Quote:
Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy
This team is missing two top 6 forwards and our D doesn't provide enough offense either. Gio is our only Dman on track to put up more than 30 points, and his 36 point pace is a far cry from the 74 he had last season. And at 36 years old I doubt he ever hits those heights again.
As long as Lindholm remains an actual legit option as a top 2 line C that should help, as top 6 wingers are easier to acquire than top 6 centers. I imagine having more top legit top 6 forwards will help the D with their point totals, but with Gio falling off does the D really have a true offensive driving guy anymore? Can Hanifin or Andersson or Kylington ever be that?
Treliving has his work cut out for him thats for sure.
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I hope you realize even good, competitive teams don't have six top 6 caliber forwards typically. We have 4 very solid ones, and even that's more than a number of teams have.
The Flames essentially (since Ward's shuffle) have two pairings of highly skilled players, which is about on par with a lot of playoff caliber teams. Even the top teams also have this: a couple go-to pairings with a middle 6-third line type guy rounding out the line on the wing.
Thing is our two pairings have been inconsistent this year. Hence why it looks like we need more skilled guys of that caliber. We could use another top 6 player though, yes. It would help, especially a shooter. Which IMO is the type of player they need most.
What put the Flames into top 2 team in the league category last season was the defensive production though, much of it coming from Giordano.
If we picked up one second line type winger, and got more contributions from the defence, that's ideal. You don't need two, and most teams wouldn't be able to fit that many skilled guys under the cap and we're no exception.
The defensive production has dried up a bit and our pairings aren't firing at the same time frequently enough, and that's our issue. Some of the answers are in the room, a couple may be outside. But we just need one top 6 winger and a bit of elevation from the back end to get back to last season's territory.
Andersson has offensive tools that he hasn't quite honed at this level yet, which i think he can, and Brodie is capable of 40+ points, and has looked like that kind of guy since his return from the incident. Valimaki and Kylington have offensive upside, absolutely. It's going to take some patience to get there though.