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Originally Posted by SuperMatt18
And leaning into a bad season like this season, without going scorched earth actually helps make it a quicker re-build.
I've stated this a couple times but teams rarely plan on being bad, and generally you get your high picks by leaning into being terrible when you have a bad season.
TBH the Flames tough schedule the first 27 or so games this season actually potentially provides that opportunity to lean into a bad season if they can't turn it around here.
And that's the big thing. If the Flames are in 30th place on December 1st they shouldn't do anything to try to "salvage" the season. That would be the worst thing they can do.
If you're in 30th at that time you need to do the opposite. Be more pro-active moving guys like Andersson and Coleman and lean into a bad season.
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What's scorched earth at this point though?
Andersson, he's likely getting dealt.
Coleman and Kadri don't fit the window as they're already aged out/ageing out.
So if scorched Earth = trade Weegar and Huberdeau, yeah I agree - that's not happening.
I do see a world where in the next 12 months, all of Coleman, Kadri, and Andersson are out the door...and in my eyes, that is scorched earth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina
I don't think it's realistic that they will be contending in 2 years. But they could be "on the upswing" moving towards that.
This article from the Athletic is helpful
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/659...tiers-2025-26/
So in 2 years i would hope the Flames are where teams like Anaheim and Chicago are today. That may even be a reach, but they should be moving in that direction by that time. |
Yeah, I can agree with that - but again I see those teams noted and I look at Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Beckett Sennecke, Roger McQueen, Pavel Mintyukov and Anton Frondell, Artyom Levshunov, Connor Bedard, Oliver Moore, Frank Nazar....and that's why I think this year in particular, but realistically 2027 as well as having to be massive years for the Flames to really get to where they are. I think the Flames are on the right path contingent on this year just being embraced for what it is.
From that Athletic article, this is what it says about the Flames in "Path to contention":
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Lean into scorched earth, sell folks on the youth and your shiny new building, and don't hesitate when the road gets bumpy, should probably be the advice. Patch work while trying to get younger is the easier path to take, but it often ends up back where you started trying to scrape and claw into the playoffs. The longer you wait to really pull the trigger, the harder it gets to move your vets, too.
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Embrace the 2026 and 2027 draft. It's what they need to do, otherwise all they'll do is cycle back into that "in one year, out the next, maybe they're good, likely they're not" position that we know too well.