Quote:
Originally Posted by Strange Brew
The Hawks were really bad in 2002 but how did you conclude that's when they started their rebuild? They went through coaching and management changes and I would say 2007 is a more appropriate date.
If the Hawks of 2002 are the model then this Flames team will be torn apart long before they are a contender.
I don't disagree with your fundamental point that it may take a while and some restarts before things get going. But what people are debating is whether we have the right pieces and management in place right now.
If being bad is what it takes to be in a rebuild, then FLames have been there for 20 years.
|
What I am trying to get at is that there needs to be some patience. The team has been smart enough to be able to identify what the problem areas are and to do their best to address them.
The goaltending last year was a tire fire and cost the Flames their chance at the playoffs. Out of the entire organization's goalies that were not still in juniors, only Jon Gillies remained and a bunch of new blood was brought in, from Johnson and Elliott to Rittich and McCollum along with Parsons through the draft.
The lack of any RW was the other problem. If the Flames had enough cap space this past off season, I'm sure they would have went hard after a guy like David Backes as well as Troy Brouwer. They could only afford Brouwer though and tried to plug a few miscellaneous guys in there in hopes that one would take the job and run with it (Chiasson and Versteeg on RW at the beginning of the season). Unfortunately, bargain options are not usually able to walk in and be awesome 1st liners. It can happen occasionally, but it's rare. So here we are with a pair of 2nd/3rd line tweener RW in Brouwer and Frolik and 4th line/AHL options for the other spots.
Another part of the problem is that nobody really knows what Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett, and Dougie Hamilton are as players. Is Hamilton going to be a slightly better version of Dennis Wideman or is he going to emerge as one of the premier defenders in the NHL? Will Sam Bennett become a 60-70 point player, or is he going to top out as a 40-50 point player? Is Monahan going to be a top end 1st line C, or just and adequate one?
The Hawks were hoping that those three guys would be good enough to be their core guys and emerge as legit top line talent. However, they were more low end 2nd liners that were given prime ice time and they didn't rise to the occasion. That is also why as soon as the Hawks gave up on them, their stay in the NHL was not long. A guy like Bennett might only be a 2nd line guy and the Flames might find that they are better off dealing him down the road, just like the Oilers did with Taylor Hall. Or he might put everything together. The frustrating part is that we simply do not know.
One thing I am certain of is that the team will be targeting both another top 6 forward (likely a RW, but maybe a center if they opt to put Bennett on the wing) and a legitimate #4 defenseman after this season in free agency or at the draft. Those are the two things the team lacks right now and the management is good at identifying those problems and doing their best to fix them.
We all would be thrilled if the Flames could magically put everything together right now and become a playoff team this season, and it is entirely possible with the rest of the teams in the west and the start they are off to. The good thing is that either way, the areas that the team is weak will be fixed to some extent and the team will be even more well rounded and likely to compete for a championship. Just have to wait and see.