[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

The flames are likely to be worse next year than they are this year.

Career years from teams best players. No critical forward or defensive injuries this year. No tkachuk level prospects graduation or maturation. Everyone over 32 one year older. Backlund contract kicking in and limiting ability to add salary. Tremendous organizational pressure to improve leading to short term decision making.

Originally Posted by wingmaker

I would say the Smith injury is as catastrophic an injury as the Flames could have had at the time. Certainly seems like the team would at least have 2 or 3 more wins and possibly more since he went down.

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

They also had Frolik, Versteeg and Jagr injured at the same time.

Not core players, but RW is theweakest position and getting multiple injuries at the same time was a real strain on the lineup.

Then the 1st line RW goes down.

Now that I think about it, Brouwer was out for a while as well. Do we have an RW that wasn't hurt?

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

As of February first, Calgary had 74 mangames lost to injury. Almost all of which were to spare parts.

The ducks have had 252 games lost to injury this year. The ducks are ahead of the flames in the standings.

How is this possible?

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

I mean, is this really what you're hanging your hat on? The ducks lost Getzlaf, Kesler. Eaves gone for the whole year.

But injuries to Troy Brouwer and Jagr are comparable because the organization is garbage on the right wing?

The ducks have gotten a combined 67 games from Getzlaf and Kesler this year.

Where on earth would the Flames be if the story was similar? Is there a spot below 31 they could've finished?

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Where did I compare our situation to the Ducks? Your over-the-top posts are so tiring.

You said there were 'no critical forward or defense injuries this year'. THat was hyperbole.

Then someone pointed out that Smith was critical, which it was (yes, everyone knows he's a goalie, that's not the point.

Then I added that, while the Flames injuries haven't been to star players, there have been lots of injuries to the weakest position, RW. And that is going to cause problems.

Suddenly you're ranting about the Ducks.

I don't know what it is with you - you seem to expect everyone to agree with you, and you loose your mind when they don't.

I'm literally laughing here at my desk. I'm not apoplectic, I just can't believe you can't see the veil of your own argument. Maybe I should re-calibrate my expectations.

Brouwer is a buyout candidate, Versteeg vacillates between being an NHLer and not, Jagr is a 45 year old who finally had the wheels fall off. You are right, RW is an organizational weakness and injuries to the right wing hurt the roster. Disproportionately because the roster is bad. That's the argument you're making: because the flames are weak on RW, RW injuries hurt them badly.

The Ducks, a good team, have had injuries to their top two centres, perhaps their two best players, for the entire year. Is the suggestion here that injuries to Getzlaf and Kesler are as significant as injuries to Versteeg and Brouwer? If the answer is yes, doesn't that point to the Ducks being a vastly superior roster if they can lose their two best players and not be crippled but the flames lose a couple of 3rd/4th liners and are? Isn't that an indication of a massive gulf between the two teams in terms of the quality of their respective rosters?

If the answer is no, the injuries to brouwer and versteeg are not as significant as injuries to Getzlaf and Kesler, doesn't that also point to the same thing? Couldn't you apply this same idea to a positional basis and completely remove the players in question (which is what I did by suggesting injuries to backlund and monahan would have been season ending)?

Patrick Eaves is also a right wing, and he's only played 2 games this year after scoring 30 goals last year. Isn't that a much more significant RW loss than both Brouwer and Versteeg combined? That is 3 major injuries to 3 top 6 forwards and Anaheim has managed to still be playoff calibre.

I'm using the ducks as an example of a good team weathering injuries to key players through most of the season and still being playoff calibre compared to the flames dealing with injuries to marginal players and not being a playoff calibre team.

The flames have some of the fewest man games lost to injury of any team in the league this year, and sit outside of a playoff spot. If they had comparable injuries as Anaheim, would they be a playoff calibre team?

If no, why not?