FH there’s a thread on this below with a poll. But I will say as a life long STH I was pretty down when we lost both of them, thinking this might be the year I move on. But give Tre credit for making things really interesting. I defer to others who have watched Huberdeau. Sounds like we might be better.
I'm really curious as to what kind of year Mangiapane will have.Some think he could be a 40 goal guy. Myself I see him more of a 24,25 goal guy. I hope he proves me wrong and can be a 30plus goal scorer and 60 to 65 point guy for the flames.
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I am so glad how things turned out. We were not going to win with the previous core. We only won 2 playoff series with that core. There is no nostalgia here for me. I have wanted big changes to the core for a long time.There are certain types of guys you can win with and I think this new core gives us a better chance. They want to be here and have the intangibles the other guys did not have.
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I am so glad how things turned out. We were not going to win with the previous core. We only won 2 playoff series with that core. There is no nostalgia here for me. I have wanted big changes to the core for a long time.There are certain types of guys you can win with and I think this new core gives us a better chance. They want to be here and have the intangibles the other guys did not have.
I think the Flames will be similar to last season. Top 2 or 3 in the west. Very tight defensively. Tough team to play against.
The big question is how will they perform in the playoffs. With the moves they made I can’t see them not being a playoff team. But can they take another step.
Slow start for the first 10-15 games, then top 3 the remainder of the season. Huberdeau's point production reduces to 90~ points but defense improved and is highly regarded by the league and praise be to Sutter. Toffoli goes streaky throughout and bounces him between 1st and 3rd line. Flames win division, Oilers come 3rd. Oilers lose by sweep in first round.
Last edited by logan_izer10; 08-30-2022 at 10:28 AM.
I think the Flames will be similar to last season. Top 2 or 3 in the west. Very tight defensively. Tough team to play against.
The big question is how will they perform in the playoffs. With the moves they made I can’t see them not being a playoff team. But can they take another step.
They got run out of the building in the Colorado series and the Edmonton series when they abandoned their game plan due to what the other team was doing (MacKinnon/McDavid going off).
Do the changes to the roster make that less likely?
Was Tkachuk and Gaudreau the most responsible for that? Least? Part of the problem? Two of the few that weren't part of the problem?
The team has different personnel, but additionally two key players that will play a huge role in managing top talent against. They seem better built for that type of playoff series.
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I think they will be a top 5 team in the west, and Lindholm and Huberdeau's numbers will regress (as many players league wide will from last season). I still think we're one star forward away from being able to truly take on any team in the NHL in a series and contend for the Cup, personally.
Right now Colorado blows most teams out of the rink in a 7 game series. If we truly want to contend in years 1-4 of this new core (and those will be the years to do it) then we still have to upgrade, imo.
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I am optimistic--it's not just Huberdeau and Kadri for Gaudreau and Tkachuk, it's Gudbrandson out and Weegar in, and that, coupled with hopefully a healthy playoff Tanev (and Weegar might help make the regular season less crushing minutes-wise for Tanev) and Markstrom simply being Markstrom I think this team is potentially better. Maybe the regular season point total won't be better, but the overall improvement should help come playoffs.
I honestly feel like Calgary has the best on paper talent since 2008/09 when Calgary acquired Jokinen, Cammalleri, and Langkow to play with Iginla. That team also had depth at defence and seemed to have legit up and coming prospects/young players intended to fill out depth roles: Backlund, Lombardi, Glencross, Nystrom, Moss, Boyd, etc...
2008/09 was a disaster in the playoffs, with the Flames getting booted in 5 games.
However, this team does seem different to me. By 2008/09 the Flames had already become complacent. This current Flames team has a lot more room for fire. Hopefully Kadri remains hungry. There's also a bunch of players still fighting for their permanent roles in the NHL.
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How good do you guys think this version of the flames will be this next season.
