(Substitute for) Impaler's Mid Season Report Card

[kyuss275]

As a team i give an F. As individuals i give Stajan, Hudler , Bouw, Stempniak, Mac Donald a "pass". The rest get "fail".

Not sure how some of you are giving out "A's" and "B's" to a team last in the western conference.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Poe969

How can you give out a bunch of decent grades and say overall they're a D? And Stempniak has been a surprise but he's got 16 points and that's an A? I guess if your marking based on their contract and what they produce but the overall decent grades are kind of mind bottling...

The grades are relative to expectations, and I used B as "as expected", which I think is fair to individual players. (Meeting expectations is good.) I guess I should have said that. Stempniak gets an A easily on that scale. Clearly better than what I expected. Maybe my expectations for him were just lower than yours.

As to the team grade, if the system worked perfectly (which it won't), in a situation where you'd have about equal amount and quality of players overperforming and underperforming, the team should be about average in total.

On my grading, most guys are getting passing grades and about a third of the team is below that, and only one guy gets above that line.

More importantly, the guys not delivering are the important ones; 2 of our top 4 D, 2 of our top 3 scorers and most importantly, our starting goalie.

The starting goalies performance alone will drag any team up or down the standings, this shouldn't be news to anybody.

But to put it another way; The Flames suck even when playing at around potential. The situation is worse than people predicted, but it's not on any one player. The team is just built even worse than I thought.

Honestly I could upgrade the team grade to C, since I'm not really that surprised that they are where they are right now. But I feel that being dead last has to get a special mention.

[neo45]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

Not sure how some of you are giving out "A's" and "B's" to a team last in the western conference.

Individiual letter grades really shouldn't be this hard to understand

I don't want to give everybody a letter, I'll just post who has been bad this year:

- Glencross
- Tanguay
- Giordano
- Jackman
- Comeau
- Kipper
- Irving
- Jones

Follow that with 15 mediocre performers. Good players have been Bo, Stajan, Iggy, and Hudler. Kind of sad reall. Cervenka, Sven, and Horak have all looked fine but haven't been put in a position to succeed

[zamler]

Yes already been pointed out, but you can't give the team a C when they are last in the conference. They deserve a solid F.

[moon]

Seems pretty high grades especially for Hudler, Wideman, Backlund, Butler, Begin and Taylor (not sure how he is higher than Irving when he was much worse) but everyone has their own grading system and I give you credit for going through every guy and handing out grades.

Outside of Brodie not sure anyone deserves an A whether on performance or expectations, team overall deserves a D or F and coaching/management deserves the same.

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by Five-hole

Good comments; generally agree. Here's my marks. B is met expectations for that player. If the marks were graded against where they have been playing (example: first line center) many of them would be much, much worse.

Iginla - B- - Shows hustle but hasn't made enough difference in many games.
Cammalleri - B- - Streaky. When his linemates are on, looks very good, but the opposite is true too. For the money he is making, he should make his linemates better, and he often does not.
Tanguay - D - Very disappointed with his play. Some flashes of offence but a turnover machine on transition.
Glencross - C - Could use more hustle.
Hudler - A- - Great player but his D-zone play is suspect at times.
Cervenka - B- - Up and down. Willing to be patient with him.
Stajan - A- - Drastically improved. Could use more finish.
Backlund - A
Stempniak - B+ - Streaky offence but good play away from the puck. He's what a vet at that price should bring you.
Comeau - B- - Much better lately. Can't fault his compete - has just been way too high up the depth chart at times.
Begin - B
Jackman - C
McGrattan - B
Jones - B- - I liked his game generally. Not sure where things went wrong. No finish.
Baertschi - C+ - Starting to see development of the NHL game on D, but hasn't been put in a position to succeed offensively and nor has he forced the coaches' hands in putting him there.
Horak - n/a

Bouwmeester - B+ - Has trailed off of late, but a marked improvement from his first 3 years. Playing a more physical game and asserting himself in all zones. Still struggles at reading the play when the opposition is set up (e.g. PK.)
Giordano - C- - Generally pretty bad. Lots of compete but he's forcing everything to little result.
Wideman - B - Initially looked like a steal but has regressed to what I thought: offensive-minded D with suspect defence.
Brodie - A - Fantastic progression this year.
Butler - B+ - Much improved skating and puck play but is still weak at establishing presence in the D zone.
Smith - B- - Generally fine. Would like more offence.
Sarich - n/a

Kiprusoff - D - I've seen more weak goals this year in a handful of games than in many full seasons on his resume. Many at awful times in the game.
MacDonald - B+
Irving - C - Hoped to see more after being given his shot.
Taylor - n/a

Overall: D

Flashes of great play but a general lack of cohesion, character, grit, and leadership. These pieces do not fit together.

