When a team changes its defensive systems, only two things will make the new system work: time and practice. The Flames, so far, have had neither. You don't get to practice at all when you have three games in under 72 hours, and precious little with the game and travel schedule they've had so far. But the time to put in a new system is right at the beginning of the year, because it's hell on wheels trying to change it on the fly during the season.
You can argue about whether it was a good idea to change those systems at all. But you can't argue about whether the new system is any good, because none of us have actually seen it yet. We've seen players trying to execute something they're still not used to, against some of the toughest competition in the league.
__________________
WARNING: The preceding message may not have been processed in a sarcasm-free facility.
‘You see in Calgary, [Ryan] Huska is no joke. It’s good. He’s really set on a specific model defensively. If you can be reliable, you have the freedom to play offence.’
—Ethan Wyttenbach
|