I like Gio, but I am glad another team is the one that is risking a 38 year old with a 6.75 cap hit will beat the odds over a course of a long season. My thinking is there is probably 10% he has a better year. 30% he has a similar year as last. 50% his play declines. 10% father time catches up and his play suffers accordingly. Perfect time to move on from Gio IMO.
For the Flames, the issue has always been that the development of players has been sporadic. A few years ago I think a lot of people thought the players would continue to progress and get better, but they seem to have plateaued or had a set back. A lot depends other top 6 players can find their game or chemistry and bounce back. More importantly, if players like Maginpane, Hanifin, Andersson, Valamaki can continue to improve and not plateau. Not limited to those names, but it seem a lot of the time when a player has a coming out party, they seem to have a step back or don't progress as much as fans and management want.
I think with Sutter as coach, the lines over the course of the season will improve. I thought last year that there was very little chemistry through the majority of the season and every line felt like they were dragging an anchor around. If they can get a couple lines firing, then 2nd in the division is completely attainable. A lot of this is dependent on the back end if we get that progression from the young Dmen. Admittedly, there are more than a comfortable amount of ifs there.
|