I agree with your ranking except Gio should get a D as well. I really look at this team and think we would be alot better if Gio and Kipper step it up. Just think it is to late now and if they do we finish 9th or 10th again

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

As a team i give an F. As individuals i give Stajan, Hudler , Bouw, Stempniak, Mac Donald a "pass". The rest get "fail".

Not sure how some of you are giving out "A's" and "B's" to a team last in the western conference.

It's based on expectations. If you thought the Flames were going to compete for the division and are in last then I see why you would give them an F but they are slightly below where I thought they would be

Also a B+ for Butler or an A for Stajan isn't near enough gain as a D for Kipper hurts us. Kipper is expected to carry us and be our team MVP but has been terrible to this point. Results are us being last rather than 10th

[Badgers Nose]

last place team and no 'F' for players?

LOL

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by Macho0978

It's based on expectations. If you thought the Flames were going to compete for the division and are in last then I see why you would give them an F but they are slightly below where I thought they would be

Also a B+ for Butler or an A for Stajan isn't near enough gain as a D for Kipper hurts us. Kipper is expected to carry us and be our team MVP but has been terrible to this point. Results are us being last rather than 10th

NHL grades on a scale? LOL yeah right.

This is reality. F for everyone.

[Five-hole]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

NHL grades on a scale? LOL yeah right.

This is reality. F for everyone.

That's the kind of sophisticated analysis I come here for.

Look, if you don't realize that individual players can be playing well and a team can be underperforming, I'm not sure why you look at anything except the standings.

[dammage79]

Brodie and Backlund deserve an A for sure, keeps putting on good performances while the team has been floundering.

Wideman, Hudler, Iginla, Bouwmeester, Stajan and Stempniak get B's

Cammy, butler, smith get C's.

My failures so far this year are , glencross, tanguay, cervenka (his talent has shown up in glimpses but overall isn't consistent enough to get a pass), Kipper.

Feaster gets a D+ for not putting together a better and a more consistent roster.

Hartley gets a C for doing the best he could with such a mish mash of talent.

[CSharp]

Tanguay a B?!? Wow, that's a frickin huge laugh! Both him and S-Faced should get an E or an F for an effin' effort!

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Fair enough. I remember what he, Conroy and Moss used to be as a line and fear his move to one dimensional player has made him Olli Jokinen on the wing (and pro rating on a short sample includes a really hot and unsustainable start).

Offensive contribution for dollars, tough to argue. But overall game for minutes, the big picture is fuzzier, my opinion only

I think you're bang on.

Getting your cookies isn't everything. Being a solid player in all three zones is more valuable.

I am going to try my hand at this using your template.

Iginla - C+ - Slow start and unable to play away from the puck. Can obviously still play but lacks motivation.
Cammalleri - C - Streaky powerplay player who doesn't bring anything else. Cannot play centre in the NHL, period.
Tanguay - D- - At one point lead the team in Points, PIMs and negative plus minus, and has improved in the PIMs category. Still one of the most inconsistent players on the roster.
Glencross - C- - Crap hustle, physicality and defense from this guy without much in the way of offense. For an often cited '3rd liner' he's got to bring more effort every night.
Hudler - b - Has shown good puck possession and is directly responsible for at least 6 points on the season for the flames. Slower than anticipated, makes some real boneheaded decisions with the puck in his own zone and the neutral zone, but otherwise is as advertised.
Cervenka - D - Borderline NHL'er.
Stajan - A - Is shouldering the majority of the defensive load and doing an acceptable job of it, especially in light of expectations going into the season.
Backlund - B -Backlund has been good this year, but not great by any stretch
Stempniak - B - Streaky scorer who can play a regular shift when he's not scoring.
Comeau - C+ - He hustles out there which is more than I can say for many other players.
Begin - F - Should not have been tendered a contract. Bad PK player, little physicality, can't win a draw, no other place for him in the lineup.
Jackman - C - pretty ineffective this year, still hustling and getting punched for his teammates.
McGrattan - B+ - Hasn't gotten beaten up yet, B+!
Jones - C+ - Won a couple draws, skates hard, is a warm body at the centre ice position, decent defensively.
Baertschi - C+ - Riding the pine isn't a great way to show your stuff. Looked Dangerous in the first part of the season.
Horak - B - Scores points in limited ice time, solid positionally, can play anywhere in the lineup on a bad team. Baffled by the decision to send him down.

