[bubbsy]

Team has/should move forward with:

Top 6 Forwards:
Gaudreau
Monahan
Bennet
Tkachuk
Brouwer (ugh.... does he belong here??)

Bottom 6 Forwards:
Backlund
Frolik
Ferland

(ideally, bye-bye stajan/bouma, i don't care enough about hamilton to determine if he fits or not)

Defence
Giordano
Brodie
Hamilton

Goaltending
..... nothing

Forward options in the system or our own FAs: Hathaway, Chiasson, Jankowski, Shinkaruk,
Defense options in the system: Engelland, Jokkipakka, Kulak, Culkin, Wotherspoon, Kylington (left off Andersson who is just a AHL rookie this year)
Goaltending options in the system: None (too soon in my opinion)

We have a lot of holes to fix:
1 x top 6 forward: could be harder to fill if the gap is at center (ie. Bennet is shifted to the wing). Also, this could be x2 depending on where they see brouwer as a proper fit.

0 x bottom 6 forwards: i think the core is pretty solid in backlund, frolik, ferland, hathaway. Adding in depth from the system or UFAs to fill the bottom line shouldn't really be a big problem.

1 x top 4 dman: giordano, brodie, hamilton should be our top minute eaters, but there needs to be a 4th guy there, preferably a steady, physical guy who knows how to actually play defense

2 x bottom pair guys: I'm not sure where i am at with Jokipakka/Kulak long term. Engelland has been good, but at his age, unclear if he should be re-signed. Not sure how the prospects are doign and if even 1 is ready, flames would do well to pair them with a vet

1 x starting(1a) goaltender: Johnson has proven he is a good, if not great, 1b guy. I would be hesitant to just pencil him in and sign him as the starter. The goalies in the system are still quite young, so i expect that they will not see fulltime capacity, even as a backup, as early as next year.

I am hoping the flames are patient and just ride this thing out and see where they and where the market is at come trade deadline. There are the obvoius trade pieces that should at least be attempted if the team continues to struggle (engelland, stajan, elliott, chiasson, bouma, wideman).

What i am curious to see is if the flames make some really hard and more meaningful moves in order to adjust the roster and it's shortfalls. By that i mean, are they willing to look at moving guys like giordano, brouwer, frolik, backlund, hamilton, that all have value and could likely allow for an influx of high impact assets, either in the assets returned or in the cap freedom that is created.

i am not considering what this year's 1st round pick fits in here. for one, the draft doesn't seem stocked with as much high end talent as seen in previous years, and secondly, as bad as things have been, i still see the flames moving out of the bottom 5, and likely drafting closer to 10.