[PGT] Bolts down Flames 3-1

[Strange Brew]

I thought the Flames played well and there signs of them getting out of their funk.

Wideman was horrible and one good year last year didn't erase how bad a signing that was.

Frankly I am most concerned about Giordano. Flames can fix most everything wrong and almost all the bad deals expire in 2 years. But if his contract became an anchor - that would be a long term serious problem.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Granlund can be a winger (and likely will with his lack of talent in the faceoff dot and out depth)

Arnold I think will eventually replace Stajan, who might be traded at some point over the next year or so.

And that i think was everybodies thought before Grant came in and took that 4th line spot and hasnt looked back since. Unless Backlund is traded i think if/when stajan goes it is Mony,Bennett,Backlund,Grant. With others like Colborne and Jooris that can fill in for injuries at center.

Just seems like Grant has sent a ripple in the center depth chart.

Too bad we havent seen a good sample size of Arnold in the NHL.

And thats not factoring in Janko.

[Caged Great]

Here's something fun.....

Only 5 games out of the next 20 are against poorer teams. I'm not counting Anaheim because they are starting to break out of their early funk.

SJ X 2
Bos, Buf, and Edmonton X 1

The rest are more of a challenge. Fun.....

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Here's something fun.....

Only 5 games out of the next 20 are against poorer teams. I'm not counting Anaheim because they are starting to break out of their early funk.

SJ X 2
Bos, Buf, and Edmonton X 1

The rest are more of a challenge. Fun.....

Boston and Buffalo are .500, SanJo only 1 game under .500.
I guess that means only 1 game in the next 20?

[calgaryblood]

This team will go no where with Wideman getting so much ice time. Trying to give the coach of the year the benefit of the doubt but he's real dropping the ball on this one.

Last year Wideman outscored his mistakes and there were a lot of mistakes. This year he's not scoring so his mistakes are magnified.

Do you think other teams fear Wideman when they're on the PP? If I was an NHLer I would love if soft as marshmallow Wideman was killing penalties.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

This team will go no where with Wideman getting so much ice time. Trying to give the coach of the year the benefit of the doubt but he's real dropping the ball on this one.

Last year Wideman outscored his mistakes and there were a lot of mistakes. This year he's not scoring so his mistakes are magnified.

Do you think other teams fear Wideman when they're on the PP? If I was an NHLer I would love if soft as marshmallow Wideman was killing penalties.

Yup. Nuffs enuff. Sit him Bob. Worked last year.

[Itse]

All this losing is getting old fast.

And yes, it's looking like Giordano should not have been extended before we see how he can play after his injury. Not that uncommon that players never get back to their previous level after an injury.

Seems like the positivity blinded everyone there. Including Treliving.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

This team will go no where with Wideman getting so much ice time. Trying to give the coach of the year the benefit of the doubt but he's real dropping the ball on this one.

Last year Wideman outscored his mistakes and there were a lot of mistakes. This year he's not scoring so his mistakes are magnified.

Do you think other teams fear Wideman when they're on the PP? If I was an NHLer I would love if soft as marshmallow Wideman was killing penalties.

If the team is going to be losing they might as well start giving more minutes trying to develop Dougie. He has been bad this year but still has incredible upside. I don't see the upside in playing Wideman so much?

[heep223]

Shame on everyone throwing Gio right under the bus. The guy has proven himself to be a warrior and was the early Norris favourite last season. Give him some time to shake off the rust and get back to it, sheesh. I know it's frustrating but all this talk about how it was a horrible extension is way premature.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by heep223

Shame on everyone throwing Gio right under the bus. The guy has proven himself to be a warrior and was the early Norris favourite last season. Give him some time to shake off the rust and get back to it, sheesh. I know it's frustrating but all this talk about how it was a horrible extension is way premature.

Lets be honest. He could be picking up where he left off last season and the extension is still horrible as this type of deal for a 30 something player only really makes sense if the Flames are in a Stanley Cup win-now mode to which they are not remotely close. The first season of the six year deal doesn't even begin until next season so the way he's struggling today may look like the good old days when the three years into the deal. He's a really good leader but this team proved last season it's not about him when they played arguably better when he went down to injury. IMO moving him while he still has solid value should be Treliving's main priority this season.

[Funkhouser]

Originally Posted by heep223

Shame on everyone throwing Gio right under the bus. The guy has proven himself to be a warrior and was the early Norris favourite last season. Give him some time to shake off the rust and get back to it, sheesh. I know it's frustrating but all this talk about how it was a horrible extension is way premature.

