[Signing] Flames sign Erik Gudbranson (1 yr, $1.95 mil)

[868904]

Originally Posted by Knightslayer

Yes but my point is he can't fight and won't fight unless he absolutely has to.

He may be big but other teams tough guys won't go after him for a fight. Lucic punched him in the face and he just stood there.

The example you cited literally has Lucic going after him.

Plus we know Kassian has no code, he will go after whoever he wants and will pick the easiest fight just to say he did his job.

I’m just saying, if all the tough guys are on the ice, and a brawl breaks out, the opposition tough guy is going to want to grab Zadorov to fight.

It’s probably all mute, I don’t see any teams challenging the Flames physically this season.

[bax]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Oh god I forgot we re-signed Ritchie too.

Was Richardson really necessary.... bleh

Ritchie and Richardson aren’t really comparable players at all.

Names might get mixed up here and there though

[Phaneufenstein]

Big mean d-men clearing the crease and defensively responsible forwards should help Markstrom have a better year. To me, this is what the management is banking on.
Will it make for entertaining hockey? Maybe not, but wins are entertaining, so hoping for that.

[Remember1989]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Sounds like Gudbranson is BFF with Tanev and good buddies with Markstrom based on his Fan 960 interview. At the very least there will be some familiarity with some teammates and he should be a good locker room fit.

Not thrilled with the signing, but at least nobody can say the Flames don't have an identity. With Sutter having a hand in some of the changes it can be said the Flames identity will be big, tough and in your face.

Whether that translates to on-ice success remains to be seen. But at least now the Flames DO have an identity.

After attending a season ticket holder live session with Burke and Treliving where Burke said we are going to play "black and blue Alberta hockey" I always thought it curious that they never actually tried to fulfill that vision. Could have been a throwaway comment (didn't feel that way though) or they pivoted away from that belief for some reason - but it stood out to me as some degree of confusion or inability to execute on the part of management.

So here we are 6 years later fulfilling that vision.

I feel better about our offseason moves now after watching the Netflix show on the Danbury Trashers.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Phaneufenstein

Big mean d-men clearing the crease and defensively responsible forwards should help Markstrom have a better year. To me, this is what the management is banking on.
Will it make for entertaining hockey? Maybe not, but wins are entertaining, so hoping for that.

I was thinking that too, that both Zadorov and Gudbranson would help with clearing the front of the net. However Gudbranson simply wasn't very good at that last season. I hope that analytics are wrong and he will be like Tanev, but right now it's hard to expect anything above a replacement level player.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

They aren't particularly good at hockey. If you give minutes to a player who's only real skill is toughness, you might find yourself losing.

People dream of Gudbranson laying out McDavid or McKinnon etc.

Let's hope he's not on the ice vs. those types of players, as they will skate circles around him. Same goes for Zadorov, although as bad as he is, he's certainly much better than Gudbranson and should be in an NHL lineup, most likely getting 5-6 minutes. He'll get more than that right now, unless one of the youngsters can push him down, which would be the ideal situation.

I think Calgary's ability to be a decent team depends a lot on Valimaki et al taking a step forward. I think there is a decent chance of that, if they are given the opportunity.

Literally no one said this. And virtually no one expects it.

Hockey is a team game. Becoming harder to play against means a lot more than having a fighter or laying out McDavid. It is a style of play that affects everyone on the ice.

The Flames have been so soft that even guys like Puljujarvi have been running around the ice like they own it against us. Playing tougher keeps the opponents honest. It isn't going to slow down the MacKinnons, but it will affect how teams play against us.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Literally no one said this. And virtually no one expects it.

Hockey is a team game. Becoming harder to play against means a lot more than having a fighter or laying out McDavid. It is a style of play that affects everyone on the ice.

The Flames have been so soft that even guys like Puljujarvi have been running around the ice like they own it against us. Playing tougher keeps the opponents honest. It isn't going to slow down the MacKinnons, but it will affect how teams play against us.

This is great if you're a tough player that is at least, good. This is a player who should have been had on a PTO at best (and even that would be stretch given how bad he has actually been). He's been badly underwater for years and is just a complete waste of cap room on a team that could have put this space to better use with a potential in season trade.

[Gaskal]

Teams will likely shy away from the corners now so they don't get nuked by one of the big boys.

[Monahammer]

It's not the direction I would have taken the team, but I have to agree and summarize some of the disparate comments in here:

- We have been clamouring for team identity for years.
- We have loudly complained that our team is too soft and weak, especially for playoffs.
- Many of us were shouting for blood and for heads to roll regarding the rumors of Tkachuk being told to tone it down.

