2014-2015 How will the Flames, Oilers, Canucks do?

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Western Conference:
Canucks 10th
Oilers 13th
Flames 14th

IMO the Flames are in for a really tough season as last year a lot of things went right just to finish 13th. I don't expect much improvement in the Oilers but even teams like the Panthers have the odd good season in a decade. Canucks are more of a wild card as if the Sedins can put things together one more time and the goaltending is decent they could be in the conversation for 7-8th place but that's probably their ceiling.

What things went right? Losing Glencross to long term injury? Losing Giordano to injury? Losing practically everyone else to significant injuries? A backup goalie for much of the season who couldn't hold leads? I'm not sure there is much of anything you can look at and go "that isn't sustainable". That is rather a big reason why we finished 13th instead of higher.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Actually, they were 2 games below 500 after Christmas.

Before: 14 - 17 - 6 .459
After: 21 - 23 - 1 .478

Thanks, got my story wrong - maybe it was after the Olympics that they were top 10? Thought I heard something like that somewhere.

[Scoutski]

I would bet that one of the Canucks, Oilers and Flames will make the playoffs. I don't know who, but I think I'd bet on the Canucks getting back to respectability without Torts.

The Flames might surprise us a little bit and I don't think they'll finish as low as last year.

The Oilers are just a wild card at this point, one of these days something is going to go right for them just by chance.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by AcGold

Feaster had Kiprusoff and Iginla so it's not really a fair comparison

Kipper and Iginla were not on last year's 77 point team, that team was a Feaster creation, Burke did not add a single player to that team.

This year's team is a Treliving creation, it would be embarrassing if they finished lower than Feaster's team.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Kipper and Iginla were not on last year's 77 point team, that team was a Feaster creation, Burke did not add a single player to that team.

This year's team is a Treliving creation, it would be embarrassing if they finished lower than Feaster's team.

Not really... We're rebuilding.

[Fire of the Phoenix]

It's a Trevliving/Burke/Feaster creation. Can't expect Treliving to change the team in just a few months. Personally, I wont judge him until year 3 or so barring some obvious successes/blunders. I don't care about the point totals for 2015. I trust Hartley will keep building on last year even if we drop 10 points it's not a big deal, given our overachievement last year and loss of Cammalleri this year. 2015-16 and onwards I want improvement for sure but I'm giving Treliving a clean slate to build this team, not going to compare him to any previous GM.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Kipper and Iginla were not on last year's 77 point team, that team was a Feaster creation, Burke did not add a single player to that team.

This year's team is a Treliving creation, it would be embarrassing if they finished lower than Feaster's team.

Such an empty and transparent attack on the current management.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Such an empty and transparent attack on the current management.

Attack? Why are there no standards for this current management group? Are we going full Oiler, are we trying to lose? Because if we are not the goal should be to improve each year no?

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Attack? Why are there no standards for this current management group? Are we going full Oiler, are we trying to lose? Because if we are not the goal should be to improve each year no?

Of course the goal is to improve. But you can't knock a newly hired GM in his first year with the roster that he has. The improvement we should really focus on during the rebuild is the player development.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Attack? Why are there no standards for this current management group? Are we going full Oiler, are we trying to lose? Because if we are not the goal should be to improve each year no?

Well the goal should be to get better but your black and white view is simply terrible. The Flames going into this upcoming year are prepared to give the kids a long look. You get better by building from within. Sure Treliving could have thrown a ton of cash at all the free agents to get marginally better this year but not any better long term and hurt out cap situation moving forward.

If we went full Oiler Sven is on the roster all year last season instead of working on his defensive game in the AHL.

[Hackey]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Attack? Why are there no standards for this current management group? Are we going full Oiler, are we trying to lose? Because if we are not the goal should be to improve each year no?

Reading this is like nails on a chalk board.

[Hackey]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Fair points, what does it say about the hockey minds of Burke and Treliving if Feaster is able to put together a better team than them? It would be downright humiliating if Feaster's Flames significantly outperformed the Treliving Burke Flames, especially with all the injuries they had last year.

