[News] NHL 31 in 31: Calgary Flames 2018-19 season preview

[blender]

Not a bad little run of discussion here; thanks, guys, but it has to be said that some of the debate seems to be splitting hairs when what seems obvious is that the margins in the NHL, certainly with regard to non-elite teams, are razor thin.
The Flames last year at times were BOTH just off 2nd in the division and out of the playoffs, along with half a dozen other teams.

This season will be the same unless the team finds their game and has an elite points percentage from wire to wire.

It is just as easy to argue that the team is a few losses away from disgrace as it is to argue they are a few wins away from glory.

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Well of course you would still have Ferland and Fox per Bingo’s scenario. And perhaps no need to sign Neal. So you have $’s and/or trade chips so Treliving would have done something.

Hard to imagine a theoretical deals better than what actually has happened.

Flames roster is a lot better.

I am tempering my enthusiasm with the probability that all of the 6 risk areas will not have an positive outcome.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Well of course you would still have Ferland and Fox per Bingo’s scenario. And perhaps no need to sign Neal. So you have $’s and/or trade chips so Treliving would have done something.

The Flames would still be in a position with Ferland where he is due a payday next year and Fox still wasn’t going to sign. The Flames could have signed Cole, or De Haan in these scenario

Is
Kessel, De Haan/Cole, Ferland
Beat
Neal, Hanifin, Lindholm
?

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

Hard to imagine a theoretical deals better than what actually has happened.



Flames roster is a lot better.



I am tempering my enthusiasm with the probability that all of the 6 risk areas will not have an positive outcome.

I see only three tangible risks:

1) Injuries — the only way to mitigate this is not to play. If this factor is no more or less critical to the Flames success than other NHL teams, then it is no risk at all.
2) Goalie — agreed.
3) Backlund/Brodie Rebound — I would classify this as a minimal risk. It seems reasonable for two players who suffered an uncharacteristic one-season slide in their shooting percentages to be better.
4) Gio not declining — I don’t think there is much risk here. Giordano might have had the second-best season of his NHL career last year. Even if he is not quite as good he is still a damn good top defenseman.
5) Carolina influx — I am not sure what “risk” is presented by adding new players that is not equally as applicable to every other team. Again, there is no tangible risk here.
6) New Coach — agreed, but the risk here seems minute. Coming off of an exceptionally poor year on the powerplay it is highly probable to be better.

[Bingo]

In a 31 team cap league most teams have a list of 6 things that could go wrong.

You mend and alter and reshape to the best of your ability and then hope for chemistry and a few bounces.

Save for 5 teams on the top and 5 teams on the bottom, I think bounces probably make up most of the differential.

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

No it shouldn't. But it shouldn't be looked at in isolation either.

Last year, Giordano, Brodie and Hamonic combined for 18 goals. In the prior 3 years, those 3 averaged 27. So, while Hamilton's goal scoring was up, the rest of the top 4 was down.

What matters is what the group does in the aggregate, not what any one player does individually. Last year, the Flames' defense produced: 40G, 106A, 146P which was the lowest production from the last 4 years.

I predict - and am prepared to bet - that they exceed those numbers this year.

Sure. They might well exceed those numbers. I hope they do.

Doesn't change the fact that you took 17 goals off the blueline from last year.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Sure. They might well exceed those numbers. I hope they do.

Doesn't change the fact that you took 17 goals off the blueline from last year.

Even if you want to keep it that simple you're forgetting Hanifin coming in.

17 goals out
10 goals in
7 goals net down

[Erick Estrada]

Peters is the wildcard because we don't know how long it will take for the team to catch on to his system and how much of an upgrade he's on Gulutzan. The Flames are a perennial slow starting team so is a new coaching staff a built-in excuse to start slow? I don't think so as the slow starts are on the players as well and some of these guys need to be ready to go on game one of the season. If this team can get off to a quick start and set themselves up early on I see good things for this team. If they stink up October/November it will be the same old story of spending the middle part of the season clawing out of the hole only to cling to a bottom seed or fall short at the end.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Peters is the wildcard because we don't know how long it will take for the team to catch on to his system and how much of an upgrade he's on Gulutzan. The Flames are a perennial slow starting team so is a new coaching staff a built-in excuse to start slow? I don't think so as the slow starts are on the players as well and some of these guys need to be ready to go on game one of the season. If this team can get off to a quick start and set themselves up early on I see good things for this team. If they stink up October/November it will be the same old story of spending the middle part of the season clawing out of the hole only to cling to a bottom seed or fall short at the end.

Not to mention the massive disruption of a split camp and additional multi time zone travel.

[420since1974]

I'm hoping that the distraction/disruption of the trip to China has the end result of the team bonding together.
That's been missing from this team for 2 or 3 years.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Even if you want to keep it that simple you're forgetting Hanifin coming in.

