Flames play an up-tempo, entertaining brand of hockey and have a winning record at home and on the road. Smith plays no more than 55 games and stays healthy. One of the backups has a break-out season and emerges and a reliable backup and potential future starter. Bennett has a break-out 20 goal/50 point season centering Tkachuk and Neal, while Tkachuk draws a record number of opposition penalty minutes. Both Andersson and Valimaki emerge as legitimate NHL defensemen, giving Treliving the ability to trade Stone to Vancouver for their (unprotected) 1st (just remember who their GM is). Flames sweep the season series with the Canucks and the Oilers, including a 1-0 OT victory on April 6 that catapults the Flames into the Pacific Division title, while leaving the Oilers 1 point short of the 2nd wildcard spot.
Flames win at least 1 playoff series.
In the offseason, Canucks win the draft lottery, while McDavid demands a trade to a team with a winning culture.
Last edited by Macindoc; 08-08-2018 at 05:30 PM.
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