Ranking the Canadian Teams

[Hells Bells]

It's actually quite sad how the Oilers aren't any better than the Gagner/Nilsson/Cogliano days and Gagner is a much better player now along with all those can't miss superstars.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

Flames are paying for and keeping personnel on the roster with the intention of being competitive. veteran lineup, granted with a few injuries, that has been assembled with the intention to "win now". Doesn't really matter what the media/fans say about it, management is clear that they aren't willing to budge from their position on this.

based on that, it's clear the season is a much bigger disappointment for the flames franchise than it is for the oilers. if the oilers really thought they wanted to be real competitors, they would have improved their D, and not put shultz on their top D pairing. it's clear, any improvement, is a measure of success for the oilers this year, and hence, hard to really judge them any different.

all i'm saying is at the end of the year, even if the flames come out in 9th, and the oilers in 10th, it's the flames franchise that has to look at the year as a failure.

I would agree with you to an extent, however if the Oilers finish in lets say 10th which I think is really unlikely, I expect them to be in 15th to stay after this road trip, then all we're going to hear is the same BS next year. There are no expectations on that team because people are blinded by it.

If the Oilers finish in 10th, is a 2 or 3 place bump from last season an improvement or a massive disappointment.

For people living in reality its a bigger disappointment then the Flames missing. For people living in kool aid land its a improvement.

[Vulcan]

It looks like the same pattern as the last few years for the Flames. Get off to a slow start and have to go into playoff mode early. They gain some spots and reach playoff territory only to have their competition wake up and also go into playoff mode and we watch as the Flames fold. We just aren't big and tough enough to compete when it comes to hard nosed hockey. Still we're better than the Oilers and Jets.

[Rikster]

The challenge for a team like Calgary is because they are a bad hockey team they get little respect from opposing teams...

So they can go on the odd mini win streak against teams who look past them which gives the illusion of hope...

But at the end of the day they are not just a collection of so so players, but maybe worse for Flames management, they are a badly constructed team...

The Oilers are also a bad team, they have a better collection of players but are a badly assembled group of players and have key players learning to play the pro game at the NHL level rather than in the minors where they can mature physically and learn the 200 foot game...

The Oilers will have fewer teams looking beyond them so their wins and losses are probably a better reflection of where they belong in the standings....

Both organizations need changes at the top because neither have shown the ability to construct a winning organization and both should be embarrassed for it...

Take care...

[MrMastodonFarm]

No one cares what you have to post... no one ever has..

You have the worst most grating style of posting this board has ever seen... you say obvious things...

The challenge for the Flames is because they are a bad team... please... tell us more...

Take care...

[c.t.ner]

Originally Posted by Hells Bells

Vancouver
Ottawa

I think Ottawa is probably the most surprising team in the NHL (besides I would say Anaheim). This was suppose to be year two of a full on rebuild, but the team is contending for top spot in the North East with Spezza, Karrlson and Anderson hurt and an aging Daniel Alfredsson. I also think Silfverberg and Zibanejad are going to be beasts on in the year and next year.

[Bingo]

I think the Flames will be in clear "miss" zone by St. Patrick's Day

The Wild are struggling as so too are the Avalanche to complete February but then its ...

Canucks
Sharks
Ducks
Kings
Kings
Wings
Predators

That's 7 tough games in a row. If they blow this road trip that will be their season in my mind.

I think the Oilers have been a mismanaged mess for the last six years, but I'd still swap organizations with them right now because they've managed to suck bad enough to have better pieces going forward. However the difference isn't that great really. The Flames have had some luck with guys like Gaudreau and Baertschi of late, not to mention Brodie on the blueline. If they pick high this year and Jankowski develops the Flames will have better pieces to build with (admitting they aren't top 5 picks and it's still a crap shoot)

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

Flames are paying for and keeping personnel on the roster with the intention of being competitive. veteran lineup, granted with a few injuries, that has been assembled with the intention to "win now". Doesn't really matter what the media/fans say about it, management is clear that they aren't willing to budge from their position on this.

based on that, it's clear the season is a much bigger disappointment for the flames franchise than it is for the oilers. if the oilers really thought they wanted to be real competitors, they would have improved their D, and not put shultz on their top D pairing. it's clear, any improvement, is a measure of success for the oilers this year, and hence, hard to really judge them any different.

all i'm saying is at the end of the year, even if the flames come out in 9th, and the oilers in 10th, it's the flames franchise that has to look at the year as a failure.

