New Look Flames - Thoughts on the roster ahead of camp

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

My thought is if you are a die hard flames fan your pain will be over by mid-April

The pain has no off-season.

[FlamingHomer]

I'm going to go with baby steps and hope they win their season opener.

[calgarywinning]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Rittich should be considered a success story not a failure

Rittich is a major success story, plus you know, everything about him and the fun he brought win or lose was just so enjoyable. I hope he does well in Nashville.

[Yobbo]

I may be in the minority here, but I feel quite optimistic about this year. I think the Flames will surprise a lot of people and make the playoffs. A full year of Darryl Sutter will go a long way to getting this team playing to their full potential.

[SeanCharles]

Originally Posted by Owen15

I’m going to say something that will probably make me wish I’d not.

I think Valimaki will be the #1 d-man this year or next.

Or traded…

I’m still high on him as well.

I believe he will become our best dman eventually as well.

[Mindtravellee]

Originally Posted by Yobbo

I may be in the minority here, but I feel quite optimistic about this year. I think the Flames will surprise a lot of people and make the playoffs. A full year of Darryl Sutter will go a long way to getting this team playing to their full potential.

The opportunity to also have a full training camp with the new coach shouldn't be missed

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Rittich should be considered a success story not a failure

He didn't look good with the leafs.

He had two good starts of 2-3 month spans each. Since that point definitely replacement level play.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by neo45

Right where? They were as close to coming last in the weakest division as they were to making playoffs

Things go wrong for every team every year, the good teams just adjust and keep winning. We were literally the healthiest team in the league in terms of man games lost to injury

So did things go wrong or did a mediocre team play a mediocre season of hockey then get worse in the offseason?

Flames were 3rd in point Percentage of Pacific teams last season. As close to last? They were 2 wins away from a playoff spot. 1 win vs Montreal.

It was a poor showing but no need to make things up

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by FlamingHomer

I'm going to go with baby steps and hope they win their season opener.

Well let's not get carried away...they might win the division but they won't win the opener

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

He didn't look good with the leafs.

He had two good starts of 2-3 month spans each. Since that point definitely replacement level play.

He was un-drafted goalie that the Flames signed and developed into a guy who has played 4 seasons, many as a 1b starter. He has a combined record of 64-40 during those seasons.

He is a success story.

[Sandman]

I LOVE the fact that we went from one of the softer teams in the league to arguably the toughest, and scariest, as well as one of the biggest. Sutter is the big equalizer, and he now has a team that's much closer to his style-almost anything is possible. We also have another thing that we've been missing-an identity. Like just about everyone else though, I think the D is a question mark-but I can't help but believe that Tre has some deals in the works for another top D-man. If not, guys like Hanifin, Andersson, and Val will have to take a few steps forward.

[Samonadreau]

Originally Posted by Sandman

I LOVE the fact that we went from one of the softer teams in the league to arguably the toughest, and scariest, as well as one of the biggest. Sutter is the big equalizer, and he now has a team that's much closer to his style-almost anything is possible. We also have another thing that we've been missing-an identity. Like just about everyone else though, I think the D is a question mark-but I can't help but believe that Tre has some deals in the works for another top D-man. If not, guys like Hanifin, Andersson, and Val will have to take a few steps forward.

Pretty much nailed it. Will need the most out of all the D for sure.

If this is the D going in I THINK we'll be able to defend, especially under Sutter.... just not sure where the points are coming from. That being said ill take 2-1 and 3-2 wins all day.

Really hoping Mackey steps up and grabs that #6 spot. Just not sure Sutter would go with a Maki-Mackey 3rd pair.

[Heavy Jack]

Definitely agree with Sandman. I for one too am so excited to see big hits coming from the D this year with Gudbranson and Zadorov both being known for lowering the boom. Add to that a bottom 6 that has a ton of jam and size through out and I think we will see a hard hitting Flames team this year and as others have mentioned a team with a noticeable identity which is going to be a breath of fresh air. Really can’t wait to see what Sutter and the new staff can do with this group!

[Sylvanfan]

This will be a team that likely is going to be bottom 8 in goals for, so they'll need to be top 3 in goals against if they want to compete for a playoff spot. Markstrom will have to be the guy he was in the first 8 games for the entire season, and he needs to stay healthy.

