Ultimately this team is not where they would want to be or should be for 4 reasons in my opinion.
1- Markstrom is not as good as he should be. He was an elite goalie last year and just average this year so if he got back to his high end ways this team would likely not be 3-8 in extra time and have an additional 3-5pts on the year and on pace for 100+ and not the 92 they are currently trending for at the halfway point
2- Huberdeau is not playing like an elite offensive dynamic superstar. He is a top 4 scoring player in the league over the previous 4 years. His transition to the Flames has not gone great he looks fairly average with flashes of amazing plays and some frustrating Tanguay like forced passes when he could have shot. He is playing okay for a guy making the $5.9 he is currently making but if he plays like this next year when he is at $10.5 then this is a huge issue. This team has needed an extra goal here or there and he has not provided it
3- Mangiapane is the third highest paid forward on the team and has had a rough first year of his big deal. Pacing to as many points as he had goals last year and is on the third line. For a team that needs an extra goal or two having him struggle to even pace for 20 this year really stings
4 Defense has not lived up to the hype. One of the problems is at the beginning it looked like Weegar in and Gudbransen out which seemed like a clear improvement. What we are living with is Weegar and Stone in and Kylington and Gudbransen out. Stone is better bang for the buck but Gudbransen was definitely the better player than what Stone has been this year. I think Weegar has been solid and out performing his $3.25 cap hit but when he gets a $3M raise next year we will need more offensive production from him. Overall he has been solid defensively but the big gaff has occurred a few times and they are noticeable every time. This team misses Kylington a bunch.
If those 4 areas improve the team will take a massive step forward. I am happy with what Kadri has brought to the team and is pacing for 30+goals and 60+ points which is full value for his $7M cap hit. Toffoli has been solid also pacing for over 30 and 60. I am happy with what Lindholm has been able to do and Dube has stepped up. Backlund and Coleman are expensive but extremely solid third liners. There is a need on the Kadri line and upgrading on the bottom pair would be nice. Hopefully both can be done internally with Pelletier and Kylington returning but if that doesn’t work a trade must be made
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