17 goals out
10 goals in
7 goals net down

Well, you're not supposed to count the goals coming in, because Hanifin could turn into a pumpkin and not score anything at all. You are, however, supposed to count the goals going out, because there is no possible scenario in which Hamilton will not repeat his career high in goal-scoring.

By this logic, as you can surely see, every trade involving roster players makes every team worse off. Burn! Kill! Rabble rabble! Fire all the GMs!

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by 420since1974

I'm hoping that the distraction/disruption of the trip to China has the end result of the team bonding together.
That's been missing from this team for 2 or 3 years.

Most of the teams who play in overseas preseason schedules tend to enjoy good seasons. I think this is more beneficial than detractive.

[Strange Brew]

It’s an 82 game season and preparations have already begun. I refuse to believe having the Flames spend a week in China during training camp is going to inhibit this team from accomplishing its objectives. And I can see it helping them get off to a strong start.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Even if you want to keep it that simple you're forgetting Hanifin coming in.

17 goals out
10 goals in
7 goals net down

Hamilton had a hatty in a game the he was absolutely terrible and didn't seem too worried about anything other than personal stats. Comparing just comparing offensive stats alone never tells the full story.

[bax]

Might seem inconsequential to some, but I think it's worth mentioning that something just seemed off with the chemistry of the roster last season.

I don't know much about Lindholm, but seems like a good kid. Having another Swede around Backlund should be good for both of them.

Neal is known around the league as a leader and a fun guy in the locker room. He also battles night in and night out for his teammates.

Hanifin is already buddies with Tkachuk and Johnny. I see him fitting right in with our core group.

Ryan is a respected veteran.

Let's hope this translates to a more cohesive team on the ice that has some more fight in them.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Not to mention the massive disruption of a split camp and additional multi time zone travel.

I don't see the flames keeping many vet players here in Calgary during the training camp. Most likely the opening day roster will be in China IMO.

The first couple preseason games in Calgary will probably feature a bunch of PTO's and farm players we'll never see in Flames uniforms anyways.

[Spinach]

Originally Posted by AC

Point out our home record sunk us last year.

Q1: Is dipping into the Carolina Huricanes' well really the best course of action?

Q2: Where does James Neal fit in with the Calgary Flames?

Q3: What can we expect from new Head Coach Bill Peters?

Playoff Predictions:
Mike Johnson thinks we'll be better, especially at home. Says he thinks we'll be a playoff team after a pretty significant jump if Mike Smith stays healthy.
Dan Rosen thinks we'll barely miss.

Okay, I'll point it out: our home record sunk us last year.
Signed,
The Obtusely Pedantic

[AC]

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by bax

Might seem inconsequential to some, but I think it's worth mentioning that something just seemed off with the chemistry of the roster last season.

I don't know much about Lindholm, but seems like a good kid. Having another Swede around Backlund should be good for both of them.

Neal is known around the league as a leader and a fun guy in the locker room. He also battles night in and night out for his teammates.

Hanifin is already buddies with Tkachuk and Johnny. I see him fitting right in with our core group.

Ryan is a respected veteran.

Let's hope this translates to a more cohesive team on the ice that has some more fight in them.

I think it had something to do with the fact that there were zero right hand shots in the top nine forwards (this one's on Treliving, but he made some changes in the off-season to address it). This lead to major mechanical problems on the power play and to the Flames' forwards taking draws on their weak sides half of the time. I also think that the system was too rigid and resulted in a plodding, predictable game that opposition teams were easily able to adjust to.

Lindholm and Ryan are both right shots, and I expect that Lindholm will get PP1 time and Ryan will get PP2 time as a result.

[burnitdown]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Peters is the wildcard because we don't know how long it will take for the team to catch on to his system and how much of an upgrade he's on Gulutzan. The Flames are a perennial slow starting team so is a new coaching staff a built-in excuse to start slow? I don't think so as the slow starts are on the players as well and some of these guys need to be ready to go on game one of the season. If this team can get off to a quick start and set themselves up early on I see good things for this team. If they stink up October/November it will be the same old story of spending the middle part of the season clawing out of the hole only to cling to a bottom seed or fall short at the end.

I'm excited as we'll likely be a lot more fun to watch offensively, but I think it's far from certain we'll be a top 4-5 team in the conference this year. I think the Neal addition was huge (long term ramifications aside) to give us a solid hope of making the playoffs though.

I'm still a bit worried though, as our offense is much better but downgraded defense, questionable coaching, and goaltending risk remain issues heading into the season. We're banking a lot of Mike Smith staying healthy, Brodie being able to suddenly revert to his good form from 2 years ago, and Bill Peters finally starting to win at the NHL level (he's always had at least 10 more losses than wins in a season).