[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

1) Sutter badly mismanaged the workloads of his players, leading them to run out of gas in the playoffs. He also needs to provide them with different ways of playing, instead of just sticking with one style of play every night.

Sutter #### the bed. A coach's job is to motivate and make adjustments. The motivation made in the playoffs was not good, and that is polite. Worse, not a single adjustment was made. Edmonton adjusted and kicked the Flames heads in. 31 ####ing points by McDavid and Draisaitl. 31 points in five games! That type of #### gets people fired.

2) The Flames lost due to a combination of reasons; one of those reasons being their top line not showing up for the final almost 11 periods.

Hard to show up when no adjustments are made to help you out. You're getting your asses kicked, so keep playing the same way! This is on the coaching staff. The Oilers adjusted and shut the Flames down after a nine goal route. What did the Flames do to adjust? Nothing. Roll the same four lines, play them in the same circumstances, and get their heads caved it.

3) If Johnny doesn't re-sign, the next 2-3 years will be rough. Long term, though, I believe the future looks bright. If Johnny DOES re-sign, this team can do some serious damage in the coming years.

Don't buy the hype. It rarely works out. The fact you mentioned Matthew Phillips as a bright spot is all that needs to be said. He's a career minor leaguer, not an NHL player. When the Flames needed a body they looked well past him. Why? Because Sutter couldn't trust him to play at this level. Period. The players in the system are not top end talent. There is no replacement for Johnny Gaudreau in the mix. The prospect mix is mediocre, not likely to lead the team to the promised land. Good lord, there is no replacement for Sean Monahan in the mix let alone a Gaudreau or Tkachuk. You have to look at gaps and what is needed to be filled, and our system can't fill the gaps needed. There are some players that might be able to step in a few years, if they develop, but that just means rebuild.

For those of you saying the team wasn't tired... I have no idea which series you were watching. The players were tired. It comes down to whether or not you choose to believe your eyes.

My eyes saw a team that was playing tentative and not making the Oilers chase them, instead of the other way around. It was not being tired, it was being afraid to make a commitment to play a way that would win. Out coached by a guy from the AHL. Not good.