What are you most excited about for 2016/2017 Flames?

[Vulcan]

1. Improved goal tending. No excuses now for lousy team defence.
2. New regular players such as Brouwer, Tkachuk, Shinkaruk, Wotherspoon, Chiasson, Vey and Hathaway, etc. Not all of these will get a spot but it should be good competition. We could use two Brouwers, one on the Bennett line and the other on the Monahan line, so it will be interesting on how they use him.
3. New coaching staff with new systems.

[activeStick]

1. Defense

Full season of a Hamilton that doesn't struggle. Kevin's fit on the team. Brodie's continued elevation into an undisputed top 2 Defenceman.

2. Forwards

Very curious to see how Pribyl does given he's had success in Europe. Gaudreau's elevation - are we looking at a top 5 scoring finish for him given he had dramatically worse production on the road if he can address that? Watching Bennett develop into his projected status as an elite forward.

3. Improved goaltending

The goaltending has improved significantly in Elliot and Johnson. Excited to see how much of an improvement that will produce in the standings.

[AltaGuy]

Johnny Hockey being awesome. By far.

We are so lucky.

[Bear]

How B Schenn and Provorov will look in a flames jersey.

[Hockey_Ninja]

- Seeing how goaltending does
- Seeing how Johnny and Monny perform
- Seeing how Bennett progresses (I think he's going to have a breakout season)
- Seeing how we perform under new coaching
- Seeing if we can secure a post season spot (Please happen)

[You Need a Thneed]

Gio hoisting the cup in June.

[btimbit]

Can't wait to see how the coaching changes translate onto the ice. Thrilled to finally have a goalie, and also can't wait to see what Brouwer brings to the team.

Then there's the smaller, intriguing questions marks. Pribyl, for example. Really curious to see what we've got there. Can Bouma stay healthy and bounce back to being a middle 6 winger? Does Ferland wake up after what looked like a unmotivated season, and step into the middle six to fill the gap left by Colborne? Do we see Dallas Chaisson, or Ottawa Chaisson?

Just let it be October already

[bax]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Getting rid of Wideman, Smid, Bollig either by trade or expiring contracts.

What a fun thing to be excited about

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by Bear

How B Schenn and Provorov will look in a flames jersey.

lol, I'll bite

Return for Gaudreau?

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Wideman's Revenge

Is he going the check Gary Bettman through the boards?

[Bear]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

lol, I'll bite

Return for Gaudreau?

You got it. TBH, I was just having a bit of fun but the other thread got me thinking...

I'd love to know what ppl think a fair return would be but some will get very sensitive about the subject.

[Northendzone]

Big country ice crew

Lining up to take a pee between periods

[Mister Yamoto]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

Is he going the check Gary Bettman through the boards?

And then take his phone.

[Macho0978]

3 players - Hamilton, Bennett and Monahan

Monahan - continue to develop to an elite 2 way center
Bennett - Give us a true 2nd line center that pushes Backlunds line to a more appropriate role
Hamilton - developing into our best dman

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

Is he going the check Gary Bettman through the boards?

Just players that sort of look like him. So....Mike Ribeiro?

[hockey.modern]

See how Tkachuk does regardless of where he plays.

If sent back to the OHL, does he dominate without his linemates or if he does make the NHL, how does he click with Bennett potentially.

[bubbsy]

Feeling a bit pessimistic.

I hate this world cup of hockey. Having players going 110% prior to camp makes me think we'll see some pretty big name injuries early this year. Can the flames come out unscathed?

New coach, new systems, new principles. New isn't always better, but then could the flames really be any worse than they were defensively for the better part of last year?

I'm definitely stoked to see the new goaltending this season as o just don't think it could be any worse than last year.

The best part of the rebuild has been seeing the kids expected, but also the unexpected, come in and make an impact. From Monahan and gaudreau, to Jooris , Bouma. These prospect rankings of the summer are always fun but are there really any gems there that can come in and make their mark in camp and stick in the lineup. Can Bennet step into a #2 center role this year? What is ferlands fit at the nhl level? Does Tkachuk make it past camp, game #9? Can wotherspoon finally grab a top 7 spot at the nhl level? Where do klimchuk and poirier fit in, or do they?

Lots of question marks. What the playoff season ftom 2 years ago showed is that for a bubble team, so many things have to go right for things to click and the result being a winning season. I still see the team as a bubble team, curious too see ho the above questions pan out.

[FlatLandFlamesFan]

Game 1 , beating the crap outta Edmonton in their new stink hole.

Really hoping Bennett , Ferland are ready to take the next step up.
Even though he gets a lot of grief around here I think Ferland is a wonderful mix of skill & grit . that could round out our top 6 nicely.

Jankowski , Pribyl , Katchup all excite with their potential whether they are actuall NHL ready is to be seen

[Table 5]

If I'm honest, this will be the first season in a while where I'm not going into it thinking that in the long-run it would be preferable for the team to get a high draft pick as opposed to make the playoffs.

I think I'm most excited to just see if this young core can sink or swim, especially now that goaltending should be a bit more reliable. While there's a long way to go, and still don't care if me we make the playoffs, I think we're in a pretty good spot to take the next step.

[sa226]

Originally Posted by Table 5

If I'm honest, this will be the first season in a while where I'm not going into it thinking that in the long-run it would be preferable for the team to get a high draft pick as opposed to make the playoffs.

I think I'm most excited to just see if this young core can sink or swim, especially now that goaltending should be a bit more reliable. While there's a long way to go, and still don't care if me we make the playoffs, I think we're in a pretty good spot to take the next step.

Yep. With the drafting of Tkachuk, I think thats it. If those players become what they should be, combined with Gio, Brodie, Hamilton et al, thats pretty much right up to the salary cap.

What they need to do is to draft well in the first round, and keep finding the gems in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. There will always be tweaking and trades, but successful teams build through the draft and what we have is a great foundation moving forward. No more hoping for a Mcdavid, Matthews, Mackinnon. This is it and I like it.