Quote:
Originally Posted by GirlySports
Yeah, it was the pre-salary era. Flames had not made the playoffs since 1996, had not won a series since the 89 Cup Final, 6 first round exits in a row.
Making the playoffs was a miracle, beating the Canucks was cute. Would be lucky to win a game against Detroit.
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I remember discovering a quirky fact (and posting it on CP at the time) that gave me some weird hope (even though I didn't really believe it myself)
essentially I determined that at least in the post expansion era every team with (I think I have this right) the NHL goal scoring leader and the top goalie (I can't remember if that was defined by GAA or something else) made it to at least the semi-finals. Well the Flames had that combination (and boy did they ever as the playoffs unfolded) and I guess my thought process was all world goalie and an elite finisher can take you along way
I also somehow decided (again as you point out this was pre salary cap and a lot of the top dogs in the West were still running like 2 hall of fame centers on their top 2 lines) was that in Conroy and Yelle we had 2 guys that could stand up to elite centers defensively (again I didn't really actually believe it but I said it)
glad it worked out!