Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperMatt18
Yeah sometimes you need to take a step back and wonder if the team is actually bad or if it's just a bad season.
I still don't think this is a bad roster TBH. They lacked chemistry and execution. Some questionable coaching decisions. Poor goaltending. And in the end the percentages caught up to them.
30 one goal losses
7-17 in overtime/SOs (pretty remarkable TBH - even 12-12 and they are easily in the playoffs)
Led the league in posts/crossbars hit
32nd ranked shooting percentage (8.8%)
27th ranked save percentage (.889%)
They finished 3rd in expected goals for at 55.1% in all situations.
Looking back at the past 10 seasons and these Flames are the first team I can see that finished with a 55%+ xGF and missed the playoffs. Only one other team finished top 3 in the league and missed the playoffs (17-18 Carolina Hurricanes).
Now maybe that's not indicative of the true talent of the roster, or maybe it is, but really going back to that Oilers series this team has been cursed. The team actually worked pretty hard all season, but got absolutely no reward for it, and I think that's why that entire team is so frustrated right now.
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Darryl Sutter
2014-15 - Kings were 5th in xGF%. Missed the playoffs.
2016-17 - Kings were 3rd in xGF%. Missed the playoffs.
2020-21 - Flames were 3rd in xGF% under Sutter. 15-15 record. Missed Playoffs.
2022-23 - Flames were 3rd in xGF%. Missed the playoffs.
At what point do these results stop becoming about "bad luck" and start becoming a reflection of the system and coach in place? His teams are always analytically "elite" and while that's nice to point at on paper the results speaks for themselves in recent memory. That's 4 missed playoffs in his past 6 seasons as an NHL coach, with just 6 playoff wins total. That's not good enough.