As the core stands now, do you believe it has cup potential?

[calgaryred]

Yes but in year 4 of our rebuild not yet

[Macho0978]

IMO they are 1 good summer away from being a cup contender. IMO if they sign Elliott, Bennett, Ferland, Stone to good deals they will have a large number of key players with 2 or more years. They should have 2-3 summers in a row of not having worry about not having the space to keep guys (Backlund contract expires same time as Bouma and Stajan). This summer could set them up for a 3 year run

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Zoller

I feel its a repeat of the 80's. Flames will have a good team, maybe a great team. But the Oilers will just be better and overshadow us during the peak years of our core.

Hope I'm wrong but... Sure does look that way

All we need is Tim Hunter vs Dave Semenko and Neil Sheehy vs Wayne Gretzky

[dino7c]

Oilers are gonna be paying Lucic and McDavid 19M+...it won't be like the 80s they will have plenty of holes like most teams

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Oilers are gonna be paying Lucic and McDavid 19M+...it won't be like the 80s they will have plenty of holes like most teams

Not to mention Drasaitl got 77 points which is 1 off Gaudreau got last year. He could ask for Tarasenko money. Higher cap this summer too, it's possible his contract is close to 8

[N-E-B]

This year? No (although you never know!), but definitely in the next few years. I think we have a great core, we just need a few more supporting pieces.

[MarkGio]

The rebuild is basically over. Maybe Treliving can tinker with the roster in the offseason, but for the most part this core will determine if they can win a cup, as they've proven they can bring the franchise to the playoffs. They have several cup winning qualities. A #1 defenseman. A 1-2 punch down the middle. And depth. But they lack a true #1 goalie, and they lack an elite coach (ie, Sutter, Quenneville, Babcock, etc). Maybe it's possible Elliott is like an Osgood and shows his true talents in the playoffs, and maybe Gulutzan shows he can pull at least one year off (ala Bylsma), but who knows in the playoffs.

If the 06' Hurricanes can win a cup, then any team might get hot enough to win one.

[Par]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

The rebuild is basically over. Maybe Treliving can tinker with the roster in the offseason, but for the most part this core will determine if they can win a cup, as they've proven they can bring the franchise to the playoffs. They have several cup winning qualities. A #1 defenseman. A 1-2 punch down the middle. And depth. But they lack a true #1 goalie, and they lack an elite coach (ie, Sutter, Quenneville, Babcock, etc). Maybe it's possible Elliott is like an Osgood and shows his true talents in the playoffs, and maybe Gulutzan shows he can pull at least one year off (ala Bylsma), but who knows in the playoffs.

If the 06' Hurricanes can win a cup, then any team might get hot enough to win one.

How the heck are you supposed to know if a coach is elite or not in his first season and first playoffs, Sutter, Q and Babcock were not winners right off the bat.

This team is a few years away, the development of Bennett and Tkachuk will be huge, how will D prospects develop? how good will Janko be? All these questions need to be answered.

I think they need all the dead weight to come off, they need a top 6 winger(Brad Trevling waive you wizard wand and get us Taylor Hall), a top 4 D man(is Stone the answer?) and a long term goalie(is Elliott a short term answer?).

[Calgary4LIfe]

Yes. Just a matter of getting more experience/development and a bit of luck (nobody wins without being lucky because of parity - mostly regarding injuries and just the occasional bounce).

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Short answer? Yes

[Street Pharmacist]

Core, yes. Team, no

[soulchoice]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Need a top line scoring RW, franchise goaltender, and shutdown defenseman. They are good enough to be a playoff team but a few pieces short of being a real cup contender.

In fairness though EE, those needs listed and filled would make pretty much any playoff team a contender. I agree with you in the Flames are still not a serious contender.

[flylock shox]

I think we'll learn a lot about whether this team has the pieces over the next couple of weeks.