Who cares man? The most important things that can happen this year is our youngsters continue to develop and improve, hopefully we can win a trade or two and hopefully land a franchise player with a top pick while having a strong draft after that. Your concerned with the number of wins? This is year two of our rebuild. The long term health of the team is most important. If we take a small step back so be it. You act like the sky is falling.

[heep223]

I love when "this post is terrible" chimes in with a thanks here and there

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by heep223

I love when "this post is terrible" chimes in with a thanks here and there

If I had to guess who was behind the account I'd have to say one of the moderators, hell maybe even Bingo himself.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Attack? Why are there no standards for this current management group? Are we going full Oiler, are we trying to lose? Because if we are not the goal should be to improve each year no?

The standard for this management group is to produce improvement in the medium-to-long term. I imagine that the expectation is to be challenging for division and conference titles in five seasons, with an outside shot at a playoff berth in three years.

Expecting incremental improvements from season to season, at this point, is a recipe for long-term mediocrity.

I'm sick of mediocrity.

I want two more years of being hot garbage, adding a player or two who will be in the hunt for serious individual hardware during their peak years, and then a five to seven year championship window.

I want the Flames to be the next Hawks or Kings. I do not want to be the next Capitals, or worse, Coyotes.

Flames: 14th in West, 29th in the NHL.
Oilers 11th in West.
Canucks 8th.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by driveway

...Expecting incremental improvements from season to season, at this point, is a recipe for long-term mediocrity.

I'm sick of mediocrity.

I want two more years of being hot garbage, adding a player or two who will be in the hunt for serious individual hardware during their peak years, and then a five to seven year championship window.

I want the Flames to be the next Hawks or Kings. I do not want to be the next Capitals, or worse, Coyotes...

Between 2004–07 the Hawks drafted #3–7–3–1, but acquired only two of their most important players from those picks, with a sizeable number coming from later in the draft. The Kings drafted #4–2–5 between 2007–09, and the years in which they added two of their most important players—Jonathan Bernier and Anze Kopitar—they finished on the playoff bubble in 10th and 11th place in the West. It is important to also note that between 2004–07 the Capitals similarly drafted #1–14–4–5, and in the same time frame the Coyotes drafted #5–17–8–3. All of these teams picked at least twice in the top five, and 3/4 picked three times.

I say that only to point out that hoping for incremental improvements, or being pleased with a better than bottom-five finish in the season is not "a recipe for long-term mediocrity." The best teams are built through strong drafting, and strong drafting will produce NHL players from outside the top-ten. It seems more sensible to hope that the Flames draft well rather than to hope that they finish poorly. Another lottery pick will not hurt the Flames, but by the same token, if they find themselves drafting outside of the top-five, this is not going to derail the rebuild.

[driveway]

I completely agree that excellent drafting is vital to building a championship team, however as a counterpoint, I'll just say that the last team to win the Cup without a top-three draft pick on the team was the 2001 Colorado Avalanche.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by troutman

Thanks, got my story wrong - maybe it was after the Olympics that they were top 10? Thought I heard something like that somewhere.

it was after the Vancouver game.

[Tinordi]

When you do these rankings the important thing is to look at the Flames relative to their competition. Who will be worse than the Flames next year? Phoenix? Nashville? Edmonton?

Edmonton looks to have improved but it's always "we'll see" with them.

Phoenix is still young so they could emerge or they could flounder.

Nashville looks like the only team that's as bad as the Flames.

So there you have it, bottom four in the west is basically a given unless everything comes up Millhouse.

Oh and by the way, Treliving has basically been saying that since he started. That the rebuild will take time.

[puckedoff]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

When you do these rankings the important thing is to look at the Flames relative to their competition. Who will be worse than the Flames next year? Phoenix? Nashville? Edmonton?

Edmonton looks to have improved but it's always "we'll see" with them.

Phoenix is still young so they could emerge or they could flounder.

Nashville looks like the only team that's as bad as the Flames.

So there you have it, bottom four in the west is basically a given unless everything comes up Millhouse.

Oh and by the way, Treliving has basically been saying that since he started. That the rebuild will take time.

Winnipeg is a candidate to be as bad as the Flames this year