Taking all of this, Treliving has now given us:
- Sutter, a coach known for having teams with a hard working, meritocratic, hard hitting identity.
- Acquired a set of players known for 2 way play to make us more difficult to play against and strong in the defensive sense (also with playoff resumes): Coleman, Lewis, Richardson, Pitlick
- Acquired a couple of players known to be ultra goons (back up for Tkachuk so he never has to take it easy): Zadorov, Gudbranson

So yeah, I too am disappointed that dreams of Eichel never came to fruition, but arguably Treliving has addressed the three biggest gripes we had with the team for the last two years.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

Teams will likely shy away from the corners now so they don't get nuked by one of the big boys.

I think they are more likely to dump the pucks into the big boy's partner corner. If you don't want to go to Gudbranson's corner dump it in on Valimaki. If you don't want to get hit by Zadorov dump it in for Andersson.


I don't expect the other team to shy away from corners, but definitely pick their battles a little more. I do expect the rest of our skill guys to play a little bigger, and play with a little more swagger. I think the same narrative was used when the Flames got McGrattan, then Lucic and so on.

[stemit14]

I think Treliving/Sutter have built this team for a physical playoff run where the whistles get put away… we have seen playoffs turn that way every year for decades.

The concern I have is that this may be the first year where that changes. There was so much complaining from the talking heads about the officiating and lack of “superstars” in last years playoff finals. And, much more important… I expect the league to get pressure from their new broadcasting deal with ESPN. I imagine ESPN mentioned in the negotiations that they wanted to see more of McKinnon, McDavid, and Matthews deep in the playoffs and less of Danault, Kotkaniemi, and Matt Martin. That could lead to the league finally cracking down on calls in the playoffs… I have a bad feeling McDavid will be deemed “untouchable” in the playoffs this year by the league/officiating.


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[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

It's not the direction I would have taken the team, but I have to agree and summarize some of the disparate comments in here:

- We have been clamouring for team identity for years.
- We have loudly complained that our team is too soft and weak, especially for playoffs.
- Many of us were shouting for blood and for heads to roll regarding the rumors of Tkachuk being told to tone it down.

Taking all of this, Treliving has now given us:
- Sutter, a coach known for having teams with a hard working, meritocratic, hard hitting identity.
- Acquired a set of players known for 2 way play to make us more difficult to play against and strong in the defensive sense (also with playoff resumes): Coleman, Lewis, Richardson, Pitlick
- Acquired a couple of players known to be ultra goons (back up for Tkachuk so he never has to take it easy): Zadorov, Gudbranson

So yeah, I too am disappointed that dreams of Eichel never came to fruition, but arguably Treliving has addressed the three biggest gripes we had with the team for the last two years.

I agree with this. My first choice was retool. 2nd choice was trade for Eichel. IMO these types of moves are needed if we want to be Tampa or Pittsburgh good. A team with high end skill and speed with star players. For now we aren’t getting that but we aren’t locked in forever with this team. The rebuild/retool could happen still if this team struggles

For now though if we aren’t the lightning or penguins then we might as well model the blues. IMO this team hasn’t sacrificed any talent or very little talent or overall team speed to go from a small soft team to a huge physically intimidating team. Gio out is the only drop off in skill but IMO Coleman is a plus on ryan. We also could see more skill out of the young guys with increased roles and confidence. But we def are going to be a nightmare to play against. This team is similar to iggy and kipper days.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

It's not the direction I would have taken the team, but I have to agree and summarize some of the disparate comments in here:

- We have been clamouring for team identity for years.
- We have loudly complained that our team is too soft and weak, especially for playoffs.
- Many of us were shouting for blood and for heads to roll regarding the rumors of Tkachuk being told to tone it down.

Taking all of this, Treliving has now given us:
- Sutter, a coach known for having teams with a hard working, meritocratic, hard hitting identity.
- Acquired a set of players known for 2 way play to make us more difficult to play against and strong in the defensive sense (also with playoff resumes): Coleman, Lewis, Richardson, Pitlick
- Acquired a couple of players known to be ultra goons (back up for Tkachuk so he never has to take it easy): Zadorov, Gudbranson

So yeah, I too am disappointed that dreams of Eichel never came to fruition, but arguably Treliving has addressed the three biggest gripes we had with the team for the last two years.

I'd argue that the biggest gripes we've had around here have been:

- bad coaches
- not enough elite talent
- top players are not effective 5v5 players when games get important

[activeStick]

The contract number is high and I personally would have liked if Treliving didn't spend it on a number 6 defenceman, but I'm also not going to freak out about a 6th defenceman.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

It's not the direction I would have taken the team, but I have to agree and summarize some of the disparate comments in here:

- We have been clamouring for team identity for years.
- We have loudly complained that our team is too soft and weak, especially for playoffs.
- Many of us were shouting for blood and for heads to roll regarding the rumors of Tkachuk being told to tone it down.

