[djsFlames]

Yeah the Flames have enough depth at forward to absorb the blow of mediocre play from the top duo. But even at their poorest, they're good for PP production at least.

As for Gio, Hanifin-Andersson look poised to overtake his pairing as the next 1-2 which would greatly help if he loses another step. Valimaki looks ready to explode, and was already knocking on the door for top 4 minutes when he got his first look.

And if the defense does falter somewhat, luckily we picked up a starter that just bailed out a defensively porous team on a nightly basis for the past two seasons. That helps.

All in all, the Flames simply have a higher floor than Edmonton or Vancouver because of their depth at all positions, which probably has a lot to do with them getting ranked 2nd on many lists. That's to say they can stomach losses or undeperformances by specific players without losing their competitiveness. Van and Edm (and Mtl) have less fail safes and larger red flags.

Also just looking at the last couple seasons, this Flames group has been consistently competitive (outside of a bad month that culminated in Peters' firing) and are coming off two straight playoff seasons. The Canucks and Oilers have been much more inconsistent.

I mean Staples can call the roster 6 lines and 5 pairings deep all he wants, it still lives and dies by two players, and that's always cause for concern.