My biggest concern is the lack of offence from the backend. You might get away with that in 2003-04, but I don't think that will live in this version of the NHL. Overall scoring may not be up as it once was, but most teams getting to the playoffs have at least 1 or 2 guys from the backend who can help generate something offensively. Maybe Hanifin can finally move forward with a steady guy like Tanev beside him.

Overall, I don't like the roster. Many of us do like Daryl as a coach, and they do have a lot of guys who can play his style of game. So maybe they'll be able to win enough 2-1 and 1-0 games. I don't think teams will find the Flames easy to play against. They may be easier to beat due to their inability to score, but I do think teams will feel it more after playing the Flames unlike past years where maybe they had to skate a bit, but didn't find it too taxing to play a pretty soft team.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Not much went right last season. For this season to go better you need some, but perhaps not all, of the following to happen
- Monahan rebounds, even if not to his historic levels, but to an acceptable bar for a 2nd liner
- Tkachuk rebounds
- Markstrom rebounds
- Tanev continues strong play
- Hanifin takes a big step to be the new #1
- Juuso takes a step towards being a second pairing guy
- Andersson rebounds
- Eatbread continues to develop.
- Dube takes a step
- Coleman justifies his contract

There's a lot that COULD go right. If some of that happens I see them as a 7-10 team competing for a playoff spot. If MOST of them go right, I think they can be a little higher. If key players continue to play poorly they are out of the playoff picture and sellers at the TDL

I agree on all points, but must reinforce that we now have one of the coaching staff that ranks amongst the league's best.

That coaching group, only betters the odds of each of those players you shared Jiri, rebounding to their best form.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

This will be a team that likely is going to be bottom 8 in goals for...

The Flames were 19th in 2021, and ranked 12th in even-strength scoring. I just don't see this precipitous drop in offense that some posters are predicting.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

The Flames were 19th in 2021, and ranked 12th in even-strength scoring. I just don't see this precipitous drop in offense that some posters are predicting.

How many games did they get to play against Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, and Ottawa?

The North Division was a collective tire fire defensively.

[howard_the_duck]

My thoughts on the roster: It feels incomplete. They're a couple of moves away from having a really interesting roster, or 2-3 moves short of a rebuild on the other end of the spectrum. Classic tweener team, which this fanbase knows all too well.

The tweaks will be far better suited to Sutter's style, so that's a plus, and some improvement should come from that.

But, there's a weird feeling with this offseason. I can't quite put my finger on it, but seeing the (once) aggressive Treliving really dialed back, I can't help but think ownership is sitting on the fence on the direction of the team right now.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by howard_the_duck

My thoughts on the roster: It feels incomplete. They're a couple of moves away from having a really interesting roster, or 2-3 moves short of a rebuild on the other end of the spectrum. Classic tweener team, which this fanbase knows all too well.

The tweaks will be far better suited to Sutter's style, so that's a plus, and some improvement should come from that.

But, there's a weird feeling with this offseason. I can't quite put my finger on it, but seeing the (once) aggressive Treliving really dialed back, I can't help but think ownership is sitting on the fence on the direction of the team right now.

I think this is Treliving’s, Gaudreau’s, and Tkachuk’s final season as Flames.

Gaudreau is going to be eager to sign with a team that wants to lock him up without hesitation. The fact that he isn’t already signed makes me personally believe his time here is drawing to a close.

Tkachuk I believe is going to want to play somewhere that is making visible steps towards actually contending, or somewhere that has won (like St. Louis).

Treliving has accomplished nothing meaningful in his time here.

I think we’re watching an end of an era of Flames hockey, even if we do make it into the playoffs (which I think is fairly likely). I imagine this season plays out very similarly to all the seasons since Treliving arrived here. A bubble team that may or may not make the playoffs, but if they do they will once again be exposed as not having the talent to win.

[Sandman]

All this talk about the offence from the D takes me back to the 2014(?) Team USA WJC Summer Showcase. The Defensemen there included Charlie McAvoy, Zach Werenski, Tony DeAngelo, Brandon Carlo, and Will Butcher-but the scouts came to see Noah Hanifin, and they raved about him as if he was a man amongst boys. It would be great if Sutter could find some way of getting him to fulfill that potential.