Originally Posted by TheSquatch
The confidence in the clip with Raz is one thing, but it shows a few other things too, the biggest in my mind being genuine chemistry on the team, but that the guys are happy, having fun, teasing a bunch, rather than just being sort of quiet and workmanlike. Winning "fixes" a lot of stuff, but I haven't seen too many interviews with Flames players in the last few years where I thought they looked "teamy", whether they were winning or losing. This year's group looks much tighter to me.
The result is that "suddenly" guys like Backlund, who maybe some of us see as a nice piece, but like, maybe a #3 center on good team... those guys are playing a ton better, or have added something to their game this year. Backlund, just as an example, has always been a horse in terms of getting lots of little things done, just burning up minutes on the clock, but not really a threat out there. But suddenly he's a genuine scoring threat. Suddenly he's not just playing, he's driving the people on his wings, whoever they are. It's a step up for him imho and a few guys have done it this year. The Hamonic/Hanifin pair looks great. Tkachuk is playing great, Bennett is coming along, even guys like Jankowski seem to have figured certain things out even if their game isn't quite complete.
Cup-winning stuff? Maybe not this year, but boy, things are moving in the right direction for the first time in a very long time. There's some talent, there's leadership, chemistry.... looking really good.
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