Quote:
Originally Posted by dissentowner
And where did the media have this team at the start of the prior season? In the playoffs with one of the best D groups in the league. What happened? The team was crap and players left in droves. It's amazing how this team can't produce the same offence as much less talented teams and everybody says nothing to see here because Wolf and Vladar have stood on their heads. No elite talent? The team has a winger that always dangled around 100 points and hit 115 and suddenly he forgot how to play hockey and turned into a 50 point player under Sutter/Huska ( same system). Dave Cameron and Ryan Huska are basically the same guy system wise, Huska is just more personable. Neither can coach worth a ####.
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I am not sure anyone had the Flames in the playoffs going into last season after the previous season happened. Treliving bolted, Sutter was extended and then promptly let go. Tonnes of rumours of players wanting to leave... but willing to stay if they were highly paid. It was a gong show from the start, but Huska held that team together with scotch tape until the final blows to the roster were dealt.
I can't fathom how you can blame Huska for result of last season, much less players bolting.
Sutter's and Huska's system are not the same. Huska has this team playing zone defence, and Sutter had them playing man-to-man defensively. Offensively, Sutter was an uptempo, high volume shot team, while Huska is up-tempo but less volume and allows for more creativity (and we are tentatively seeing Huberdeau start to re-emerge here). I liked both systems for different reasons, but I have to say that defensively, this system has been MUCH better defensively than Sutter's has.
By all accounts, Huska is very well respected on the team. Maybe Kuzmenko might have a different opinion of him now, but that's on him. Huska on his worst day is miles better than Cameron on his best day.