[News] The NHL is back! Almost! (Practice Notes for Feb 18)

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by saillias

Time to see what the team at "full power" can do. The Flames have about 2 weeks from the SJ game to the trade deadline.

It still sucks that we lost Mantha for the season so early. I know he has his flaws, but for a team that struggles to score goals, I think he would have been a net positive.

[TheScorpion]

I really think this team needs to trade Coleman in the summer

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Do we really need to discuss Backlund and ice time again?

Again and again, and again and again!

While we're at it, why is it this rebuild is taking so long? It's been ongoing for over a year, and we've played nearly five full months of hockey in Season 1. When do we start to see some frickin' results??

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

I really think this team needs to trade Coleman in the summer

Don't you want his presence though? Or are thinking the logjam on the wings?

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

I really think this team needs to trade Coleman in the summer

TBH maybe Kadri too...looking at the guys on the team for next year.

Huberdeau-Kadri-Coronato
Zary-Backlund-Coleman
Farabee-Frost-Sharangovich
Lomberg-Rooney-Pospisil

Really only Kadri, Coleman, and Rooney are natural "jobs" for young guys to take on this team.

And you have guys like Stromgren, Honzek, Kerins, Suniev, Gridin, Basha, Battaglia, Misa, and any other trade return or 2025 picks in the pipeline.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I agree on trading Kadri too. At some point, you need to make room for players to play and develop at their position. Just not enough C spots, and Backlund should not be moved to 4th line minutes.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

I agree on trading Kadri too. At some point, you need to make room for players to play and develop at their position. Just not enough C spots, and Backlund should not be moved to 4th line minutes.

If we have enough center depth to push Backlund to the 4th line then he absolutely should be playing there. Why wouldn’t you play him on the 4th line?

[Paulie Walnuts]

Because he is not a 4th line center.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Because he is not a 4th line center.

You may want to try reading the first sentence again lol.

[Wastedyouth]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

If we have enough center depth to push Backlund to the 4th line then he absolutely should be playing there. Why wouldn’t you play him on the 4th line?

Because we don't have the depth. All the centers above Backlund are much worse at playing center.

He is, and I state this emphatically, the ONLY reason the Flames are even sniffing the playoffs, outside of Wolf.


Not a single other one of the centers on the team hold even a candle to his defensive and puck possession game against the hardest level of competition they face with the worst/hardest zone starts. Every other center (and forward) are having their success this year because Backlund, and his line, does a significant portion of the heavy lifting on this team so that they can be given the high ground for success.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

You may want to try reading the first sentence again lol.

It's really not depth when you are putting a 2nd liner who makes others better and plug him on the 4th line.

Minutes matter. THey always talking about slotting that is not how players are slotted.

Anyways they have created a log jam of middle 6 forwards now, so they will have to make some moves.

He always plays against the others top players.

[PaperBagger'14]

Once again, if we have the center depth to push Backlund onto the 4th line, why wouldn’t you play him there? This wasn’t a trick question.

Backlund is on the downswing of his career, he is not the future of this team and I think it’s best to give opportunities to the guys who actually have a shot at being on this team beyond the next 2 years. I’m not taking anything from what a good player and leader he has been, but the countdown is on. Furthermore, who cares if this team is bad right now? That was the feeling going into this season, and I have very little appetite to scrape into the playoffs only to get walked out in 4 games.

[Wastedyouth]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Once again, if we have the center depth to push Backlund onto the 4th line, why wouldn’t you play him there? This wasn’t a trick question.

Backlund is on the downswing of his career, he is not the future of this team and I think it’s best to give opportunities to the guys who actually have a shot at being on this team beyond the next 2 years. I’m not taking anything from what a good player and leader he has been, but the countdown is on. Furthermore, who cares if this team is bad right now? That was the feeling going into this season, and I have very little appetite to scrape into the playoffs only to get walked out in 4 games.

Clearly the owners, players and coaches care. And they play to win. Good luck asking a team to mail it in for the next 25+ games. Not gonna happen no matter how much you stamp your feet.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

If we have enough center depth to push Backlund to the 4th line then he absolutely should be playing there. Why wouldn’t you play him on the 4th line?

