contention, just not top 4 in the west. The west has far too many tough and talented teams. I see the Flames developing nicely and improving. But I have to disagree with you on Engelland, Wideman, Smid, Bollig and Stajan.
Engelland and Wideman are liabilities on the ice and the sooner they are gone the better. When they didn't play, the Flames defense improved significantly. We won more games and looked more confident. There is proof these guys are holding the team back, in more ways than one.
Not only do those players take a staggering $16.05 million in cap space, they take away roster spots from better rookies. We have guys in our system that are better and should replace them. We saw this at the end of last year.
There is no guarantee that Smid will be on LTIR. He has a lot of time to recover, then we are stuck with him. He is an unknown. I wouldn't count on anything being certain. Bollig will probably be in the AHL. Stajan is slowing down and overpriced for the 4th line. I think Jankowski will/should replace him, but we are stuck with Stajan's cap. I'd like to see Stajan in the AHL mentoring our rookies because he could be great for their development. But I'm unsure if that will happen.
Engelland, Wideman, Smid, Bollig and Stajan take up $16.05 million of our cap. That's a ton of money and roster spots for bad and overplayed players.