Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - [Rumour] Chris Johnston: Lindholm is interested in staying

Jason14h · 06-21-2023, 10:33 PM

Sure key guys didn’t perform , but Backlund, Toffoli and big Z had career high offensive seasons

Now say we subtract Hanifin and replace with a downgraded D.

Flames were also the healthiest team in the league.

Plus other teams are on the upswing - Seattle , LA for sure

So we are a bubble team . But you can argue everyone but Colorado and Vegas are “bubble teams” next year in the western conference (I would put Edmonton and Dallas as upper bubble assuming they stay healthy )

So could the Flames bounce back next year ? Absolutely . Markstrum could bounce back to .910. Hubby 90 pts and with a new coach the team plays a more exciting brand of hockey and gets 100 pts

They could also just as easy finish with 85 points

My issue is even if they have a bounce back year I don’t see them as a real contender . I don’t think they have the superstar talent to get past the 2nd round

Add on top that their stars are older and not likely to get better , even if everything goes right and they get 100 points and win a round I see a 2nd round exit as the ceiling for this team .

And that’s not a good place for a team that’s old and expensive to be .

06-21-2023, 10:33 PM	#278
Jason14h Franchise Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Exp:	Sure key guys didn’t perform , but Backlund, Toffoli and big Z had career high offensive seasons Now say we subtract Hanifin and replace with a downgraded D. Flames were also the healthiest team in the league. Plus other teams are on the upswing - Seattle , LA for sure So we are a bubble team . But you can argue everyone but Colorado and Vegas are “bubble teams” next year in the western conference (I would put Edmonton and Dallas as upper bubble assuming they stay healthy ) So could the Flames bounce back next year ? Absolutely . Markstrum could bounce back to .910. Hubby 90 pts and with a new coach the team plays a more exciting brand of hockey and gets 100 pts They could also just as easy finish with 85 points My issue is even if they have a bounce back year I don’t see them as a real contender . I don’t think they have the superstar talent to get past the 2nd round Add on top that their stars are older and not likely to get better , even if everything goes right and they get 100 points and win a round I see a 2nd round exit as the ceiling for this team . And that’s not a good place for a team that’s old and expensive to be .