Quote:
Originally Posted by Manhattanboy
To me you can't really look at things over an 82 game season - I tend to focus on the second half and Q4 in particular. That's when really good teams teams step it up (ANA year after after year, crap for the first 40 games or so then they perform when it matters most). Flames teams have a history of terrible play in the last month or two of the season, and even when they are in a playoff position they always seem to back in.
Maybe not the most articulate post but you get my point.
|
That is kind of true as it's not only this edition of the Flames as the Iginla teams post 2004 tended to come up small in big games as well. Part of this has to fall on the coaches and part on the team leaders over the years. I don't think they need guys like Smith throwing teammates under the bus in the media but they do need multiple guys that are seething and kicking garbage cans over after losses. I just haven't seen enough players on Flames rosters since 2004 that really, really wanted it as bad as the teams they were battling against to make the playoffs. Tkachuk is a step in the right direction but he's only a 2nd year player and the team absolutely doesn't need another expensive outside addition of supposed leadership like Brouwer. It's something that needs to come from within the younger players on this roster. Guys like Monahan, Gaudreau, Hamilton, etc need to evolve from being happy to play in the NHL and collect a big check to wanting nothing else but the cup. It doesn't happen overnight and may never happen for this group but outside of adding a head coach that shoulders a lot of the leadership burden I don't know what else they can do.