Puck Drop Preview: Calgary Flames - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Commandant · 09-05-2016, 09:41 AM

Our look at the Calgary Flames in this edition of Puck Drop Preview.

http://lastwordonhockey.com/2016/09/...algary-flames/

StrykerSteve · 09-05-2016, 09:52 AM

Good read, I'd say you pretty much nailed it. Missed mentioning Chiasson, Pribyl, Vey, etc.

Bandwagon In Flames · 09-05-2016, 10:07 AM

Great write-up, it's easy to see that the writer has in-depth knowledge about the team.

At least someone remembers that Hunter Shinkaruk is on this team when considering the starting line-up.

Quote:

John Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Hunter Shinkaruk
Matthew Tkachuk – Sam Bennett – Troy Brouwer
Micheal Ferland – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik
Lance Bouma – Matt Stajan – Alex Chiasson

I actually really like these line combinations. Top 2 lines with 1 rookie each and a good mix of skill. If Shinkaruk can come in and prove that he can help that top line it will be huge for us. And that second line is just going to punish the opposition. Tenacity, skill and size.

That Chiasson spot could also be filled by Hathaway, Vey, or Pribyl. I think they'd want to have Pribyl start his North American career in the AHL especially with the current depth. He'd see time as an injury call-up if that was the case.

Mister Yamoto · 09-05-2016, 10:15 AM

Good read.

Giordano is in decline? I'll believe it when I see it.

TheoFleury · 09-05-2016, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Yamoto

Good read.

Giordano is in decline? I'll believe it when I see it.

IMO he was considerably less effective overall in 15/16 compared to 14/15 despite the career high scoring totals. Although part of that was probably recovering from his injury which explained his horrific first 6 weeks, he never did fully get back to the elite level he was at. He did get a lot better as the year went on, but he wasn't the Gio of the last two years. I wouldn't say for sure he's in decline but if he can't get back to his 2013-2015 levels next season, I'm not sure he ever will.

AcGold · 09-05-2016, 10:50 AM

Gios foot speed got better last season so there's that. He wasn't a world beater but we did have the worst goalie since the 80's

Enoch Root · 09-05-2016, 11:40 AM

Good article.

re the Giordano being a declining player: the author made valid points and wasn't saying that Giordano is going to take a step backwards, just that he is unlikely to repeat his 21 goal total of last year. Which is valid.

djsFlames · 09-05-2016, 11:59 AM

Finally. An article from someone that has clearly done their homework on the Calgary Flames. Even if a couple points are debatable.

Pierre "Monster" McGuire · 09-05-2016, 12:09 PM

If Gio "declines" to 15 goals and 50 points, I'll be happy.

Good write-up though. I do think Elliott and Tkachuk are the two guys to watch as well. Tkachuk will fill a huge hole if he makes the team. Whether he makes an impact or not is another thing altogether.

I still need to pinch myself when I remember that Brain Elliott is a Flame. The goalie with the second best SV% since 2011 (behind only Cory Schneider) is a Calgary Flame. It's hard to believe. If he maintains his elite level, the Flames are playoff bound, no question.

activeStick · 09-05-2016, 01:24 PM

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Flames struggle to find consistency coming out of the gates this season due to a new system thanks to a new head coach and assistant. Similar to Hamilton's struggles last year, except more widespread across the team this year for the first bit as everyone adapts to where they need to be in all 3 zones of the ice and how Gulutzan wants them to transition up ice.

It happens to all teams when a new coach and new system is implemented, but hopefully the team picks things up quick, as one can fall behind very fast in the west.

djsFlames · 09-05-2016, 01:30 PM

When you look at goals-for, the only top 15 offensive teams to not make the playoffs last season were Calgary and Ottawa. And both teams' issues were with keeping pucks out of their own net. All the teams around them in the upper half were playoff bound. Seeing as it's safe to say we've patched up the situation between the pipes I'd say playoffs are looking pretty good.

Coach · 09-05-2016, 01:40 PM

I think the Flames are going to have a great season and challenge for the division. I'm excited for the year to start. Especially because I'm out in Van and they're going to suck! ha!

ricardodw · 09-05-2016, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bandwagon In Flames

Great write-up, it's easy to see that the writer has in-depth knowledge about the team.

At least someone remembers that Hunter Shinkaruk is on this team when considering the starting line-up.

I actually really like these line combinations. Top 2 lines with 1 rookie each and a good mix of skill. If Shinkaruk can come in and prove that he can help that top line it will be huge for us. And that second line is just going to punish the opposition. Tenacity, skill and size.

That Chiasson spot could also be filled by Hathaway, Vey, or Pribyl. I think they'd want to have Pribyl start his North American career in the AHL especially with the current depth. He'd see time as an injury call-up if that was the case.

Top 2 lines ( the way they are presented) have 3 guys out of 6 on their ELC. Gaudreau makes 4 in that he blew off a year of his ELC by playing 1 game.

compare that to the Hawks when Toews and Kane were both rookies - the best pair of rookies to break in on the same team in the top-6 in the same year maybe ever.

The rest of the Hawks top 6 were Sharp 25, Lang 36, Jason Williams 27 and Havlat 26... They did not make the playoffs

GranteedEV · 09-05-2016, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djsFlames

When you look at goals-for, the only top 15 offensive teams to not make the playoffs last season were Calgary and Ottawa. And both teams' issues were with keeping pucks out of their own net. All the teams around them in the upper half were playoff bound. Seeing as it's safe to say we've patched up the situation between the pipes I'd say playoffs are looking pretty good.

Also separating us from Ottawa, we were actually 10th in shots against (28.6), Ottawa was 30th (32.2)

djsFlames · 09-05-2016, 04:21 PM

Wow. Yeah, that really underlines the goaltending issues and how bad we had it in comparison to the rest of the league.

GreenLantern2814 · 09-05-2016, 05:19 PM

Great point in the article regarding Dougie. When paired with Kris Russell, his CF% was 45%. With anyone else, 52%.

Not that I'm a huge advanced stat honk, but he was billed as a great possession D prior to getting here, and when not paired with one of the worst possession players in the league, he looks poised to drive more offense next year.

MarkGio · 09-05-2016, 06:45 PM

I dont agree with Tkachuk in the line-up, but all and all a decent write up

Textcritic · 09-05-2016, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricardodw

Top 2 lines ( the way they are presented) have 3 guys out of 6 on their ELC. Gaudreau makes 4 in that he blew off a year of his ELC by playing 1 game.

compare that to the Hawks when Toews and Kane were both rookies - the best pair of rookies to break in on the same team in the top-6 in the same year maybe ever.

The rest of the Hawks top 6 were Sharp 25, Lang 36, Jason Williams 27 and Havlat 26... They did not make the playoffs

Not that it has any relevance at all with regards to whether the Flames will make the playoffs, but a player is either playing on his ELC or he is not. Gaudreau's will play this year on his second contract.