Bouwmeester - B- - A bit more offense for a bit less defense. All in all pretty much the exact same player he was last year.
Giordano - D - I had lower expectations for Giordano going into this season than most and he's not even delivering on those.
Wideman - B - As advertised. Good powerplay player, suspect defensively.
Brodie - A - has stepped up significantly when given an expanded role
Butler - B - Has improved since last season, is a bottom pairing guy with speed and skill.
Smith - C+ - Does he even play? Good positional player, that's about it.
Sarich - C - Solid enough in minimal service.
Babchuk - F - Not an NHL player.

Kiprusoff - C - The wheels are falling off and the rest of the team isn't helping him change the tires.
MacDonald - B - ok as a backup
Irving - C+ - Shaky but don't know what else to expect from a guy playing without the confidence of anyone around him.
Taylor - B - Not getting lit up like a christmas tree is good enough for a B from me for this player.

Overall: F - Too many passengers, not even close to enough consistent effort, porous defense and bottom third offense. This team is pretty much where they should be.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Fair enough. I remember what he, Conroy and Moss used to be as a line and fear his move to one dimensional player has made him Olli Jokinen on the wing (and pro rating on a short sample includes a really hot and unsustainable start).

Offensive contribution for dollars, tough to argue. But overall game for minutes, the big picture is fuzzier, my opinion only

I think you're bang on.

Getting your cookies isn't everything. Being a solid player in all three zones is more valuable.

I am going to try my hand at this using your template.

Iginla - C - Slow start and unable to play away from the puck. Can obviously still play but lacks motivation.
Cammalleri - C- - Streaky powerplay player who doesn't bring anything else. Cannot play centre in the NHL, period.
Tanguay - D- - At one point lead the team in Points, PIMs and negative plus minus, and has improved in the PIMs category. Still one of the most inconsistent players on the roster.
Glencross - C- - Crap hustle, physicality and defense from this guy without much in the way of offense. For an often cited '3rd liner' he's got to bring more effort every night.
Hudler - b - Has shown good puck possession and is directly responsible for at least 6 points on the season for the flames. Slower than anticipated, makes some real boneheaded decisions with the puck in his own zone and the neutral zone, but otherwise is as advertised.
Cervenka - D - Borderline NHL'er.
Stajan - A - Is shouldering the majority of the defensive load and doing an acceptable job of it, especially in light of expectations going into the season.
Backlund - B -Backlund has been good this year, but not great by any stretch
Stempniak - B - Streaky scorer who can play a regular shift when he's not scoring.
Comeau - C+ - He hustles out there which is more than I can say for many other players.
Begin - F - Should not have been tendered a contract. Bad PK player, little physicality, can't win a draw, no other place for him in the lineup.
Jackman - C - pretty ineffective this year, still hustling and getting punched for his teammates.
McGrattan - B+ - Hasn't gotten beaten up yet, B+!
Jones - C+ - Won a couple draws, skates hard, is a warm body at the centre ice position, decent defensively.
Baertschi - C+ - Riding the pine isn't a great way to show your stuff. Looked Dangerous in the first part of the season.
Horak - B - Scores points in limited ice time, solid positionally, can play anywhere in the lineup on a bad team. Baffled by the decision to send him down.

Bouwmeester - B- - A bit more offense for a bit less defense. All in all pretty much the exact same player he was last year.
Giordano - D - I had lower expectations for Giordano going into this season than most and he's not even delivering on those.
Wideman - B - As advertised. Good powerplay player, suspect defensively.
Brodie - A - has stepped up significantly when given an expanded role
Butler - B - Has improved since last season, is a bottom pairing guy with speed and skill.
Smith - C+ - Does he even play? Good positional player, that's about it.
Sarich - C - Solid enough in minimal service.
Babchuk - F - Not an NHL player.

Kiprusoff - C - The wheels are falling off and the rest of the team isn't helping him change the tires.
MacDonald - B - ok as a backup
Irving - C+ - Shaky but don't know what else to expect from a guy playing without the confidence of anyone around him.
Taylor - B - Not getting lit up like a christmas tree is good enough for a B from me for this player.

Overall: F - Too many passengers, not even close to enough consistent effort, porous defense and bottom third offense. This team is pretty much where they should be.

