Quote:
Originally Posted by The Cobra
The players have worked hard? Some yes, but certainly not all, or the Flames would not be under achieving so badly.
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It took them all of October to learn to play a zone defence smoothly as a unit. Zary and Pospisil were called up and found instant chemistry with Kadri, but it took longer for the other lines to get sorted out. Huberdeau didn't mesh with anyone until they put Sharangovich on his line, and Lindholm was a square peg until they traded him.
I'd say they haven't really underachieved at all. It just took a long time, and several roster changes, to assemble a room full of players into a team. Since the 2-7-1 start, they have been playing .575 hockey, which is about what I would expect given the talent available.
They're a reasonably good team, but not good enough to get themselves out of the big hole they dug in October.