You can call him a fourth line center! Fill your boots.

Heck you can call all of them fourth line centers.

But if you want to give Kadri 15 minutes of five on five, and you want Backlund out against the other team's best ... that's 15 more.

That leaves you 9 minutes each for your 2nd and 3rd line centers in Zary and Frost.

Works great!

Backlund will eventually move down to the fourth line when he can no longer play a shut down role, but he'll have 15 minutes a night until that happens.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Trade everyone.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Clearly the owners, players and coaches care. And they play to win. Good luck asking a team to mail it in for the next 25+ games. Not gonna happen no matter how much you stamp your feet.

No one’s asking them to mail it in, but preparing for the future by giving younger players more ice time than 35+ year olds is just smart planning. At some point you have to make that transition, and Backlunds contract ends after next season.

[stemit14]

Yeah. You can call the lines any numbers you want… I would prefer to roll four lines instead of having one line (Rooney’s line) being so poor that you have to sit them for the 4th period. Instead, roll the forward lines based on pairings like this evenly for even strength minutes:

Huberdeau-Kadri
Coronato-Zary
Sharangovich-Frost
Coleman-Backlund

Mix in the remaining wingers in whichever way works best. Waive or trade Rooney. Start playing Lomberg in and out of the lineup down the stretch. Keeps his energy/impact up for every game he gets in. First guess:

Huberdeau-Kadri-Posposil
Farabee-Zary-Coronato
Sharangovich-Frost-Klapka
Lomberg/Hunt-Backlund-Coleman

Powerplay units:

Farabee-Frost-Coronato
Zary-Weegar

Sharangovich-Kadri-Backlund
Huberdeau-Andersson

Penalty kill units:

Backlund-Coleman
Andersson-Bahl

Frost-Huberdeau
Weegar-Pachal

Between powerplay and penalty kill, Backlund and Coleman still likely end up with more minutes than lots of forwards.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Calgary Highlander

Hopefully, they call Solovyov back up for Sunday. It was only one game, but I thought he played pretty well in his 19:24 TOI before the break.

I like him over Barrie and Miromanov

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by stemit14

Yeah. You can call the lines any numbers you want… I would prefer to roll four lines instead of having one line (Rooney’s line) being so poor that you have to sit them for the 4th period. Instead, roll the forward lines based on pairings like this evenly for even strength minutes:

Huberdeau-Kadri
Coronato-Zary
Sharangovich-Frost
Coleman-Backlund

Mix in the remaining wingers in whichever way works best. Waive or trade Rooney. Start playing Lomberg in and out of the lineup down the stretch. Keeps his energy/impact up for every game he gets in. First guess:

Huberdeau-Kadri-Posposil
Farabee-Zary-Coronato
Sharangovich-Frost-Klapka
Lomberg/Hunt-Backlund-Coleman

Powerplay units:

Farabee-Frost-Coronato
Zary-Weegar

Sharangovich-Kadri-Backlund
Huberdeau-Andersson

Penalty kill units:

Backlund-Coleman
Andersson-Bahl

Frost-Huberdeau
Weegar-Pachal

Between powerplay and penalty kill, Backlund and Coleman still likely end up with more minutes than lots of forwards.

That's just not the point, sadly.

Backlund needs to play when the best opposing players play. They play a lot. So he gets 15 minutes.

Kadri to be effective gets 15 minutes.

That leaves 18 minutes for the two younger centers.

Hence Zary on the wing until Backlund "loses it"

[Caged Great]

What I would like to see.

Huberdeau-Kadri-Pospisil
Coleman-Zary-Coronato
Sharangovich-Frost-Farabee
Klapka-Backlund-Lomberg

Bahl-Andersson
Solovyov-Weegar
Bean-Pachal

Wolf
Vladar

Pushing Backlund down to the fourth line only to upgrade from Rooney to Backlund on the 4th line so the whole line isn't a black hole like it has been for the last month.