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by Itse

• Stempniak: A. One of the few consistent performers on the team, easily the best bang for the buck, and a rare positive +/- stat.
• Hudler: B+. Does what he is paid for.
• Stajan: B+. Solid two way play, but not enough points.
• Backlund: B+ Two steps forward, but one step back with the injury.
• MacDonald: B. Competent backup. Not his fault that it makes him the best goalie we have.
• Wideman: B. Has done exactly what he was brough here to do.
• Cervenka: B. Tough start for the season. Decent points, not that great defensively. Low expectatations save his rating.
• Brodie: B. Slight improvement, as expected. Best bang for the buck out of the defensemen.
• Iginla: B-. Not an impact player anymore, but leading the team in scoring as expected.
• Smith: B-. I feel he was better last year.
• Comeau, Begin, Horak, Babchuk, Jackman, Sarich: B- Not much expected, not much delivered.
• Giordano: C+. I think this board tends to overrate how good his "best" actually is, but this season it's clear he's not meeting expectations.
• Tanguay and Cammalleri: C. Okay personal points but terrible defensive game. Not too far from expectations.
• Bouwmeester: C. Started to put up some points, but still not an impact player on most nights, and still not good enough defensively.
• Butler: C.
• Irving: C-. Looked like a guy who will never get his nerves under control.
• Kipprusoff: F. Second to last in SV% out of all the goalies in the league. The weakest link in a pretty bad team. Another case of the management waiting too long to trade players.

Overall: D-. Not really surprising that they are doing worse than last year, but last in the conference is still ugly.

I'm pretty much in agreement with most of your assessments, but a few strike me as off a bit from what I see:

I see the following as slightly overrated (let's say by half a grade): Hudler, Cervenka (but gets a bit of a pass as is learning the NHL game)

Over by a full grade: Comeau, Begin, Horak, Jackman, Sarich

Under: Kipper -- would give him a C-; hard to rate this year. Has definitely not met expectations, but are our expectations just way too high for an aging goalie (who works as hard as he does, particularly)?

Forwards: C- As a group tend not to provide support up ice, in the neutral zone or backcheck effectively -- this is somewhat reflected in individual scoring, but as a collective unit they fail to support the defence more - either on breakouts or when the D is being hammered in their own zone. Could do more to help everyone on the ice consistently.

Defence: C- Not too bad in the offensive zone, but far, far too many dumb cross-ice or up-centre passes in their own and neutral zones. And way too many giveaways in front of the net.

Coaching: C Given the lack of talent, getting an uptempo game from this group looked good until the wheels fell off. Not sure what they're going to get on any given day (ie return to inconsistency of the B. Sutter years)

Management: F for should be Fired. Sorry, Jay, you just don't have what it takes to stand up to KK and Murray Edwards. This team needs change and you're the guy who is supposed to drive that.....but you have to have stones and I believe those are lacking. And KK should be moved upstairs to non-hockey ops. Good glad-hander, but the team needs hockey support.

[Sakari]

Kiprusoff has been a D if you're comparing him to himself. Comparing him to your average goalie, he's probably been a B. Throw Bryzgalov in net for the Flames. See just about how much better he does.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by taxbuster

I'm pretty much in agreement with most of your assessments, but a few strike me as off a bit from what I see:

Under: Kipper -- would give him a C-; hard to rate this year. Has definitely not met expectations, but are our expectations just way too high for an aging goalie (who works as hard as he does, particularly)?

My grade should by no means be taken as something I hold against him. I'm sure he tries his best, and it's not like he could just choose to become younger.

That said, sports is about results, and his results are among the worst in the league over the season. 70th out of all goalies in GAA in a team that's 12th in SA/G, 72nd out of all goalies in SV%. We're talking about the ballpark where the Florida Panthers third goalie plays in. Seriously, how is that not an F?

We're BTW also the team with the fewest penalty minutes per game, which by all rationality should help goalie stats. We really are not that bad defensively as a team.

That's an F, no matter how hard you tried and how much of a good guy you are and how great you were.

(PS: if you're wondering about the differing stats in this and my first post, it's because I used different sites. These are NHL official sites which counts all the goalies.)

[genetic_phreek]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

For a guy whomis paid to be a third liner yet is second on the team for goals scored, Glencross sure gets a lot of grief.

His grade is too low. He would be close to a 30 goal pace over 82 games.

He's paid to be a third liner but has been getting first line minutes. If you're getting first line minutes then you should be on pace to score 30 goals. Also, your pay is a reflection of your history. Your icetime and line placement is a reflection of your expectations. For his icetime, I expect him to score goals and not get scored against.

