Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
That is exactly how I see it.
re-sign Ryan, and go get a quality RW for the top 6. And things are looking pretty good.
Calgary4Life: I agree that finding a good RW is/will be very challenging, but if possible, I think it is a better way to spend the cap dollars than an expensive Dman.
I think Andersson had an off year and will be better. I think Hanifin might also take a step forward. I expect Tanev to be as good as last year, or at least close. If those things are true, they really only need a #3/4 guy ($3-4M hopefully) to round out the top 4. I also think Valimaki takes a step forward, and he, Stone and Kyllington are more than adequate for the 5 to 7 roles.
|
I share your optimism with Valimaki, and I am betting that halfway through the season he will start excelling as a #5, and we will start talking about him moving up.
Andersson is a big question mark for me. I question his mobility and his ability to process things quickly enough. He seems to get exposed. I hope that last year was a hiccup, and then he can continue to improve, but I do not have the confidence of him being able to do so with his skating issues and footspeed. Way too many guys beat him last season going wide, and it really bugged me how many times he could have touched the puck first and moved it, but was unwilling to absorb a hit and allowed the forward to grab a hold of the puck first. Once Sutter came in, he did that WAY less, but just an example of how I question his decision making at times.
Hanifin I don't think has the upside of a #1 offensive guy. Pairing him with Tanev will create a really strong defensive pairing (Hanifin took a GIANT step forward defensively last season!). I just don't know if I want a 'shut down' pairing to be a #1 pairing, especially on a team that seemed to really struggle generating anything from the defence. Without Giordano, that offence is going to be even more difficult to come by this year, and it looks like it will be firmly in the bottom 5 or so in the league.
How to fix it? I have no idea... but (to me) it seems like this team's biggest hole. I hope that Hanifin, Andersson and Valimaki take enough of a step forward, or that Sutter is able to do something with Kylington as he probably has the best offensive skill-set from the back-end. It just seems like a bit too much to hope for (especially with Kylington, who barely feels like an asset with any value to the Flames).
I guess we will see, but this lack of offence from the defence is my biggest worry this off-season.