Taking all of this, Treliving has now given us:
- Sutter, a coach known for having teams with a hard working, meritocratic, hard hitting identity.
- Acquired a set of players known for 2 way play to make us more difficult to play against and strong in the defensive sense (also with playoff resumes): Coleman, Lewis, Richardson, Pitlick
- Acquired a couple of players known to be ultra goons (back up for Tkachuk so he never has to take it easy): Zadorov, Gudbranson

So yeah, I too am disappointed that dreams of Eichel never came to fruition, but arguably Treliving has addressed the three biggest gripes we had with the team for the last two years.

It's definitely a direction, which is good. I think they over invested in that direction this off season. Luckily most of those deals are for 1 year. If a player doesn't work out then we won't be stuck with an anchor of a contract.

I have a hard time seeing where goals would come from. I believe the offense would have a lot of a harder time scoring because they would be attacking 3 or 4 on 5. Where at least one guy on the ice would contribute next to zero offense. You will have one of Tanev/Zadorov/Gudbranson on the ice at all times. Also, as was mentioned we clearly lack a PP QB. Are we going to run 5 forwards? or is one of Andersson/Hanifin/Valimaki ready to step up?

I think this year every defensive mistake might be magnified. Moreover, I am also worried that it might snowball and the team would start gripping their sticks too tight in the defensive end.

[SnipeShow]

Originally Posted by stemit14

I think Treliving/Sutter have built this team for a physical playoff run where the whistles get put away… we have seen playoffs turn that way every year for decades.

The concern I have is that this may be the first year where that changes. There was so much complaining from the talking heads about the officiating and lack of “superstars” in last years playoff finals. And, much more important… I expect the league to get pressure from their new broadcasting deal with ESPN. I imagine ESPN mentioned in the negotiations that they wanted to see more of McKinnon, McDavid, and Matthews deep in the playoffs and less of Danault, Kotkaniemi, and Matt Martin. That could lead to the league finally cracking down on calls in the playoffs… I have a bad feeling McDavid will be deemed “untouchable” in the playoffs this year by the league/officiating.


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He will definitely be untouchable as he will be out of the rink and on a golf course by then

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[stemit14]

Originally Posted by SnipeShow

He will definitely be untouchable as he will be out of the rink and on a golf course by then

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Touché. I honestly agree that the oilers won’t be making the playoffs… but I also think the demand for more penalty calls in the playoffs from the network will still be there.


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[dino7c]

Originally Posted by stemit14

I think Treliving/Sutter have built this team for a physical playoff run where the whistles get put away… we have seen playoffs turn that way every year for decades.

The concern I have is that this may be the first year where that changes. There was so much complaining from the talking heads about the officiating and lack of “superstars” in last years playoff finals. And, much more important… I expect the league to get pressure from their new broadcasting deal with ESPN. I imagine ESPN mentioned in the negotiations that they wanted to see more of McKinnon, McDavid, and Matthews deep in the playoffs and less of Danault, Kotkaniemi, and Matt Martin. That could lead to the league finally cracking down on calls in the playoffs… I have a bad feeling McDavid will be deemed “untouchable” in the playoffs this year by the league/officiating.


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I highly doubt ESPN wants more Oilers/Leafs

The complaining in the playoffs was a Canadian media fanboy thing IMO. Nobody was complaining about Panthers/Lightning and they were letting the most go.

[868904]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

I was thinking that too, that both Zadorov and Gudbranson would help with clearing the front of the net. However Gudbranson simply wasn't very good at that last season. I hope that analytics are wrong and he will be like Tanev, but right now it's hard to expect anything above a replacement level player.

It's probably wishful thinking on my part, but I do hope that defensive structures and systems implemented by coaches has something to do with defensive defensemen metrics and analyses.

Gudbranson hasn't exactly played for great defensive coaches throughout his career. Best coach he had was probably Mike Sullivan and he's not exactly a defensive structure type coach. Gallant is the other one he played a bit for but that was before he became a good coach. The rest were all noobs like what the Flames players have had to deal with here under Treliving. So it could be that he just never had the right teaching under a coach who really understands defensive play.

Before Sutter, Regher struggled, Commodore and Montador weren't even NHL regulars, and Leopold was a young defenseman. Lots of young defensemen (imagine that with Sutter), turned into quality NHL defensemen under 1 year of Sutter.

Maybe it's too late for Gudbranson, but if Sutter can make him a servicable number 6 who also adds to the tough identity, then it won't be that bad.

[TheIronMaiden]

What is the story with taxi squads this year. This and the stone signing make a lot more sense if guys like Kyllington and Mackey can be held on the roster.