Hard to say the Flames didn't give them any talent. It's just unfortunate (for the Heat anyway) that they lost Mangiapane and Andersson, and for big chunks of the season lost Dube, Valimaki, and Quine.
That's basically taking a top line and a top pairing off the roster. How many teams do well after that happens? This also comes on the back of losing Hathaway and Jankowski last year.
Yes, trading picks has diluted the pool, no doubt. It also doesn't help that what talent was there is now in the show.
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