Quote:
Originally Posted by howard_the_duck
@Vinny01 you’re right we can agree to disagree on rebuild. I’m fully aware of the pandemic situation and the struggles of Alberta. There are 32 ownership groups in the league that have been affected by this. I guess I’d hope that you continue business as usual and that the quest for a Stanley cup is the end goal, and that winning and business interests don’t need to be mutually exclusive. If I was an owner I’d like to see a business plan that looked 3-5 years down the road in these circumstances. Perhaps when the market and disposable income for ticket sales is down it’s the right time to rebuild, if there is one.
Out of curiosity, what more do you need to see from this group to say a cup just isn’t in the cards? If this is your last kick at the can - you honestly see a cup out of this group? I’m not even sure I see a playoff appearance unless you mortgage the future to help win now.
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I want to see what this team does with a full season under Sutter with everything back to normal before I pull the plug.
I think a lot went wrong for this team last year and I don’t think they are as bad as their record. People like to talk about how they got pumped by the 8th seed Colorado but that was an emerging superpower who added one of the best young Dman in the game during that series. Flames didn’t deserve to win but end of the day that team coughed up 2 late 3rd period leads and also missed on chances in both overtimes in games that ended as losses.
The Flames were the 7th best team in the league after Peters left the bench in 2019/2020. They had the Stars 12 seconds away from being up 3-1 but choked.
Last year just went poorly from the get go. Ward was in over his head and seemed to lose all control early in the season. The way he handled the Bennett situation, the multiple players only meetings, the Tkachuk situation. He just couldn’t manage it. Sutter came in and the team was in the dumps for a 9 game stretch that ended their season. Towards the end of the year positives could be viewed as the new top line started to look pretty dynamic at times.
I think Gaudreau, Lindholm and Tkachuk are exceptional players. I think Mangiapane is going to emerge as an equally valuable piece this year. I like some of the youth on the back end but there is a hole to fill there. This team needs another scoring winger as well. I am optimistic that Markstrom will have a superior season next year as he plays in front of the C or Red.
I just want to see what this team does under normal circumstances with Sutter behind the bench. If they are brutal than I have seen enough but I am sorry losing to Colorado, the Peters/bubble, and the CFL style season are not convincing me this needs to start from scratch. I am not convinced it doesn’t go down that path I am just not ready to do it yet.