Pick your Booms and Busts for 2016/2017 Season

[MarkGio]

Boom

Bennett - He'll get bigger this offseason and come back putting up 20g, 30assists, tying Backlund for centre minutes

Shinkaruk - Riding coat tails of Bennett, these two will be one of the hottest second lines in the NHL

Hamilton - Paired alongside Brodie or Giordano, Hamilton is going to lead our defense in points

Johnson - Sees an opportunity in Calgary to get 30+ starts and runs with it, forcing Elliot to give up more starts than he expected

Busts

Bouma - After getting his big pay check, he just doesn't bring the hunger he once had that made him one of the best 4th liners in the league

Frolik - Mostly used in a defensive role, Frolik doesn't hit the 20g plateau he was once good for

Chiasson - He'll never take that step up and surpass his 35 points career high, which won't come as a surprise

Tkachuk - Gets his 9 game cup of coffee but doesn't put up more than 1 goal and a few assists, forcing the Flames to send him back to juniors

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

Boom

Bennett - He'll get bigger this offseason and come back putting up 20g, 30assists, tying Backlund for centre minutes

Shinkaruk - Riding coat tails of Bennett, these two will be one of the hottest second lines in the NHL

Hamilton - Paired alongside Brodie or Giordano, Hamilton is going to lead our defense in points

Johnson - Sees an opportunity in Calgary to get 30+ starts and runs with it, forcing Elliot to give up more starts than he expected

Busts

Bouma - After getting his big pay check, he just doesn't bring the hunger he once had that made him one of the best 4th liners in the league

Frolik - Mostly used in a defensive role, Frolik doesn't hit the 20g plateau he was once good for

Chiasson - He'll never take that step up and surpass his 35 points career high, which won't come as a surprise

Tkachuk - Gets his 9 game cup of coffee but doesn't put up more than 1 goal and a few assists, forcing the Flames to send him back to juniors

Really these "busts" are perfectly fine with me if your "booms" are correct!
☺

[EVERLAST]

BOOM

GLEN GULUTZAN......wins Jack Adams and several players achieve career highs.

BUST

Polaks pessimistic adorable fan expectations

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by EVERLAST

BOOM

GLEN GULUTZAN......wins Jack Adams and several players achieve career highs...

Oh great. This sounds like the prelude to another coaching change in two years' time.

[N-E-B]

Boom: Wideman
Bust: Chiasson

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by polak

The only prospects I see any predictions of busting are the ones who already have. That's all I'm saying.

Bang on.

I mean, two of the most popular bust options right now are Bouma and Chiasson. Did anyone watch those guys last year? I would be shocked if they could even get any worse. Busting from terrible to maybe more terrible?

Bold predictions.

[browna]

Boom: Bollig (relatively speaking of course ) there's a reason Quenville used him for all 82 games one season and a reason Treliving brought him in a character guy.

Bust: Backlund - his production at the end of last year, and has to prove himself to the new coaches whereas he was a Hartley favorite it seemed.

And...boom and bust may be strong words, and it's more just what the relative expectations of those players are.

Agree with others on Ferland. Last chance. I think Bouma has a bounce back year. Hamilton has to play with the confidence we saw near the end of the season, a lot more and not look somewhat intimidated. Bennett was great last year for his age, but hopefully things fall into place for him a bit, you can see him getting frustrated last year when they weren't, and you hope he doesn't get too down because of that. That said, a coach that doesn't yell at him and the team in general a lot of the time might help that situation, too.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by browna

Bust: Backlund - his production at the end of last year, and has to prove himself to the new coaches whereas he was a Hartley favorite it seemed.

??????????

[Mister Yamoto]

Boom - Lance Bouma. He has a bounce back season and makes the teams protected list for the expansion draft. He is more than a fourth line forward.

Boom - Dennis Wideman. He can't have a worse season. Can he? I usually like the way veteran players play in their contract years.

Bust - Troy Brouwer. I like a lot of Trelivings' moves but I am starting to think the team might be better served if he would just take the day off on the next July 1st. Joe Colborne will have a better season than Troy Brouwer at half the price.

Bust - Glenn Gulutzan. I didn't like the Hartley firing but after the new coach was hired it became more clear to me. Hartley was let go because a coach of the calibre of Glenn Gulutzan became available. They hired Glenn Gulutzan. Could have paid Hartley his money to coach the Flames instead of paying him to NOT coach the Flames. Could have had Glenn Gulutzan next off season (or maybe anytime this season)How the hell does Treliving pitch the idea to the ownership group of taking 1.75 million of their own dollars and flushing them down the crapper.

