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Old 08-11-2017, 11:45 AM   #48
Fighting Banana Slug
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague View Post
He does not mention Jankowski, but fair enough, Jankowski hasn't done anything yet.

I'd like to see what peoples' objections are to the actual points he makes in the article. Basically he sees the problems as,

1. forward quality past Johnny / Mony and the 3M line;
2. the potential for the goaltending to be mediocre again; and
3. overall goal scoring.

Those are also what I would say the team's challenges are, to be answered this season and going forward for the next two to three years. I would also agree with him that you can only count on a couple more truly strong years from Gio; anything more is possible but optimistic, so it makes sense to take a shot while he's still under 35. I don't think this piece is that far off, overall.
There are always criticisms to be made in regard to the make up of any team, and I agree to some degree to the points that you have made. But Lambert takes this to the extreme. Even the title "window slamming shut" is ridiculous hyperbole, when the make up of the team is not static.
As to your points:
1. Forward quality: Looking "past" 5/6 of the top two lines is silly. The Flames have an excellent foundation. Writing off Bennett is equally ridiculous. Ignoring Jankowski, Foo and Lazar leaves the impression there is an absolute black hole in the bottom 6. There are questions, but it isn't unreasonable to assume that the bottom 6 will be better than last year and will be better in future years.
2. Goaltending is the biggest question mark. I doubt anyone would argue that point. Lambert makes a couple of logic errors in a) assuming average goaltending would be a step down from past years. I would argue it would be a huge upgrade, and 2) ignoring the possibility that Parsons/Gillies/Rittich might replace the current duo in the next few years, thereby opening (not closing) the window even further.
3.Overall goal scoring doesn't seem to be that big an issue for the Flames. Sure you want more goals, but if that is one of their biggest problems, then they should be well situated.
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From HFBoard oiler fan, in analyzing MacT's management:
O.K. there has been a lot of talk on whether or not MacTavish has actually done a good job for us, most fans on this board are very basic in their analysis and I feel would change their opinion entirely if the team was successful.
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