What a load of garbage. The Oilers' inability to sufficiently improve their team does NOT give them a pass with respect to improvement.

They were widely regarded as being competitive for a playoff spot this year and have had ample time to improve their team.

Absolutely NO REASON WHATSOEVER to give them yet another pass on ineptitude.

Virtually everyone outside of Calgary had the Oilers above the Flames in teh standings this year, and if it turns out that they aren't, it is a massive failure for the Oilers.

[moon]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I would agree with you to an extent, however if the Oilers finish in lets say 10th which I think is really unlikely, I expect them to be in 15th to stay after this road trip, then all we're going to hear is the same BS next year. There are no expectations on that team because people are blinded by it.

I think the saving grace for the Oilers will be that Colombus can;t get 6 points in that time frame. The Oilers are bad but the Blue Jackets might just keep them out of the basement by being truly awful this year.

[North East Goon]

I have a strong feeling Ottawa may win the cup in the next 3-4 years. There youth is very good and its a well built club. If they add another game breaker like the rumoured Perry look out.

[Stay Golden]

Originally Posted by North East Goon

I have a strong feeling Ottawa may win the cup in the next 3-4 years. There youth is very good and its a well built club. If they add another game breaker like the rumoured Perry look out.

If they added Perry they would definitely be in the conversation as a Cup favorite but who is rumored to going the other way?
ANA isn't going to give him away. Or are you suggesting Perry might not resign and go there as a FA?

[North East Goon]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

If they added Perry they would definitely be in the conversation as a Cup favorite but who is rumored to going the other way?
ANA isn't going to give him away. Or are you suggesting Perry might not resign and go there as a FA?

FA signing is the rumour.

[Super Nintendo Chalmers]

Originally Posted by AR_Six

^So based entirely on the standings as they are now then?

Level of play as I perceive them.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

If your looking at future potential, and looking at other young nucleus based teams versus the Oilers then I don't see them trending upwards. They've had an easy run of number 1 picks and are still a disaster, they are collecting hockey cards not building a team with any kind of strategy.

If anything Edmonton is treading water as nothing more then a bottom feeding team, and until they actually make that move away, well they don't get that benefit of the doubt from me, they should have been competitive by now, instead they can't score, they don't defend all that well. They do have pretty shoot out goals, and they're getting surprisingly good goaltending.

But I'm not jealous of that team, in fact if I was a fan of that team I'd be cancelling my season tickets due to the con perpetrated by their management group and owner.

Is the Flames future all that bright, I don't know, but at least they're making an effort to compete, they're not lying their on their backs with their legs in the air pleading for a bullet like the Oilers organization. Bright future my a$$, I'll believe it when I see it.

They're building something special up there, yeah short bus special.

Sorry for the outburst, but I'm sick and tired of all of the hype and promotion and self promotion of that team to the North when people should be asking serious questions about the lack of results there and who's running that fracking ship.

Oh believe me I hear ya dude, try living here. My friends up here in January weren't even considering whether they'd make the playoffs, to them it was just a foregone conclusion.

The craziest part is, when the fans' crazy preseason expectations annually crash, no-one gets mad up here. I've never seen the team get booed on home ice here, even when they deserve it, I don't get it. They just revert back to their previous basement expectations in midseason.

