I still think they are a ways off. Fortunately, we have a GM who recognizes the pieces we need and once those players are identified, our GM has a great ability to go out and get them.
I'm not going to predict when the Flames will be contenders, if ever. Just because you go through a rebuild does not guarantee success. For as many team as there are that blow it up like we did and build from the bottom up that are successful, there twice as many that fail.
And while it's easy to point at a graph and say ''this many years losing equals where to go but up now!" we have to consider that there are 29 other teams around the league trying to prevent us from winning on any given night. The Flames can be trending upwards, but we will need other teams to trend down. The Flames simply aren't strong enough like LA or St. Louis to be able to dominate whomever the opponent is. Until proven otherwise, we need other teams to start trending down.
However the trump card in all of this is our goaltending. If Elliot/Johnson can become a magical duo, then we have a great shot at making the playoffs and perhaps having a decent run. But to me a contending team is a team like the Caps or Hawks, who have the ability to beat any team on any given night and are in the legit conversation to win the cup. The Flames realistically aren't close at all. The hope is there. The potential is coming along. But we've got a long ways to go.
Having said all that, I will consider this rebuild done and complete when we can finally beat Anaheim at the Honda Centre!
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