[Signing] Flames sign Erik Gudbranson (1 yr, $1.95 mil)

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Oh god I forgot we re-signed Ritchie too.

Was Richardson really necessary.... bleh

Ritchie needed to be signed for expansion draft mandatories. Richardson I think is a much better player

[wired]

By all accounts, Gubranson is one tough customer. Be nice to have that presence on the team again.

[Niemo]

Signing Gudbranson must mean that Rasmus Andersson is in a package for Eichel am I right?

Monahan, Andersson, Pelletier, Valimaki, Lucic (1MM retained) for Eichel

[868904]

Originally Posted by Knightslayer

Zadorov can't fight

That’s the whole point of my post.

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by heep223

CP complains that the team is butter soft over the last few seasons. Sign a bunch of #######s. CP complains that the team has no skill.

Well lets be honest the team has lacked both skill and toughness so both complaints were fair lol.

[Jimdon]

Originally Posted by heep223

CP complains that the team is butter soft over the last few seasons. Sign a bunch of #######s. CP complains that the team has no skill.

the softness the Flames have is the inability to raise their game or compete level to match their opponents when the games get important.

Putting a bunch of large, physical players in the supporting roles isn't going to make our skill players better.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Jimdon

Putting a bunch of large, physical players in the supporting roles isn't going to make our skill players better.

You're missing the point. The idea is to make the opposing team's skilled players worse. Once the playoffs start and the referees forget how a whistle works, this can be a very effective tactic.

You still have to get to the playoffs first, but frankly, the Pacific Division has so many bad teams that I like the Flames' chances of pulling that part off.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Oh god I forgot we re-signed Ritchie too.

Was Richardson really necessary.... bleh

What do those two have to do with each other? Hit our quota of R names?

[Jimdon]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

You're missing the point. The idea is to make the opposing team's skilled players worse. Once the playoffs start and the referees forget how a whistle works, this can be a very effective tactic.

You still have to get to the playoffs first, but frankly, the Pacific Division has so many bad teams that I like the Flames' chances of pulling that part off.

So you would play Gudbranson against the other teams best players in the playoffs because the refs call less penalties?

He's going to make Vegas's or Edmontons best players worse because the refs call less penalties?

This is crazy talk

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Niemo

Signing Gudbranson must mean that Rasmus Andersson is in a package for Eichel am I right?

Monahan, Andersson, Pelletier, Valimaki, Lucic (1MM retained) for Eichel

No

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Jimdon

the softness the Flames have is the inability to raise their game or compete level to match their opponents when the games get important.

Putting a bunch of large, physical players in the supporting roles isn't going to make our skill players better.

It’s going to finally cause opposing players to keep their heads up though.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Jimdon

So you would play Gudbranson against the other teams best players in the playoffs because the refs call less penalties?

He's going to make Vegas's or Edmontons best players worse because the refs call less penalties?

This is crazy talk

Gudbranson is going to be on the third pairing I would guess. His job will be to punish people. Zadorov’s job will be the exact same on the 2nd pairing. Stone’s will also be the same if he’s in the lineup.

The Flames are going to be a tough team this season. It’s about time.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by heep223

CP complains that the team is butter soft over the last few seasons. Sign a bunch of #######s. CP complains that the team has no skill.

What is this? They have been pretty soft over the past few years, but independentaly of that they clearly don't have enough skill required to play with the top 10 teams in the league.

Yes they need to get tougher, but they need to follow one of these plans.

- getting tougher higher end players
- skilled players that lack toughness with enough medium skilled players to play with said skilled, non tough players
- get an extremely skilled, non tough core and sprinkle cheap tough guys that can keep up with the play and play up and down the line-up.


Just grabbing 5/6 men and 3rd/4th liners that are tough won't do anything to push this team further.

[Huntingwhale]

Sounds like Gudbranson is BFF with Tanev and good buddies with Markstrom based on his Fan 960 interview. At the very least there will be some familiarity with some teammates and he should be a good locker room fit.

Not thrilled with the signing, but at least nobody can say the Flames don't have an identity. With Sutter having a hand in some of the changes it can be said the Flames identity will be big, tough and in your face.

Whether that translates to on-ice success remains to be seen. But at least now the Flames DO have an identity.

[Knightslayer]

Originally Posted by 868904

That’s the whole point of my post.

Yes but my point is he can't fight and won't fight unless he absolutely has to.

He may be big but other teams tough guys won't go after him for a fight. Lucic punched him in the face and he just stood there.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

If you want a roster of 23 skilled players, find yourself a league with no cap.

I didn’t say that did I? Your comment is ignoring my point completely.

But when posters suggest that the Flames are much improved by filling the team with very low skill slugs at multiple positions, I felt the need to point out that having a lot of low skill players at multiple positions isn’t ideal.

Having tough players are ideal when they also have skill, like Tkachuk and Coleman.

But our defence lacks a PP QB, and it’s filled with low skilled guys like Gudbranson and Zadorov playing key minutes.

I could likely have lived with the changes if the Gudbranson cap was allocated to a poor defender who could play the PP, like Erik Gustafsson. He certainly fits the bill as a poor defender LOL.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[heep223]

Originally Posted by jayswin

What is this? They have been pretty soft over the past few years, but independentaly of that they clearly don't have enough skill required to play with the top 10 teams in the league.

Yes they need to get tougher, but they need to follow one of these plans.

- getting tougher higher end players
- skilled players that lack toughness with enough medium skilled players to play with said skilled, non tough players
- get an extremely skilled, non tough core and sprinkle cheap tough guys that can keep up with the play and play up and down the line-up.


Just grabbing 5/6 men and 3rd/4th liners that are tough won't do anything to push this team further.

Oh gotcha, thanks. So to get tougher they need to have skilled, tough players. Or to get tougher they need to add tougher players. But the players they’ve added aren’t skilled enough. Or is it that they’re not tough enough?

Good ####ing god I can’t wait for actual hockey to start.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by heep223

Oh gotcha, thanks. So to get tougher they need to have skilled, tough players. Or to get tougher they need to add tougher players. But the players they’ve added aren’t skilled enough. Or is it that they’re not tough enough?

Good ####ing god I can’t wait for actual hockey to start.

They aren't particularly good at hockey. If you give minutes to a player who's only real skill is toughness, you might find yourself losing.

People dream of Gudbranson laying out McDavid or McKinnon etc.

Let's hope he's not on the ice vs. those types of players, as they will skate circles around him. Same goes for Zadorov, although as bad as he is, he's certainly much better than Gudbranson and should be in an NHL lineup, most likely getting 5-6 minutes. He'll get more than that right now, unless one of the youngsters can push him down, which would be the ideal situation.

I think Calgary's ability to be a decent team depends a lot on Valimaki et al taking a step forward. I think there is a decent chance of that, if they are given the opportunity.

[Moneyhands23]

Maybe we should just cheer for the Calgary face punchers and enjoy it this year!

[Toonage]

Big mean defense was a staple of the playoffs, so yeah not a shock I suppose. I've come to terms with the signing lol. It is what it is. Just feels like the Flames got a blueprint for a playoff team and rather than get the parts suggested bought lesser parts that will work but may not hold together.