I swear the team could skate out to centre ice at Rexall, give the crowd the finger, & just skate off & refuse to play, and the crowd would say oh well we'll be awesome next year and start a Let's Go Oilers chant. Its insane all the free passes for failure they're given lately, from coaches to media to even the fans. Zero accountability

EDIT: Yuck, what a mess my post originally was. Just DL'd the CP Android App minutes before, that was my first ever attempt. Needless to say it didn't go well, haha I had to log onto a comp just to fix it. Perhaps I require a dialing wand.
Posted from Calgarypuck.com App for Android

[Jets4Life]

Standings after February 28, 2013:

1. Montreal (13-4-3)
2. Ottawa (12-6-3)
3. Vancouver (10-5-4)
4. Toronto (13-9-0)
5. Winnipeg (10-9-1)
6. Edmonton (8-8-4)
7. Calgary (7-8-4)

Montreal and Ottawa have been spectacular in the past two weeks, Vancouver has come down to earth. Winnipeg has been hot on the road, Edmonton has underachieved, and Calgary has been mediocre.

[Poe969]

Mediocre??? There's no need to pull punches today.....

[$ven27]

Originally Posted by Jets4Life

Standings after February 28, 2013:

1. Montreal (13-4-3)
2. Ottawa (12-6-3)
3. Vancouver (10-5-4)
4. Toronto (13-9-0)
5. Winnipeg (10-9-1)
6. Edmonton (8-8-4)
7. Calgary (7-8-4)

Montreal and Ottawa have been spectacular in the past two weeks, Vancouver has come down to earth. Winnipeg has been hot on the road, Edmonton has underachieved, and Calgary has been mediocre.

I'd change Edmonton to mediocre also. They have a ways to go still.

[868904]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I think the Flames will be in clear "miss" zone by St. Patrick's Day

The Wild are struggling as so too are the Avalanche to complete February but then its ...

Canucks
Sharks
Ducks
Kings
Kings
Wings
Predators

That's 7 tough games in a row. If they blow this road trip that will be their season in my mind.

I think the Oilers have been a mismanaged mess for the last six years, but I'd still swap organizations with them right now because they've managed to suck bad enough to have better pieces going forward. However the difference isn't that great really. The Flames have had some luck with guys like Gaudreau and Baertschi of late, not to mention Brodie on the blueline. If they pick high this year and Jankowski develops the Flames will have better pieces to build with (admitting they aren't top 5 picks and it's still a crap shoot)

I think the Flames and Oilers fail because they are too extreme in their team building.

At one end, you have the Oilers who have too much youth and not enough quality veterans in key positions. Hemsky is a good player, but he's not a real leader and he's injured too often. Horcoff just sucks. Smyth is too old.

At the other end, you have the FLames who have too many veterans and no real youth in key positions. Sven is trying but he's not there yet.

What you need is a balance of youth and veterans in key positions in the top 6 and in the top 4 defence core. Maybe it should be a mix of 3 good young forwards and 3 good veterans in the top 6 and 2 young D and 2 veteran D.

That's why I think the Flames should be trading at least one of the following two veterans in: Iginla, Glencross, Tanguay, Cammy and integrating good young players into the group that remains. The problem is, you aren't going to get those good young players for free and unlikely to get it for Glencross, Tanguay or Cammy straight up, which is why Iginla makes sense, because has enough value to get you that young asset (be it a first rounder or a blue chip prospect).

You need that push from the youth and that pull from the vets in order to be successful. I think the Hawks had something like this when they won the cup with youth in Toews and Kane supplemented by veterans like Hossa and Sharp. The Bruins followed that up with youth in Lucic, Seguin, Marchand, supported by veterans like Bergeron, Horton and Chara on the backend.

Maybe if the Flames were successful with this ROR thing, it could have turned things around, as they would have been integrating a young quality asset into the top 6.

[Boniman]

OK people are u ranking as fans or in reality?....I'll do my best realistically

! Van
2 Mon
3 Ott
4 Edm
5 Win
6 Cal
7 TO

[Poe969]

lol both as a fan and in reality Calgary should be on the bottom of that list.