Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - How are you feeling about the flames so far?

blankall · 10-27-2021, 10:38 AM

I was one of the few that was optimistic from the get go. I really liked what I saw under Sutter at the end of last year, after that small adjustment period. I was really hoping that the top line, especially, would continue their great play into this year.

There have been so many years in the past, where I've thought the team looked great on paper, but needed a couple of guys to take a step forward. It looks like it's finally happening this year with guys like Mangiapane and Kylington filling major holes.

I was also optimistic about Coleman. The acquisition was eerily similar to the Brouwer and Neal ones. The difference being that Coleman was coming from a tweener position on the Lightning and looked far more capable of creating his own offence from the 3rd line and far more willing to get into the corners and boards. So far it looks like third time's a charm.

Overall, outside of Tampa, the level of competition in the NHL is not that great. Montreal proved last year that any team can go far in the playoffs once they're in. People holding their breaths for some kind of tear down that is going to result in the Flames emerging as some clear contender are waiting around for something that is very very unlikely. In the new NHL parity is king and there are very few contenders. You can't even do what Pitts or Chicago (or what Edmonton tried to do) with building with multiple #1-3s in a row anymore. The new draft rules prevent that.

10-27-2021, 10:38 AM	#36
blankall Ate 100 Treadmills Join Date: Mar 2006 Exp:	I was one of the few that was optimistic from the get go. I really liked what I saw under Sutter at the end of last year, after that small adjustment period. I was really hoping that the top line, especially, would continue their great play into this year. There have been so many years in the past, where I've thought the team looked great on paper, but needed a couple of guys to take a step forward. It looks like it's finally happening this year with guys like Mangiapane and Kylington filling major holes. I was also optimistic about Coleman. The acquisition was eerily similar to the Brouwer and Neal ones. The difference being that Coleman was coming from a tweener position on the Lightning and looked far more capable of creating his own offence from the 3rd line and far more willing to get into the corners and boards. So far it looks like third time's a charm. Overall, outside of Tampa, the level of competition in the NHL is not that great. Montreal proved last year that any team can go far in the playoffs once they're in. People holding their breaths for some kind of tear down that is going to result in the Flames emerging as some clear contender are waiting around for something that is very very unlikely. In the new NHL parity is king and there are very few contenders. You can't even do what Pitts or Chicago (or what Edmonton tried to do) with building with multiple #1-3s in a row anymore. The new draft rules prevent that.