Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
The Flames have some great young forwards but Giordano is still the best player on this team. There is no reason to expect that he won't continue to be one of the best players on this team for another year or two.
This gets debated a lot on this board, and I know that people feel very strongly about how important it is for the Flames to add a top-line winger, but I think this is premature. The rebuild may be finished, but with the window opening, there are still going to be years of growth and improvement. Moreover, given that so much of the Flames offense originates from their blue line, this helps to mitigate that need somewhat.
Treliving has gone on record saying that he is building this team from the backend and the middle out. He is sticking to that with very solid depth at centre and now one of the best top-four defensive units in the NHL. I would expect that the focus of improvement will now shift more earnestly to the wings as these players at crucial positions continue to develop.
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Already out of thanks this AM...
Just wanted to add that I think people also may be wary about Gio hanging around like Iginla, implying that the Flames may not maximize his potential trade value if they keep Gio around...
As you allude to however, the difference here is that Gio is an older leader on a relatively young (and skilled) roster. That is the kind of vet:youth ratio you want on a team.
Iginla was an aging leader on an aging (and less skilled) roster and still was in many ways the team's best asset. Over several years of the "win-now" mentality being fuelled by adding aging players, the team had put itself in a situation where both trading Iggy and keeping Iggy were tough decisions to make.
Gio's situation is markedly different, as he is one of only a few older guys on the team.
He is also universally respected by the young guys on the team, who all look up to him as captain (not comparing him to Iggy here--standalone statement about Gio exclusively). Even if his play starts to decline, the Flames can accommodate that potentiality, while still benefitting from his leadership and work ethic.
Treliving is doing a great job of righting the "peak age" and prospect imbalance that plagued the team for much of the last decade. It's fun to watch a good GM at work!