[bubbsy]

my take:
iginla - C+ (older, still decent, and finally scoring again).
Tanguay - F+ (getting some points, despite being pretty useless by all accounts)
Cammalleri - D (if he aint' scoring, he ain't doing much else)
Glencross - D (wish he would stop thinking that he's only a scorer. Him being physical and using his speed on the forecheck is where he'd be so much more valuable)
Stempniak - B (good effort most nights, and puts the puck in the net when he has the chance)
Stajan - A (hardest worker, and finally showing that he may actually belong in the NHL)
cervenka - C (hasn't played Center, is piss poor defensively, and though he shows flashes, not sure he is a top 6 center on good/competitive hockey teams)
hudler - B- (when he's on, he's great, when he's not, he's pretty invisible, which is what we've heard from wing fans in the past)
backlund - B (too small a sample size. need to see more on a night in/night out basis. Can he push the play or is he a flash in the pan here and there type player'?)
comeau - C (gets harped on a lot, but he's just not an offensive player. he's physical, and does well enough defensively to deserve 4th line icetime).
jackman - F- (some say that having a goon just to fight is useless in the new NHL. i disagree to some extent. However, having a goon who won't fight or get nasty should get another job).

Bouwmeester- C+ (hey he can score. Still soft as crap, for a defensive dman makes terrible mistakes, just doesn't warrant his paycheck. good on him for improving this year though).
Giodano - D (not much to say here)
wideman - C (like him at the point, he can provide/stimulate offense from there 5 on 5 or on the PP. Defensively, he's often a subtle disaster).
butler - B (his play shows that he can be a 4-6 dman, and hopefully he can be that "unnoticable in a good way" type dman).
Brodie - B+ (has been effective for the most part, and excited on him continuing to develop).

Goalies: D (outside of a few outings (like under 5) the team is getting below avg goaltending night in and night out).

Coaching: D (didn't like baertchi's icetime, backlund's icetime thus far, calling the second kings game the biggest game of the year and not putting in kipper, the PK is terrible, the defense is terrible, with no signs of improvement). This team is more exciting to watch than the B. Sutter flames, but not going to be as successful in the standings.

Naturally, as a whole, F-.

[Savvy27]

C is meeting expectations

Tanguay: C- Has taken off more nights than he did last year, but Iginla's lack of finish has hurt his ability to outscore his deficiencies

Cammalleri: D Scored a bundle of goals against Dallas but has otherwise been an utter disappointment. Absolute passenger this season.

Iginla: C His effort has been good this year, but that is par for the course when you are the captain of a team. His shooting is awful and he is no longer a threat from the slot or as a one-timer and it hurts the team a lot.

Stajan: A- Improved his play and his faceoffs. Competes every night, didn't have him on my pre-season roster and he proved me wrong big time.

Glencross: D Bourque part II.

Hudler: B Is a better player than I realized. He's a solid complimentary piece on a team.

Cervenka: D Doesn't seem to have the intensity or mentality to compete against NHL players, would look good in the all-star game probably.

Backlund: A- One of the few Flames (along with Hudler and Brodie) who actually carry the puck and do something with it. His shooting looks a little better and he looks stronger. Glad he's on the team and I think he'll get better too.

Stempniak: A No complaints about him at all and I have been very impressed with how consistently he works. Streaky scorer but that is the expectation.

Baertschi: D- A victim of my unrealistic expectations and getting injured. Hopefully this is just a hiccup.

Jackman: D+ Some games he does what I hope for, but most he is ineffective.

Begin: C Brings what is expected, which isn't much but his role isn't a key one.


Wideman: C+ If the powerplay was still humming then this would be higher, but he is a clever player with some defensive holes. Pretty happy with the signing.

Bouwmeester: B- I like his improved intensity and involvement in the offense. He has problems in front of the net in the D zone though and the Flames have paid for it.

Giordano: F Nowhere near the player that he was pre-injury. Like Cammalleri, the only way this team could be competitive was if he played at the top of his game and he isn't even close. Doesn't hit much, no longer blocks shots, never fights or gets into scrums, offense has dried up.

Butler: C Pretty much playing at the level I thought he could.

Brodie: A- I like his game a lot and he is turning potential into reality.

Smith: C- A little bit worse than I thought.

Babchuk: F Doesn't look like an NHL quality player

Sarich: F Doesn't look like an NHL quality player

Kiprusoff: F Horrible all season. Some of the worst number in the league and even though the team has given up great chances, he is supposed to be a guy who can make those saves that goalies aren't usually expected to.

Other goalies: C Not the problem for the team.

Kiprusoff, Cammalleri, and Giordano are the biggest disappointments for me. They have let the team down the most in my opinion.