I have been fairly confident since the start of the season that the Flames would rather rebuld/retool/whatever you want to call it, especially when Conroy spoke about the youth movement. He is a GM that spent a considerable amount of time learning his craft with a focus on the scouting and development side of things. That's his forte, and that's why (among other reasons) I was genuinely happy that he was promoted to GM.
I look at this team as a team that is actually playing well for the most part. They have been fun to watch, they have mostly been playing as a unit line-to-line, and they have been entertaining. They just don't have enough talent, and it shows. You can't win by out-working every team every night. Chicago got the bounces tonight (those deflections - Vladar was good tonight, and definitely good enough to win!), but those bounces cost the Flames, the Flames didn't get enough bounces their own way, and they just don't have the talent to score enough goals to compensate.
This game changes nothing for me. Disappointed with the effort, but they still did out-work Chicago. Flames are rebuilding. That's what I expect. If they don't, then that's when I will be upset. For now, I am just enjoying the entertaining product (most nights) that this team is offering, and that's it.
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