My two biggest concerns are the direction and the lack of patience the ownership/management team has shown with this group.
Conroy intended to bring in a younger team this year and he has by providing some spots for talent like Pelletier(injured but it was his spot to lose) and Coronato but it feels like this wasn't really the case. One older player was traded for younger talent and is seems that's the spark that the youth provide hasn't exactly helped to rile up the group.
This in turn brings the aspect of patience into play. The current group that the flames have isn't right. The blend simply isn't there. You can't win in this league with a team like the Flames, they lack diversity in playing styles and key players in key positions. Our #1 goalie is far too inconsistent, our defence is solid but the blend at forward doesn't work. Our best line at the moment is our 4th line, you just can't win like that.
The Flames need to play the long game, tear it down and build from the ground up. Anyone who isn't considered a core player going forward should be made available.
The problem isn't coaching, the problem isn't Conroy, the problem was the Flames lacked direction and were far too impatient for too long. There are many examples of this but the Monny/Kadri deals are prime examples of being too impatient and lacking direction. Why was Kadri needed when you already had a very solid second line centre(who is better than Kadri at his role) in Mikael Backlund ? You could have played out a bit of the season, saw how things went and dealt accordingly.
That's where my concerns are as a Fan, I want to know what exactly is the plan moving forward. Impossible to tell from the outside looking in.
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