One of the things that tends to be forgotten when a team has been out of the playoffs for a few years (like the current Flames, 2014-15 season notwithstanding) but is really obvious for teams who've made the show several years in a row, is that some players are playoff players - guys who elevate their games in the playoffs and contribute beyond anything they were able to do in the regular season.

Do the Flames have guys who can really elevate? I guess we'll see. Hopefully Brouwer is one of them. That'd be a big deal for Calgary.

Otherwise, a top flight goaltending performance could be all the team needs (that and a little luck) to go a long way. The 2004 roster was, in retrospect, laughably bad, and they were just an inch or so from a cup win.

[shadowlord]

I feel like the Flames are built similar to the Blackhawks in the years before their 1st Cup. Kane and Toews up front with then-unknown Keith and Seabrook. There are similarities with Mony/Johnny and Hamilton/Brodie.

If that model can work for us, maybe we are building a Hawks-like dynasty and not just a single season Cup contender.

[Bunk]

They're close. 1-2 supporting cogs a way from gelling in the right way.

[Beninho]

The Flames will continue to build and move forward, solid asset management and some draft picks meeting their potential and the Flames are in a great postition to be competing for a long time. It's all about the peices they continue to acquire. Who would've thought we would've got Dougie 2 years ago, those are the type of trades that can happen. Who knows what kind of players will be available in the future and how certain players continue to develop. Bennett and Jankowski are the 2 players that I think are the biggest wild cards for the Flames and if both can become the players that many of us envision than this team is in great shape.


Like an above poster alluded to, I'm sure Hall wants to win one of these years. Possibly winning in his hometown could entice him. Who knows what the future holds, let's see what they do vs the Ducks

[jlh2640]

We are still some pieces away. Keep building this team. Get rid of some of the vets like wideman. Brouwer and stajan contracts and we'll be looking better. I'm happy we are a playoff team. But I don't think we will win more then 2 games this year.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

I think we'll learn a lot about whether this team has the pieces over the next couple of weeks.

One of the things that tends to be forgotten when a team has been out of the playoffs for a few years (like the current Flames, 2014-15 season notwithstanding) but is really obvious for teams who've made the show several years in a row, is that some players are playoff players - guys who elevate their games in the playoffs and contribute beyond anything they were able to do in the regular season.

Do the Flames have guys who can really elevate? I guess we'll see. Hopefully Brouwer is one of them. That'd be a big deal for Calgary.

Otherwise, a top flight goaltending performance could be all the team needs (that and a little luck) to go a long way. The 2004 roster was, in retrospect, laughably bad, and they were just an inch or so from a cup win.

Agree with this. What's the difference between the Sharks and the Hawks in the West or the Caps and the Pens in the East with regards to being considered cup contenders every year? Arguably, it's the playoff performances of key players. We'll soon find out if the Flames are more Thornton and Ovechkin, or more Toews and Crosby.

I think Elliot has already shown with the Blues that he can be a big playoff performer, so I'm pretty optimistic about our goaltending and hope the Flames keep him for a few more years. The rest? We are yet to see.

I have a good feeling about a number of our key pieces though, especially Ferland, Tkatchuk, Johnny and Gio.

[Beninho]

Originally Posted by jlh2640

We are still some pieces away. Keep building this team. Get rid of some of the vets like wideman. Brouwer and stajan contracts and we'll be looking better. I'm happy we are a playoff team. But I don't think we will win more then 2 games this year.

Alrighty then, some people here really lack any sort of optimism.

[CGY12]

In a few years? Yes.

Right now? No.

If we get 2nd half Elliot we have elite level goaltending. On D its pretty close to as perfect as your going to get.

Up front is the problem, had Bennett developed as quick as Monahan and we surrounded him with a solid line-mate that could score 20/30 a year I would say the Flames would be a legit contender. As good as the Backlund line has been and the amount of offence they've produced, I think its too much to expect that from them in a 7 game series when they are expected to shut down the other teams top line.