Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken
KA-BOOM!
This Just In! THE LAS VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS ARE A BETTER TEAM THAN THE FLAMES!
4 forwards over 50 points compared to Calgary's 2. 2 players over a point per game to Calgary's 1.
Ferland's 20 goals would be good enough to tie for 5th on their roster in goals (with Reilly smith, who has 53 points compared to Ferland's 34...)
To believe the Flames would be producing more offense than Las Vegas is to believe that with a different coach, Backlund would be over a point per game over the course of 60 games. To believe the Flames would be producing more offense with a different coach is to believe that Michael Frolik, who has never scored 20, would somehow have 21 goals through 60 games.
I don't know how people can watch games like that or the one against Tampa or against Boston or against the Leafs and say "yeah, we can hang with these guys". The Flames don't have close to that kind of depth, not even close.
Dougie with 36 points is the 4th highest scorer on the roster.
Colin Miller, with 33 points, is Las Vegas' SEVENTH highest scorer. AND THEY HAVE TWO DEFENDERS WITH 30 POINTS.
The Flames do not have enough talent up front to be competitive, and they have way too much salary on defense to be able to address it in a significant way.
That Vegas team is paying Clarkson and Grabovski 10 million dollars not to play for them.
The Flames are paying Stajan and Brouwer close to the same to be active roster players.
This is where I just absolutely shake my head at some posters who continually whine about the coach. The Flames are a salary imbalanced roster without nearly enough scoring punch up front, and they've been like this for two calendar years now.
This team is a pretender, not a contender, and GG is low on the list of problems facing the organization right now.
|
I've read it all now.
Yes, everyone and their monkey saw that Vegas was a much more talented squad than the Flames at the start of the season!! How on earth did I forget this?
Come on. Don't you remember how many depth guys on the Flames had career years under Hartley? Joe Colborne scored 20 goals. Flames had some pretty high scoring defencemen then.
Systems play a TONNE into point production. The reason you change up systems is to give your team the best chance to win most nights based on the roster and philosophy you want to play. Flames took a decided turn when they let go of Hartley and hired Gulutzan to focus more on the defensive side of the game. That usually means that you sacrifice some offence.
Vegas is playing a very up-tempo game that is designed around speed, hard on the forecheck, aggressive defence and especially around the fast transition. Look at how the break out. Look at how they force turnovers, or force the other team to move the puck faster and not give them any time and space. As soon as they get the puck, they look for a stretch pass, and if it isn't there, they skate up the ice as fast as they can.
It is not about them being the vastly superior hockey club on paper. It is about them being a well coached team that has the right system in place to make use of the make-up of their team, and it is working well. Their defence is deeper? Get out of here.
Here is some food for thought for you to chew on:
Deryk Fricken Engelland... let me rephrase that... THIRTY FIVE year old Deryk Fricken Engelland is having a career year in Vegas, already having eclipsed any of his previous totals in Calgary, and eclipsing his totals in Pittsburgh where he was used as both a defencemen and as a forward. Actually, to drive this point a little further, you have to go back to the 2004-05 Wranglers to see Engelland have more points in a season than he has now - in his entire professional OR JUNIOR career. He is about to pass that as well.
No, it must be because that Vegas team just suddenly got more talented.. just because...
There is not a better team in the entire NHL that you can point to and say: "That is a better coached team than Vegas". There simply isn't. Gallant has been magic this year. They system employed, his in-game decisions, his roster management, his leadership - everything has been going well for Vegas in very large measure to what he has done. Vegas is a fast team, but they play way faster because of Gallant.
David Perron - a vet of 706 games and stops in powerhouse teams as well as lousy teams - has never sniffed anywhere close to a PPG. You want to tell me that he would be the 2nd most talented player on the Flames roster right now? Good lord.
Vegas deserves a TONNE of accolades. George McPhee deserves a tonne of accolades for assembling a fast team. Remember the cries on this forum about how McPhee is already tanking before the season started?
This is what a team that fires on all cylinders looks like. This is a well-coached team, with a roster that is willing to work hard every single night. David Perron is NOT a superstar. Engelland is NOT better at transitioning the puck or creating offence than Hamonic.