[Game Takes] Hawks 4 Flames 1

[Bingo]

http://www.calgarypuck.com/2016/03/g...-2-flames-1-2/

[Toonage]

I agree that Bennett's second half of the season has been slow, moreso since the move to center. But call it a necessary evil and one that will pay off both through his experience with the role and as you pointed out, when they add a strong winger to play along side him.

[Vulcan]

I like your thinking, as for looking for a partner for Bennett as the priority.

[thefoss1957]

Didn't see a tank job from your guys...they pressed Darling throughout.

A game where errors made the difference...Brodie's and Stajan's (gotta clear that puck, even if you take an icing, after Ortio was stickless)

I invite all you Flame fans to join me for the 'Hawk game tomorrow, where, I hope my guys can prove again, that Vancouver IS no good!

[JiriHrdina]

Nice observation on the Hamilton goal. A great genuine moment of joy between brothers. Fun

[killer_carlson]

As bad as the Brodie pass was, the goat of this game has to be shared by Bollig and Ferland who both look to be auditioning for the Lady Byng rather than holding opponents accountable who go after Johnny.

As I said in the game thread, if Jonathon Toews can take a penalty standing up for Seabrook, then there is zero reason for Bollig and Ferland to turn the other cheek.

If both play like this, i see no need for either in a Flames uniform.

[Sample00]

i have to agree with the commentators from last nights game. I think Hathaway has made Ferland expendable. Hathaway is what Ferland was. A guy that likes to get in there and muck it up.

[442scotty]

Someone on another post mentioned that its a good idea to keep muckers (like Hathaway) on one year deals to keep them mucking and I agree... too many muckers trying to play skill hockey instead of mucking... (or develop a skilled mucker!)

[442scotty]

Freddie Hamilton didn't seem too out of place with Johnny and Mony... Wouldn't mind seeing him there a few more games to see what happens once he gets more comfortable... I agree that Bennett needs someone to play with... Huge drop off in skilled wingers after the first two lines..

[StrykerSteve]

Originally Posted by thefoss1957

Didn't see a tank job from your guys...the pressed Darling throughout.

A game where errors made the difference...Brodie's and Stajan's (gotta clear that puck, even if you take an icing, after Ortio was stickless)

I invite all you Flame fans to join me for the 'Hawk game tomorrow, where, I hope my guys can prove again, that Vancouver IS no good!

Normally I'd be all over that, but fact is, it's better for Vancouver to win right now. So, go Canucks!

I feel dirty.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by StrykerSteve

Normally I'd be all over that, but fact is, it's better for Vancouver to win right now. So, go Canucks!



I feel dirty.

[Strange Brew]

Interesting idea on the forward pairs. Only problem is you need someone decent playing with the guys on the top line. A 3 goals scorer isn't going to cut it, no matter how good the other two are.

Right now the bottom six (assuming we are missing a top 6 to play with Bennett) is Stajan, Bouma, Ferland, Bollig, Colborne and Hathaway. Pretty expendable bunch I would agree but need the current management team to get over their inclination to sign these guys to multi year deals.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Interesting idea on the forward pairs. Only problem is you need someone decent playing with the guys on the top line. A 3 goals scorer isn't going to cut it, no matter how good the other two are.

Right now the bottom six (assuming we are missing a top 6 to play with Bennett) is Stajan, Bouma, Ferland, Bollig, Colborne and Hathaway. Pretty expendable bunch I would agree but need the current management team to get over their inclination to sign these guys to multi year deals.

Agreed you can't just plug anyone in.

The Flames need to improve their bottom six, but to do so you have to do it through development as the cap won't allow you to spend your way to a bottom six.

So it has to come from within.

The Flames need to hope that Poirier, Klimchuk, Agistino, Shinkaruk, Arnold and the like can move up the ranks and a) replace older more expensive parts and b) be better plugging into lines 2 and 3 than their predecessors.

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Sample00

i have to agree with the commentators from last nights game. I think Hathaway has made Ferland expendable. Hathaway is what Ferland was. A guy that likes to get in there and muck it up.

People keep saying this. Is there some reason both can't play on the team at the same time? Seems like 2/3 of a good 4th line to me.

I don't irrationally hate on Ferland like some here though. He leads our team in hits, doesn't make many mistakes and looks no worse than the players that appear on 4th lines on 90% of the teams in the league. I'm not sure what people expect, but by the sounds of it, Ferland hasn't come close to meeting their vision of the way he should play. Or is it just his lack of production? If he had 10 goals, but played exactly the same... suddenly, would it be a good year?

To me, a guy like Bouma can GTFO if it comes down to having to get rid of a LWer (again, not sure where Hathaway figures into this). Gettting rid of Bouma would at least save cap space, and he is no better a player than Ferland IMO. It's not like Bouma's ever touching 16 goals or 34 points again, that was clearly a fluke.

Or how about Brandon Bollig? Surely he gets bought out before Treliving even thinks about trading Ferland, no? Guy can't play hockey, doesn't fight, doesn't hit, doesn't do anything really. He's more like a big, funny mascot out there than a contributing member of the team. He's just adorable out there, but I'm not sure how he helps the team. He must be Matt Stajan levels of awesome in the room to get away with being so useless.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Yeah how does an excellent 4th line RW grinder in Hathaway make a young, developing LW power forward expendable? Zero logic there. They don't play the same position, when fully developed they probably won't be playing the same role either.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Yeah how does an excellent 4th line RW grinder in Hathaway make a young, developing LW power forward expendable? Zero logic there. They don't play the same position, when fully developed they probably won't be playing the same role either.

I think there is a core disagreement over whether or not Ferland is indeed a young developing power forward, or a guy that will top out on the bottom 6.

I view him as the latter, but recognize he is a tough guy to project. I haven't seen enough from him to show me he has the offensive instincts to be any more than a grinder.

[Bingo]

I see Ferland as having had a really disappointing season thus far, that's for sure. I get that you can't go Jack Nicholson crazy in 82 games as he did against Vancouver in the playoffs, but the volume button shouldn't have moved from 10 to 1 for all but two or three games this season.

No urgency at all.

I don't know if he gets who he is.

If he could play 70% of his games at 70% of that level he'd be a real asset. Instead it's 5% at 80%

[Karl]

Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix

Or how about Brandon Bollig? Surely he gets bought out before Treliving even thinks about trading Ferland, no? Guy can't play hockey, doesn't fight, doesn't hit, doesn't do anything really. He's more like a big, funny mascot out there than a contributing member of the team. He's just adorable out there, but I'm not sure how he helps the team. He must be Matt Stajan levels of awesome in the room to get away with being so useless.

There's no need to buy out Bollig because he's relatively cheap. He's only making a cap hit of $1.25M. Why not just bury him in Stockton (or wherever the AHL affiliate will be) next year instead? You can hide around 75% of his entire contract in the minors next year anyway.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I see Ferland as having had a really disappointing season thus far, that's for sure. I get that you can't go Jack Nicholson crazy in 82 games as he did against Vancouver in the playoffs, but the volume button shouldn't have moved from 10 to 1 for all but two or three games this season.

No urgency at all.

I don't know if he gets who he is.

If he could play 70% of his games at 70% of that level he'd be a real asset. Instead it's 5% at 80%

Yeah this is right on. I wonder what is going on with him, his practice habits etc. of course we don't know what goes on behind the scenes but I'm a little surprised there haven't been some hard messages thrown his way. Multiple healthy scratches, extended benchings etc. Not to pick on him but he has shown flashes of being capable of more.