[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by stemit14

this season is feeling a lot like 2014-2015. The team seems to be sparked by a young american rookie that has dominated at every level he has played but is always doubted because of his height (gaudreau/wolf). We’re watching a former 1st round pick in his sophomore season potentially develop into a top 2 center (monahan/zary). A couple defencemen that have long been considered good have emerged into the level of being elite (brodie-gio/andersson-weegar). The defence looks unproven but is surprising everyone with their solid play (engelland, russell and wideman/bahl, pachal and miromanov). The team identity is established early as a grinding team that outworks its opponents on a regular basis.

I would say the bigger difference is the coaching is better now then it was then simply based on the team seems to outplay its opponents more often now compared to the 2014-2015 team which regularly got outplayed but had amazing comebacks late in games. Also… the 2014-2015 team did have a top line due to the gaudreau-monahan-hudler line turning into a fantastic #1 line… i think that could still happen for this years flames but, right now, they are still working out the lines.

2014-15 2003-04