Flames March success in playing defence

[FakenHaken]

Originally Posted by Five-hole

Which fortunately or unfortunately, depending on which came you belong in, means that this flash of success is not likely to dry up and go on a prolonged losing streak.

As we saw in the Olympics, team defence is in large part a function of everybody buying in and committing to win, which is a GREAT sign going forward. We just need the talent injection.

But it looks like we'll never be truly awful. I don't see how much could change between now and a year from now to believe that we have any kind of shot at McDavid or Eichel.

Was kind of wondering the same thing, which then had me thinking about this year's draft. Should we give up assets today for Ekblad or first overall. Rather, might it not be better to draft as to what is presented BPA to us at the draft. Then next year while McDavid or Eichel are to be the prize I've also understood that the defencemen are really good next year as well. Another words just be patient.....

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Bingo

the thing the eastern media (TSN/HNIC) keeps missing is the emerging skill on the backend. Someone above alluded to the Flames top four, but three guys are really doing a job at all ends of the ice.

When you have three guys that don't panic in their own zone, and consistently out "wait" the forecheck to open up better and quicker paths up the ice the team's game changes on a dime.

We've been seeing this for awhile now. Game in and game out.

The game changed post-cup run with the reduction of obstruction. As a result big, slow, d-men who were so valuable because they could shut down forwards by clutching and grabbing became less important and mobile defensemen who could now skate it out of their own zone unobstructed became much more important because the game is now all about transitioning from defense to offense quickly and aggressively. Sutter was slow to realize this and we struggled for too long with too many slower, less skilled defensemen. Sarich, Regehr, Warrener, Staios, etc all around the same time.

We now have a new NHL style defense. Russell and Brodie the effortless puck rushers. Giordano can move the puck quite well. Smid plays the Warrener/Sarich role for us but does it better than they did. We're really only one big, strong, skilled, good skating defenseman (preferably RH) away from a really, really solid core. That's why I want Ekblad so much. He'd replace Wideman's point shot and can play in all situations. He adds the size we lack he adds the top 4 right shooter we lack. I really don't want to see EDM land him.

The media definitely underrates the importance of our defense core to how well we've played this year. Our puck moving ability is at an all time high IMO. I love guys who can skate it and move it ala Brodie, Russell and Gio.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Our defensive core is underestimated, and I think it's really solid enough as it is.

The one defenseman i have really been impressed with is Brodie. A couple of years ago, he was a 5-6 defenseman, and is now playing top 2 minutes with Gio. They are a great pairing too!

Can't say enough about Gio. He is by far the best choice of Captain right after our franchise player left. He took the reigns and has played very good hockey. 39 points in 51 games, second in Flames scoring.

http://www.sportingcharts.com/nhl/st...atistics/2013/

Butler (YES, Butler), is #2 in blocked shots, followed by Smid at #4. And surprisingly, Russell is at #10. 3 of the top 10 block shots are part of the Flames squad.

Can't believe some people think we shouldn't extend a contract to Butler. He is doing his part as a 5-6 defenseman, and his contract isn't even bad at all. Of course he makes some mistakes here and there, but you're wrong if you think he hasn't improved from previous years with the team. Not to mention, he is approaching the defenseman age where they hit their prime.

Russell for a 5th round pick? What a steal. Then again, the Blues' defensive depth is so large, they could probably care less that we probably won that deal. He really has shown that he is a part of a lot of the wins we get.

Smid is another steal deal that we took from Edmonton. He can play solid minutes and play defense, something that we really lacked in at the beginning of the year until we acquired him. Bold move Edmonton?

The only defenseman I have a problem with is Wideman. The only thing he has going good for him is we lack RH shots and his contract keeps us within the cap floor. Ekblad would certainly be an upgraded RH shot than what we have with Wideman. He is inconsistent, and sometimes just looks lost. He's definitely not the powerplay quarterback that we saw from last year.

I certainly prefer Wotherspoon over him. Wotherspoon is a very quiet guy, but if you look really closely, he does have a good hockey IQ and makes good decisions for the most part as others have mentioned.

I think the only thing the Flames are lacking is a "shutdown" defensive defenseman, kind of what we had with Regehr, one who can play top 4 minutes. Other than that, our defensive core is pretty good, you can obviously tell that the thing the Flames lack in most is having scoring depth, top 6 players.

[Itse]

Butler finally starting to calm down with the puck is doing wonders for the whole. That said, I'd wait a while before I declare him decisively improved. He has looked good in stretches before. All in all, right now it looks like Hartley has done a solid job with our defensemen, and Smid was an excellent pickup by Feaster.

I've been crying for a more mobile, better puckmoving defense for years, and it's nice to see it really does improve the whole team as much as I thought it would, even without franchise-type gamechangers. (Giordano is starting to be close to that status, although it remains to be seen how long can he actually stick to this level.)

With all that said; I would be very, very careful to make long-term conclusions on throw-away seasons like this. When the pressure to win is on every night, and more teams start to bring their A-game against us because they want to pass us in the standings, that's when you can start to make judgements on things like effort level and competitiveness.

The Oilers are a prime example of this. They've had many good stretches pretty much like this during their rebuild years, only to fold like a tent when the other teams start pushing. Heck, how many times have the Flames done just that in the previous years?

The above is not to say that we should _expect_ our team to fold under pressure of course, or that we shouldn't be happy about the way we play right now. This is basicly as good as you could realistically have expected at this point, and the team has every right to be proud of what they've achieved thus far.

[TherapyforGlencross]

Originally Posted by saillias

Give credit to moon, I think he was right with his analysis of Wideman. He's managed to play himself out of the top 4 on a bad team.

Doesn't help either when he's injured half the time...

