Quote:
Originally Posted by Strange Brew
Listening to Ryan Leslie and maybe this is from earlier in the day, but he seems to think the trade market for impact forwards is going to be awfully quiet now.
Those hoping for a change in the team’s core may end up disappointed.
I am interested if people think Flames have done enough as of now or if more changes needed to become a contender.
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It's definitely making me sad that the organization has failed to make that big all in move for the forward. Especially with Gaudreau potentially leaving in 2 years.
After having some time to think about what happened these playoffs, the forward group is not as bad as we think:
-We manhandled Winnipeg. There were contributions from all over. Even Lucic was scoring.
-Dallas turned out to be a legit contender. And their strength was shutting down offence. They did it to Colorado, who were potentially the most offensively loaded team in the league. Gaudreau, who apparently disappeared, had 4 points in 6 games that series. So even he wasn't horrendous. He just needed help. So maybe it wasn't just the Flames forwards playing poorly, but they ran into an incredible defence.
-The Flames lost Tkachuk for the Dallas series. That was a huge blow. Tkachuk is only 22, and he's a physical type forward. He will be older and stronger next year. If anyone was going to get into Dallas' heads and throw them off that ultra strict defensive system, it was Tkachuk.
-Maybe shoring up the goaltending is the answer. There were definitely times where the team simply did not trust the goaltenders and was collapsing around them, which prevented them from free wheeling offensively. The last game, the goaltending ripped the heart out of the team. Having someone who they can rely on to make basic saves may change the whole game plan.
Even if we can't land a big UFA forward now, there's still hope. Valiamaki and Andersson have legit top 4 talent, but obviously not enough experience to be trusted full time in that role. Hopefully, they progress through the season and make one of the vet d-men expendable, at which point a hockey trade is made for a legit top 6 RW capable of putting up 60 points....maybe that player is already here and it's Mangiapane, Pelletier, or Dube?