Quote:
Originally Posted by JiriHrdina
On paper they are not a great team.
On paper they are at best an 7-12 seed team. At best.
This is part of the problem. Expectations.
They should be better than they are. But to say they are a great team on paper means you are looking at the wrong piece of paper.
|
I don't think they should be better than they are.
Backlund is playing great and is on a ~40 pt pace.
I think if you look at the production this year to last year it's even worse from Calgary's bottom 6 players and it should be expected. The depth of skill on the roster was downgraded with the loss of Hudler and Colborne and Jooris (Who, like it or not, scored 10 goals in this league), but the physicality has gotten better.
The goaltending is better but the defense is worse.
This is basically the same team that was good enough to pick 4th overall last year putting up some of the same numbers when it comes to things like special teams.
Flames are on pace to score less than 200 goals this year if I did my math right. The difference is the Flames have to play some semblance of an actual defensive system this year so the scoring from the D has fallen off a cliff. Brodie, team worst -13 and 3 points in 21 games was unpredictable but you knew it was unlikely that Giordano would have yet another career year and that wideman would somehow find his game again after pretty much never having it in the first place.
There is no evidence to suggest the Flames should be anything but a basement dweller this season. They're carrying a massive cap anchor in the acumulation of bad contracts and it would basically be impossible for them to be competitive under those constraints. This is a year stuck in a holding pattern. Once you can pay a winger 6 million t o score goals to alex chiasson is off the first line, then the team will start to look better on the powerplay. Until that time, it's garbage hockey city.