[Itse]

Booms:
Safe pick: Bennett

Average pick: Pribyl. Low expectations are easy to beat.

Risky pick: Shinkaruk. I think could solidify a spot in the top 6, which would beat many people's expectations pretty firmly.

Busts:
Safe pick: Brouwer. Not actually a bust, will provide exactly what he always does. It just seems to me that this is not going to satisfy people.

Average pick: Ferland. Been mentioned before, I've never been a believer.

Risky pick: Jokipakka. It seems I'm in the minority with how I see Jokipakka. I think longterm he's more a servicable 3rd pairing guy than a good 2nd pairing guy.

[Stupid]

Originally Posted by Itse

Booms:
Safe pick: Bennett

Average pick: Pribyl. Low expectations are easy to beat.

Risky pick: Shinkaruk. I think could solidify a spot in the top 6, which would beat many people's expectations pretty firmly.

Busts:
Safe pick: Brouwer. Not actually a bust, will provide exactly what he always does. It just seems to me that this is not going to satisfy people.

Average pick: Ferland. Been mentioned before, I've never been a believer.

Risky pick: Jokipakka. It seems I'm in the minority with how I see Jokipakka. I think longterm he's more a servicable 3rd liner than a good 2nd liner.

Kevin's a defenseman.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Stupid

Kevin's a defenseman.

Oops, meant to say 2nd pairing / 3rd pairing

I blame a slight hangover.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

I'm more fascinated by the pessimistic optimists
Those that are saying a player should do better than they have been historically but predicting they won't, and therefore are disappointments

Jiri - you seem to be critical of those who pick Brouwer as a bust. He was the big name acquisition this year, will be 3rd highest paid forward and need to make a big contribution for the team to be successful. If he doesn't, that's the definition of a bust.

That's certainly a more meaningful choice than say Gerland, Bouma or Chiasson. Those guys all busted last year.

[JiriHrdina]

I just don't see how a veteran player who has consistently hit certain numbers is a bust if he doesn't exceed those numbers. That just makes no sense. its fine if people don't like the signing but that's different from this discussion.

[Mister Yamoto]

I don't like the signing AND I think Brouwer will be a bust.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

I just don't see how a veteran player who has consistently hit certain numbers is a bust if he doesn't exceed those numbers. That just makes no sense. its fine if people don't like the signing but that's different from this discussion.

Well for Brouwer I don't know if a points total is the best measuring stick. If he comes and puts up 35 points next year, that doesn't sound great. But if he makes other meaningful contributions to a winning team then not a bust IMO.

Boom or bust is different for every player. How would you define bust for Brouwer?

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Well for Brouwer I don't know if a points total is the best measuring stick. If he comes and puts up 35 points next year, that doesn't sound great. But if he makes other meaningful contributions to a winning team then not a bust IMO.

Boom or bust is different for every player. How would you define bust for Brouwer?

Jiri doesn't think he'll be a bust, so why ask for a definition? What do *you* think is a bust for him? Seems you're arguing that if Brouwer doesn't live up to inflated expectations then he's a bust. I think that's a problem with the inflated expectations.

[GoJetsGo]

Brower is very consistent in his point output along with the fact he plays a physical game and brings leadership.

It seems very likely he steps in and does just that, albeit at an increased price tag that we paid as a premium to acquire him as a free agent.

If there are those here who look at what he is as a package in the last few years and expect more on top of that because of the modest raise, their expectations are skewed.

Suggesting that he would "bust" if he doesn't increase his performance relative to the premium we paid for him is poor logic.

I think his point total and grit / leadership will be a welcome element on this younger roster. The only way I see him failing to meet expectation is if injuries derail him. Otherwise he seems like a pretty safe bet to step in and do exactly what he's done for several years in a row now.

[bigrangy]

If Brouwer puts up exactly what he has for the last few years (20g, 40p, negative Rel Corsi%), he will be a disappointment.

The Flames could have got the same thing from Colborne for a quarter of the financial commitment, or from Pirri or from Hudler or from several other players. He was definitely the best heavy top 6 guy available in FA though, with Perron a close second.

But even if you just want a banger that can play top 6, I'm sure Chris Kunitz or Scott Hartnell (who are both better players in almost every aspect of the game, who both have better contracts than Brouwer does now) could have been acquired for cheap or free. His signing was a terrible use of cap space.

[JiriHrdina]

Guys like Hudler or Pirri do not deliver in other aspects of the game. When they ain't scoring they are useless. That's why they aren't signed

And how does one know Kuntiz or Hartnell could have been had for free?