What's next for the Flames?

[David Struch]

I would like to see the Flames mortgage a bit of the future now that Calgary has a full compliment of 20 + rookies in the AHL plus several other quality prospects on the way, most notably, Mangiapane, Jankowski, Hickey, Kylington, Andersson, McDonald

I would be totally fine with trading our 2016 & 2017 draft choices to add the missing pieces we need and go all in on our Quest for Lord Stanley's Mug

Gaudreau - Monahan - ______
Hudler - Bennett - Frolik
Bouma - Backlund - Jones
Ferland - Stajan – Colborne

Brodie - Hamilton
Giordano - ______
Russell – Wideman
Engelland

______
Ramo

[PrettyBoyFlizzy]

I really doubt our 1st in play. Treliving and Burke highly highly value that 1st so unless a player of Hamiltons calibre is still to be had I don't think it's traded.

[Da_Chief]

^Nah. No need to rush it. Play a balance game. Cant trade 2015, 2016 and 2017 1sts.

[Roof-Daddy]

I would package up our 2016 1st for a player like Galchenyuk.

That'd pretty much complete our young core, and it would start paying dividends beginning next season.

Gaudreau (22) - Monahan (21) - Hudler
Galchenyuk (22) - Bennett (19) - Frolik

Giordano - TJ Brodie (24)
K Russell - Hamilton (22)

[azzarish]

What's next?

Sign Lance Bouma. Integral player to this team.

[David Struch]

It will certainly be tempting to upgrade our roster come the trade deadline, I'm hoping we already have those missing pieces in the form of Klimchuk, Granlund, Poirier, Agostino, Arnold, Smith, Wotherspoon, Morrison and Ortio

[Da_Chief]

They're really high on Ferland. I'm expecting Ferland to get a good shot at being a top 6 forward.

Other trade I've been hashing in my own mind is something involving Hudler and Okposo.

[troutman]

Dynasty

Old school kind, 4 or 5 in a row

[azzarish]

Wouldn't trade away any draft picks now, as remember the return will eat in to the cap. We'll need cap space for Johnny and Monahan next season. We've addressed a lot of needs these last few days, and a lot of pieces are in place now. We still need this team to grow and evolve. We're ahead in our rebuilding but we need to let the team play now and see what they can do. Mustn't let our imaginations run wild with our expectations. There are so many good players on this team, where we want to be will take care of itself.

[hockey.modern]

No need to trade draft picks. In fact we need to do the opposite and acquiring those with the players of Bollig, Raymond, Hiller etc. remember we wouldn't have acquired Dougie Hamilton if it wasn't us being sellers at the deadline.

[Dion]

[OzSome]

I think Frolik is going to be playing on the same line as Backlund and Bouma. I really like our D group. We have 6 D who can play big minutes. Russell, Wideman, Brodie and Engelland played well and lots of minutes during Giordano's absence. Hamilton was playing big minutes for the Bruins as well. We might have the best D group in the West.
I just hope a couple of young guys surprise the Flames coaching staff in the training camp.

[fanman]

Agree with not needing more big aquisitions for now. See how training camp and the beginning of the season play out first. They definitely shouldn't be trading any high picks.

If a couple of young forwards stick, they're actually in a very good position to be sellers again. Players like Raymond, Bollig or Hiller could get a modest return from a team with injuries or needing playoff depth.

It's probably more of a long-shot but if a guy like Wotherspoon steps up they may be able to deal a Wideman for a good return. They have to keep stocking the cupboards because eventually the cap will be a problem.

I'm excited to see how the season goes!

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by OzSome

I think Frolik is going to be playing on the same line as Backlund and Bouma. I really like our D group. We have 6 D who can play big minutes. Russell, Wideman, Brodie and Engelland played well and lots of minutes during Giordano's absence. Hamilton was playing big minutes for the Bruins as well. We might have the best D group in the West.
I just hope a couple of young guys surprise the Flames coaching staff in the training camp.

Yeah, my first thought was to put Frolik with Bennett. But after thinking about it more, I really like the idea of a

Bouma - Backlund - Frolik line.

They would be a fantastic shut down line. Then go with:

Ferland - Bennett - Colborne with

Byron/Bollig - Stajan - Jones as a pretty good 4th line.

And that still leaves Jooris, Granlund, Shore, Raymond and Poirier in the wings.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Proving last season wasn't an aberration.

So far, some nice upgrades to make the squad a competitive team with home-grown youth streaming into the roster.

Having first and second rounders pan out with the occasional mid-to-late-rounders as pleasant surprises.

Still need a franchise goalie.

