Is the Calgary Flames rebuild ahead of the Edmonton Oilers?

[Roof-Daddy]

As bad and pathetic as the Oilers rebuilding has been (currently V3.0) just imagine how much worse off they'd be had they not fluked out and won the McDavid lottery.

[MarkGio]

The Oilers clearly have the better forward group, and the Flames have a better defensive group. I think the Flames now have a better goalie tandem, but Talbot is no slouch either. Oilers right now have the more proven coach. Flames have the better management group.

Now it's just a question of moral compass, since the Oilers built theirs almost entirely using the lottery to build their roster (McDavid, Drasaitl, Larsson (from Hall), Yakupov, Nuge), whereas the Flames did it only partially through the high draft picks (Monahan, Tkachuck, Bennett) and instead built some from late draft picks, all while Iginla and company tried to win games rather than tanking.

I think if the Flames had one more elites winger, it's not a comparison. But leave it to the Edmonton Journal to neglect to compare apples to apples. The Oilers 2017 roster follows (tied with...) the worst playoff drought record in the history of the NHL and one of the worst droughts in all of sports.

[Enoch Root]

The Flames are a properly-constructed team. Still young, and still with a couple holes to fill. But getting close.

The Oilers are still deeply flawed. Closer than last year? Definitely. But still flawed, still unbalanced, and still a ways from being a complete team.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

As bad and pathetic as the Oilers rebuilding has been (currently V3.0) just imagine how much worse off they'd be had they not fluked out and won the McDavid lottery.

As great as McDavid is, it's doubtful any of Klefbom, Nurse, or Davidson ever match what Noah Hanifin, Ivan Provorov, and Zach Werenski all look poised to do in the NHL. Larsson is their best D but cost them Hall in the process.

[djsFlames]

Guaranteed

Bouma/Ferland - Backlund - Frolik

will outperform whatever 3rd line the Oilers can concoct. And collectively will be at least twenty or thirty better in the +/- category, because, responsible...and proven.

They haven't even signed Versteeg, so how can be considered an "acquisition"? By all accounts he's not in game shape physically. But yes, he's surely better than those Flames listed.

#offseasonchampions

[Red]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

with respect to depth (bottom 6)...



the author prefers:

Maroon, Versteeg and Kassian to...

Frolik, Brouwer, Stajan, Ferland, and Bouma

but Chiasson is a signing he likes.

lol

Funny how two guys that were not even NHLers recently is seen as if they won some sweepstakes.

[Vinny01]

The Flames started 3 full years after the Oilers and picked top 10 3 times. The Oilers have picked 1st overall 4 times alone with a 3rd, 7th, and 4th pick (not to mention 2 top 10 picks in 3 of the previous drafts before their rebuild started)

[TheoFleury]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

As great as McDavid is, it's doubtful any of Klefbom, Nurse, or Davidson ever match what Noah Hanifin, Ivan Provorov, and Zach Werenski all look poised to do in the NHL. Larsson is their best D but cost them Hall in the process.

It's the Oilers. They would've picked Marner or Strome.

[Lanny'sDaMan]

Who even cares? Seriously. Is the Flames rebuild on Schedule? Yup? Groovy then (I actually do believe we are right on schedule for the record.)

The dumpster filled tire fire up north is so irrelevant, I might as well compare the Flames to the Manchester United football team. Not that ManU sucks like the Grease, more so that they have the same relevance to the Flames.

[jschick88]

Stopped reading at David Staples, Edmonton Journal. Don't know how this guy is employed.

[MarkGio]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

As bad and pathetic as the Oilers rebuilding has been (currently V3.0) just imagine how much worse off they'd be had they not fluked out and won the McDavid lottery.

McDavid is great, but they do have some good pieces too. They have Eberle, Yak and Versteeg down the right, which is better than Brouwer, Frolik and Chiasson. They also have Lucic, Pouliot, and Maroon down the left, which is slightly more deep than Gaudreau, Shinkaruk and Bouma. And then McDavid, Drasaitl and Nuge is about even with Monahan, Backlund, and Bennett.

I think if Shinkaruk out performs Pouliot and Bennett makes a step up, then the Flames would have an edge.

[GreenLantern]

I don't think that either side is really winning at this point, but seeing as how the Oilers are always losers, I guess that makes us the winners by defualt?

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

McDavid is great, but they do have some good pieces too. They have Eberle, Yak and Versteeg down the right, which is better than Brouwer, Frolik and Chiasson.

Yak and Versteeg are nothing. Both would rank below, well below, Brouwer and Folik. Yakupov is floundering and Versteeg is on a try out.

[The Yen Man]

Eberle, Yakupov, Versteeg are not better than Brouwer, Frolik, Chiasson. Eberle might get more points, but is one dimensional. Yakupov is garbage, and Versteeg is only decent on a stacked team.

[djsFlames]

I actually think Shinkaruk looks like he could be a top 6er this season based on the skill set I saw against NHL competition.

I have absolutely no idea if Tkachuk is ready. But who knows. Next couple years he'll be a weapon on that left side for sure.

[dino7c]

Versteeg is on a PTO for crying out loud

[TheoFleury]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

McDavid is great, but they do have some good pieces too. They have Eberle, Yak and Versteeg down the right, which is better than Brouwer, Frolik and Chiasson. They also have Lucic, Pouliot, and Maroon down the left, which is slightly more deep than Gaudreau, Shinkaruk and Bouma. And then McDavid, Drasaitl and Nuge is about even with Monahan, Backlund, and Bennett.

I think if Shinkaruk out performs Pouliot and Bennett makes a step up, then the Flames would have an edge.

You would honestly take Eberle-Yak-Versteeg over Brouwer-Frolik-Chaisson?

Versteeg is broken and Yakupov is either top 6 or nothing and his production is terrible for a top 6. At least Chaisson would be good in his role (bottom two lines). I think you value flashy skills over other attributes like grit and defensive player, which is fine for your top guys, but not when you are comparing guys who aren't good enough to be in a playoff team's top 6. At least Brouwer and Frolik could be complimentary parts with other skill players. Those Oiler guys are one dimensional and just not very good at that dimension. An argument could be made for Versteeg of a few years ago but it's 2016 now. He's finished.

[topfiverecords]

But which rebuild?

[AC]

The Flames rebuild is ahead of all 3 of the Oiler rebuilds over the past 9 years.

[lazypucker]

I am always thinking did Katz buy off Bettman under the table to win the McDavid lottery, to compliment his brand new building.

We will have to see if this will work out.