Not to pick on you specifically, but everytime anyone is critical of Gio the responses seem to focus on the fact that he is rusty and not up-to-speed due to his injury.

BS...he was at 100% early in the summer and had enough time to train as everyone else. He had a full training camp, just like everyone else. Frankly, his mental game doesn't seem as sharp, nor do his puck skills.

He is playing like a number 3 defenseman. Even if he stays at his current level for the next few years, he will be getting overpaid.

Not sure what the answer is, but his looming contract is scary if he doesn't pick it up (rust isn't an excuse)

[Split98]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Lets be honest. He could be picking up where he left off last season and the extension is still horrible as this type of deal for a 30 something player only really makes sense if the Flames are in a Stanley Cup win-now mode to which they are not remotely close. The first season of the six year deal doesn't even begin until next season so the way he's struggling today may look like the good old days when the three years into the deal. He's a really good leader but this team proved last season it's not about him when they played arguably better when he went down to injury. IMO moving him while he still has solid value should be Treliving's main priority this season.

If we aren't contending for a Cup in Giordano's contract I'll be one sad guy.

I'm all doom and gloom this year too, but I have some kind of optimism that last years team showed us what this team can do. There has to at least be a halfway point between last years team and this years. Add in a player like Puljujärvi with Bennett and Gaudreau and I don't think it's unrealistic that they are pushing for playoffs next year. The first year of his contract.

[shotinthebacklund]

The Flames have not been a complete team, I have no illusions of this.

What makes me sick is all the sniveling and whining going on in this board.

Monahan sucks
Gio sucks

Enough is enough, If you want to act like depressed donkeys take it to the Vancouver Canucks. Show some faith, Support your team or take it somewhere else. A Sports team is like a Marriage, In sickness and In Health.

Big picture here folks. This is definitely showing us where we need to address to be a champion team.

Oilers lost , Canucks Lost. We play a TON of games in our division still. In fact look at our record from last year We owned our division. Good things are yet to come. Sit back and Enjoy Hockey.

[cannon7]

Austin Matthews here we come!

In all seriousness, there were a lot of positives after that horrendous start and I chalk this one up to bad luck. Bishop was insanely lucky last night, the score could have been much much different had that whale not found ways to beach himself in the right places.

[skudr248]

Oh and Monahan isn't that good, never has been. Gaudreau makes him look decent, but his skating is terrible :/

[polak]

Originally Posted by shotinthebacklund

The Flames have not been a complete team, I have no illusions of this.

What makes me sick is all the sniveling and whining going on in this board.

Monahan sucks
Gio sucks

Enough is enough, If you want to act like depressed donkeys take it to the Vancouver Canucks. Show some faith, Support your team or take it somewhere else. A Sports team is like a Marriage, In sickness and In Health.

Big picture here folks. This is definitely showing us where we need to address to be a champion team.

Oilers lost , Canucks Lost. We play a TON of games in our division still. In fact look at our record from last year We owned our division. Good things are yet to come. Sit back and Enjoy Hockey.

Shut up and let us wallow.

This season sucks. No one is joining you on the "Sit back and Enjoy Hockey" train cause our team is losing almost every game. It sucks. Stop whining about our whining.

[red sky]

The Flames have zero pace. They don't dictate the play. Frankly, it is difficult to watch. Even from some Oilers' games I have watched they play with more speed and tenacity. Ugh.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by red sky

The Flames have zero pace. They don't dictate the play. Frankly, it is difficult to watch. Even from some Oilers' games I have watched they play with more speed and tenacity. Ugh.

Clearly you did not watch the game last night, just the score.

Save for basically the very start and the very end of the game, the Flames played well. Including a dominating 2nd period.

Ramo was sharp throughout.

[Toonage]

Yep the team played really well once they weathered the early storm. I have no complaints aside from the bad penalty and the Wideman giveaway. Thats what makes it frustrating. They can't quite seem to nail down a complete game without some glaring mistakes, even if its only a few. When they falter, its on a grand scale.

[red sky]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Clearly you did not watch the game last night, just the score.

Save for basically the very start and the very end of the game, the Flames played well. Including a dominating 2nd period.

Ramo was sharp throughout.

Clearly you did not watch me watch the game last night.

The first ten minutes was an embarrassment. Yes they picked up their play however they still looked slow and the breakouts were still sloppy. The lightning slowed their game down to the Flames level, not the other way.