2013-14 Flames Expectations

[drywall_taper]

will not make the playoffs

[Alberta_Beef]

All I expect is the rebuild to continue, for the kids to be better evaluated and a team that plays with alot of heart.

Where they finish? Who knows.

[TSXCman]

Trade for more firsts, have team overperform and make playoffs, draft from other suckers failing.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by nik-

Florida had several key pieces miss a 1/4 to a 1/3 of the season. They'll be better next year. Not playoffs better, but better.

Plus they added Barkov. It may not be by much, but I think they will be better than the Flames.

However, if teams like Tampa, Nashville, and Carolina are even within breathing distance of us next year then I really don't know what to say, they should be ashamed.

[Poe969]

Last years team was better than Florida, this year's team won't have Kipper, Iggy or JayBow for a full year... If it was possible, I'd pick 31st for them.

The thing is, and I'm sure a few others are in the same boat as me is that I'm more excited to watch hockey this coming year than I have been for the past 2-3 years. I know they won't be a good team but I'm excited to watch them grow and develop into the stars we want them to be.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by nik-

Florida had several key pieces miss a 1/4 to a 1/3 of the season. They'll be better next year. Not playoffs better, but better.

They also lose Weiss and will count on Barkov and Huberdeau as the 1 and 2 centers. Florida like us is also in a much better division than last year.

[nik-]

Three biggest reasons I want to watch next year.

1. Svensation.
2. Clearer outlook on Brodie's ceiling after another year.
3. Find out what number Monahan is going to wear to assist in jersey purchase.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by GGG

They also lose Weiss and will count on Barkov and Huberdeau as the 1 and 2 centers. Florida like us is also in a much better division than last year.

Yup, they very well could suck. My prediction is still that they're better than us next year.

[stampsx2]

I just hope they're not like the Oilers and suck for five years, even with a talented team.

[BACKCHECK!!!]

I expect Hartley will over-rely on vets, and most of the new up-and-coming kids will see 4th line, bottom pairing, and Abbottsford minutes.

Just like he completely mis-handled Cervenka and Baertschi this season, I expect Hartley to ruin/drive away/stunt the development of at least one significant piece of the team's future.

I'm going to go with either Backlund or Knight. One of them will look like a non-NHL player as a direct result of being badly deployed by Hartley.

Cundari and Breen are also likely to be left out in the cold, and although they may get looks as injury replacements, they will be demoted again no matter how well they perform during their call-ups.

I'm not saying Hartley is a bad coach, because there is a lot more to coaching than just line combos and ice time management. But for whatever other positive things he brings to the table, his bizarre and developmentally less-than-ideal line combos and ice time allocation are the trade-off.

[RT14]

As it sits right now this is a bottom 5 team unless Ramo or Berra can pull off a Bobrovsky like season. But as others have said, this season is not about wins and I'll be happy to see the young players taking steps forward. That's all I expect.

[Super-Rye]

As long as they play hard and compete every game I won't care what place they finish.

[djsFlames]

We saw more usage of young players under Hartley than probably the last 4 coaches combined.

Don't know why you just assume such things. We don't have enough veterans left to push down our youngsters. 3 of 4 center positions will Have to be occupied by younger players because we only have 1 vet center at this point. So that's pretty much a guarantee. Same thing on D. Not enough top 4 players to push down Brodie, unless Hartley feels somehow that Russell/O'Brien/Butler are outperforming him.

Pessimism without reason...

[Bootsy]

I expect them to compete hard every night, play with pride , do their best and hopefully develope some chemistry. They will go through growing pains and hopefully learn some tough lessons. If they do all that I don't care where they finish.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

We saw more usage of young players under Hartley than probably the last 4 coaches combined.

Don't know why you just assume such things. We don't have enough veterans left to push down our youngsters. 3 of 4 center positions will Have to be occupied by younger players because we only have 1 vet center at this point. So that's pretty much a guarantee. Same thing on D. Not enough top 4 players to push down Brodie, unless Hartley feels somehow that Russell/O'Brien/Butler are outperforming him.

Pessimism without reason...

Feaster has also eliminated Comeau as an option, who Feaster probably realized was a mistake to re-sign, there's no more Babchuk/Sarich to healthy scratch. No more Tanguay on the point of the PP either. These "options" are now eliminated.

Things could be interesting this season. I hope they make the playoffs every season like Detroit.

[BACKCHECK!!!]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

We saw more usage of young players under Hartley than probably the last 4 coaches combined.

We also saw the Flames best offensive prospect on the 4th line, playing 6 minutes a night with Steve Effing Begin as his set-up man, until he got demoted back to the AHL.

Brodie wasn't on the opening night roster.

We don't have enough veterans left to push down our youngsters. 3 of 4 center positions will Have to be occupied by younger players because we only have 1 vet center at this point. So that's pretty much a guarantee. Same thing on D. Not enough top 4 players to push down Brodie, unless Hartley feels somehow that Russell/O'Brien/Butler are outperforming him.

I don't think Hartley will ruin Brodie. Brodie will get good minutes. Breen and Cundari, on the other hand, will probably be pushed completely off the roster.

At forward, if Cammalleri draws in at centre the entire top-6 is 29 or older (Glencross, Cammalleri, Stempniak, Hudler, Jones, and Stajan).

If McGrattan and Jackman play on the 4th line, that means one of Backlund or Knight is stuck on the 4th line with them. And so three spots are available for the actual development of young players.

That's only one possible outcome, and I expect a few roster changes between now and puck drop, I'm just pointing out that there is plenty of room to bury young guys at the bottom of the roster, and Hartley has done it before with our best and brightest.

[nik-]

Yeah ... wasn't big on Hartley's usage of Sven to start the season. He wasn't great, but he wasn't 4 minutes a night bad.

[dammage79]

The Flames, rejuvinated with youth and a vibrant locker room keep the draft pick just out of the top ten. Ramo comes into camp with the number one spot to lose but Berra is the biggest surprise.

[Hatter]

Too many forwards. I expect some wingers to be traded for prospects still.

I think the Flames will finish ~25-26

[Erick Estrada]

This team with Kipper, Iginla, Bowmeester was arguably one of the worst Flames teams of all time under Hartley last season and next season the Flames best player is who? Cammalleri? He's not that good. Giordano? He's was terrible last year. Glencross? He's a good player but best player? Huder? Maybe sigh. Honestly I can't think of a really, really good player in this roster. We are probably the looking at the worst team in the history of the franchise.

Now that's not the end of the world though as this franchise brought it on itself and has chose the correct path out which will be a little painful in the immediate future but as long as the young talent gets good development time this team can climb back up.