Liking the progress so far, but there's still a ways to go before conferring Elite status on the team.

[PrettyBoyFlizzy]

It's been proven you don't need a franchise goalie you can get by with okay goaltending as long as they make saves and don't let in bad goals.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by PrettyBoyFlizzy

It's been proven you don't need a franchise goalie you can get by with okay goaltending as long as they make saves and don't let in bad goals.

I would still like a franchise goalie.

[CSharp]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

I'd caution people about raising expectations.

We're still a very young team. Why ruin it and weigh them down by throwing lofty expectations based solely on results?

You know what I'm hopeful for? That this coming season is as entertaining as last season. This team will continue to get better on the backs of the youth, so I'll just enjoy the ride up and not worry about a misstep here or there.



Good teams are not built through free agency. We have no need to pay a winger money or commit term like that to someone based on a single season when we already have so many up and coming players.

That first line was the best line in hockey for a good stretch and got us into the playoffs.

Take a breath and realize that our roster will be filled out from within.

Good teams are built from a mix within and some from free agency to fill in the spots that are required. Sure, you can look at the whole season and say it's good enough, but when you hit a brick wall like the Flames did against a big team like the Ducks, that's where you look at what you currently don't have and fill those holes. Beleski would've helped filled that hole nicely for the next 5+ years since he's young. Williams would've filled the RW role just fine for the next 3 years or so. Bennett is still green and who knows if his surgery for his shoulder injury will fix it long term and he still needs time to fill in the needed experience. For the money that was paid to Williams and Beleski, those were great deals and basically Bruins and the Caps didn't overpay.

[saillias]

Bennett's shoulder is fine.

Frolik is bigger and more productive than Beleskey, and as productive as Justin Williams. Justin Williams will be 34 for the entirety of this season and his production is declining. He would have been a good pickup if he was 5 years younger. Did you enjoy the Sutter pickups that would always be the washed up vet types like Amonte, Nolan, Bertuzzi for 1-2 years just to fill holes without developing our own players.

[Lanny_McDonald]

What's next? Patience.

The Flames need to ride this year out and continue on with the strategy of letting the youth in the organization find their way onto the team. This will allow the cap to naturally take care of itself as older expensive players are replaced with younger cheaper players. This will set the team up for long term success rather than a short term run and burn out situation. I suspect we'll see a roster like this at the start of the season.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Hudler
Colborne - Backlund - Frolik
Ferland - Bennett - Jones
Bouma - Stajan - Jooris
Granlund/Shore

Giordano - Hamilton
Brodie - Wideman
Russell - Engelland
Schlemko

Hiller
Ramo

This coming year I see a natural progression where some of the vets are made expendable and replaced by the youth in the organization. By Christmas I expect Emile Poirier to push his way into the lineup, making David Jones trade bait. I expect to see Kenny Agostino pushing for a spot making Mason Raymond expendable. Micheal Ferland will win a spot in camp pushing Brandon Bollig to the sidelines and freeing up more cap space. Finally, on the forward lines, I see Billy Arnold forcing management's hand and making Matt Stajan expendable. On the blue line I see Tyler Wotherspoon stepping up and securing the #6/7 role, allowing the team to trim David Schlemko from the ranks. Most importantly, I think Kenney Morrison is going to burst onto the scene and give the Flames a serious thought of moving Dennis Wideman. In net I think the Flames come out of camp with Hiller and Ramo, waiting for someone to need a goaltender before dealing Hiller and bringing up Ortio for good.

I think this will be another surprising year where we see a handful of rookies jump up and take jobs away from veterans. Sadly, this will also cost some of the young guys their chance as well, as players like Markus Granlund, Drew Shore, Josh Jooris, and possibly Lance Bouma, may find themselves being pushed out of the organization. If things go the way I think they will, and the team likely hopes, we could end up with a roster something like this.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Hudler
Colborne - Backlund - Frolik
Ferland - Bennett - Poirier
Bouma - Arnold - Agostino
Granlund/Shore

Giordano - Hamilton
Brodie - Russell
Morrison - Engelland
Wotherspoon

Ramo
Ortio

All of these improvements are important because they will free up the dollars that will eventually allow the Flames to deal with their salary structure challenges. It also keeps the cupboards stocked with draft picks and a continues the cycle of players developing and stepping up. I think this will also allow the Flames to take a run at keeping important veterans that provide leadership, like Jiri Hudler, for an extended period of time. I see this lineup as being one with incredible speed and toughness to play against, and there is plenty of size on every line. Of course, everything would have to go right, but I think this is the type of progression that is naturally needed for the team to remain motivated and the salary structure to be kept under control.