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by saillias

Give credit to moon, I think he was right with his analysis of Wideman. He's managed to play himself out of the top 4 on a bad team.

It's insanely easy to be pessimistic about predicting things. You're bound to be correct way more often then right.

[CSharp]

I'd say we'd have to fire Hartley for doing such a good job and re-hire Brent Sutter back so that the Flames can tank for next season. I can't believe Butler looks good on the Flames defence!

[OzSome]

Team Defense and the number of blocked shots led to giving up less shots on goals this season. We have 3 or 4 or even 5 players on the top 10 in blocked shots. Lance Bouma and Chris Butler(yes the same Butler that people hated) are not afraid of blocking the shots. We also have Ladislav Smid, Giordano, Russell and even Backlund are all willing.

On defense ever since we acquired Smid from Edmonton, we can play all 3 defense line unlike last season where we have #5 and #6 D playing less than 5 minutes a game.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Red Ice Player

I'm getting sick of hearing that Calgary has the least talent in the league, the weakest defence on paper..etc...ad nauseam. Nine teams in the league have given up more goals than the Flames, including the Leafs. An extra twenty goals, and we're a middle of the pack team. Not what our goal should be, but not bad for a team that was just blown up.

Excellent point, and it makes you wonder if Iggy was still with this team, what would they look like? He obviously would provide that 20+ goals to put us on the bubble in a very tough conference, but would there be such a selfless team work ethic if he was still here? I'm merely speculating, but the culture did seem to change when he left and Giordano was made captain. Not hating Iggy, but things grow stale and I don't think any amount of talent brought into this team with Iggy still here was going to put us over the hump. The Flames needed a fresh start (as did Iggy obviously) and I think we'd be an even worse team this year if Iginla had not been traded. I certainly don't think you'd see leadership from Backlund and Gio the way you have this year if Iginla is still on this team.

[Red Ice Player]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

Excellent point, and it makes you wonder if Iggy was still with this team, what would they look like? He obviously would provide that 20+ goals to put us on the bubble in a very tough conference, but would there be such a selfless team work ethic if he was still here? I'm merely speculating, but the culture did seem to change when he left and Giordano was made captain. Not hating Iggy, but things grow stale and I don't think any amount of talent brought into this team with Iggy still here was going to put us over the hump. The Flames needed a fresh start (as did Iggy obviously) and I think we'd be an even worse team this year if Iginla had not been traded. I certainly don't think you'd see leadership from Backlund and Gio the way you have this year if Iginla is still on this team.

For years the mantra was finding a center for Iggy's line. We would keep making subtle changes but opposing teams could approach the Flames with the same simple strategy: stop Iginla's line. If they couldn't, the Flames would win, but that wasn't enough wins to get us anywhere.
Now, I don't think a lot of teams are sure how to prepare for the Flames. As the new core forms and matures, it will get harder still. Its why I feel we don't necessarily need superstar talent for a successful rebuild. Obviously we'll need some very good players, especially in goal and at center, but a team that can roll four lines with defence that can jump into the play will be tough to stop. We can already see that starting to happen, even with our neophyte collection of rookies, castoffs, and disrespected vets. Kudos to Bob Hartley and the inspired leadership of our new captain. I hope we can retain the team chemistry we have now as we add more pieces.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by Red Ice Player

For years the mantra was finding a center for Iggy's line. We would keep making subtle changes but opposing teams could approach the Flames with the same simple strategy: stop Iginla's line. If they couldn't, the Flames would win, but that wasn't enough wins to get us anywhere.

Now, I don't think a lot of teams are sure how to prepare for the Flames. As the new core forms and matures, it will get harder still. Its why I feel we don't necessarily need superstar talent for a successful rebuild. Obviously we'll need some some very good players, especially in goal and at center, but a team that can roll four lines with defence that can jump into the play will be tough to stop. We can already see that starting to happen, even with our neophyte collection of rookies, castoffs, and disrespected vets. Kudos to Bob Hartley and the inspired leadership of our new captain. I hope we can retain the team chemistry we have now as we add more pieces.

I agree with this idea... It's a credit to how good iginla us that he carried this team as well as he did. This kind of team that this post describes is that of St. Louis and boston... A team that's so deep and evenly talented that teams have trouble matching up with them.

[TjRhythmic]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

Excellent point, and it makes you wonder if Iggy was still with this team, what would they look like? He obviously would provide that 20+ goals to put us on the bubble in a very tough conference, but would there be such a selfless team work ethic if he was still here? I'm merely speculating, but the culture did seem to change when he left and Giordano was made captain. Not hating Iggy, but things grow stale and I don't think any amount of talent brought into this team with Iggy still here was going to put us over the hump. The Flames needed a fresh start (as did Iggy obviously) and I think we'd be an even worse team this year if Iginla had not been traded. I certainly don't think you'd see leadership from Backlund and Gio the way you have this year if Iginla is still on this team.

I don't think it was Iggy. Could've been, but I think the change in culture was more the coaching staff stepping up, imposing their beliefs into the team, and not wavering on them. Even when we as fans thought he was playing favorites, Hartley and his staff were instilling habits that are starting to form... and Calgary now has an identity again

[Red_Baron]

Originally Posted by Red Ice Player

I'm getting sick of hearing that Calgary has the least talent in the league, the weakest defence on paper..etc...ad nauseam. Nine teams in the league have given up more goals than the Flames, including the Leafs. An extra twenty goals, and we're a middle of the pack team. Not what our goal should be, but not bad for a team that was just blown up.

I agree. We have quietly done a good job of developing a couple of these D-men rather than just having the top rated guys land on our lap by tanking. I'm glad that we are modeling something closer to what Detroit has done for years rather than going the Oiler road.