[djsFlames]

There is too much being read into about this team after its best players went down, and that's the thing. The Flames when healthy last year, before the Smith, Tkachuk injuries, and broken down Monahan, really only needed more finish on their powerplay and finish in terms of scoring depth to be a truly good team, and the difference was often that they couldn't net that one goal to pull even or ahead in games, even while routinely getting enough shots or chances to do so, and it was the inability to score of lines 2-4 holding them back. And yet....They were playoff bound when healthy, even with the awkward second pairing, unsuitable GG system, and poor, static special teams coaching. Which was the point of the writer making up the article. They were 7-8 seed worthy while dragging those issues around, until the starter and top scorer went down. If you add health, add scoring/finish, depth, and remove what wasn't working in coaching, they don't just return to the 7-8 seed projection that they would've without moves and just getting healthy, but it's very hard to see how that isn't pushed up to first or second in the division. Especially since highly competitive teams are able to succeed these days with not spectacular defense, so long as they had a goalie that could play at a high level and can get goals from up and down the lineup. A couple moves that have opened up a whole lot of options for the Flames, and that really looks like the blueprint of the Flames now heading into the season, and if Peters' style is indeed a quick north-south counter attack, that may be eerily similar to what we saw out of Vegas this past season that brought them a whole lot of wins and success.

I think what will determine whether the success goes beyond the regular season is if the Flames can recapture an identity of being relentless and dangerous at all times. The tools are all there, they just need to all be on the same page. The good thing is Johnny, Tkachuk, Smith, Gio and Neal are the sort of guys that have a no holds kind of hunger for winning and hopefully there are less passengers with Brouwer's role being significantly reduced, grit and speed added, and a revamped bottom 6 no longer filled with guys that may or may not be NHLers.