Originally Posted by AustinL_NHL
Ended up writing this on HFBoards so figured I'd share here to:
This post basically just shows the incredible impact of Darryl Sutter and why I'm so optimistic compared to most Flames fans.
The Flames, under Darryl Sutter, had the following numbers (among all NHL teams) once he took over (all were SIGNIFICANT improvements over Ward):
Offensively:
- 55.95 CF/60 (8th)
- 42.72 FF/60 (7th)
- 29.52 SF/60 (11th)
- 2.68 GF/60 (9th)
- 2.22 xGF/60 (11th)
- 26.64 SCF/60 (9th)
- 9.90 HDCF/60 (14th)
Defensively:
- 45.73 CA/60 (2nd)
- 35.01 FA/60 (2nd)
- 25.11 SA/60 (3rd)
- 2.31 GA/60 (14th)
- 1.77 xGA/60 (2nd)
- 21.65 SCA/60 (3rd)
- 7.67 HDCA/60 (1st)
Overall:
- 55.03 CF% (2nd)
- 54.96 FF% (4th)
- 54.04 SF% (8th)
- 55.58 xGF% (3rd)
- 55.17 SCF% (5th)
- 56.34 HDCF% (3rd)
- 90.80 SV% (26th)
To Recap:
- The Flames were a top 10 offensive team once Sutter took over
- The Flames were a top 3 defensive team once Sutter took over
- The Flames were a top 5 overall team once Sutter took over
- Goaltending was absolute garbage
The most important statistics shown there are the bolded, which shows how badly the goaltending was, which absolutely destroyed the Flames' season. Even remotely average goaltending would've had the Flames comfortably in a Playoff spot last season.
I don't expect Markstrom to be anywhere as bad as he was last season post-injury, which again, adds to my optimism as he has the capability of being an elite #1.
I also expect even better numbers analytically (or at least similar, even despite some of the losses this offseason) + a much more comfortable team with a FULL training camp of Darryl Sutter, which I think is incredibly important.
Add in Sutter-type players like Zadorov, Pitlick, Lewis and especially Coleman, and I'm very excited to see what this team does next year, because this is the first time since, well, probably Sutter that the Flames have had a true identity.
They're going to be a hard-nosed, possession monster team that takes s*** from no one and grinds out W's while giving up next to nothing defensively.
This next part is super important so people don't mistake this post as me saying the Flames have an incredible team.
On paper, the Flames definitely don't have a top team, but Darryl Sutter is truly one of the few coaches that has legitimate incredible impacts on the teams he coaches.
Plus, I don't think the Flames' offseason is remotely over based on everything that's been reported, but even if this current roster is the one we head into next season with, the Flames are in a great spot based on last years numbers after Sutter took over, and if you know Darryl Sutter hockey, he works absolute magic in the Playoffs as lower seeds.
I would not be shocked in the slightest if the Flames finish 2nd in the Pacific behind Vegas. In fact, I think I'd be more surprised if they finished lower than 2nd.
Darryl Sutter.
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