How are you feeling about the flames so far?

[nik-]

I honestly don't care anymore until playoff time. Show me something in playoffs.

They're just games now, and obviously it's nicer to see a win, but I want some of the meaningful wins.

[Knightslayer]

Feeling great. As long as there is effort I am happy.

[Shazam]

I was hopeful that Sutter would turn the team around.

This group of players are hard working and intelligent. They need a coach that can tell them the right things to do. That's something that's actually really hard for players to do themselves.

Hopefully they can keep it up and as other teams adjust they can adapt as well.

I wish Tre would've just backed a dump truck of money to a top-tier coach earlier. Tippett would've been a great choice.

[bluejays]

This team did alright last year or the year before early on as well. Everyone was high on them here but I think the core isn't up to snuff (MK, JG, SM). Defence is super shallow as well. This isn't a cup contender as they're missing a lot of talent up front, though the third and fourth line seem to be alright. Skeptical at this point because the aforementioned core has failed each year.

[Hockey-and_stuff]

Originally Posted by dash_pinched

Banking points early is never a bad thing. You know there will be a 3 or 4 game losing skid at some point in the season, so this current streak will offset that skid.

Exactly. In previous years that 3 or 4 game winning streak never materialized and we were always in a hole. This at least gives us a chance to stay afloat when things go sour.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

House of Cards.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Enjoying watching games again...and it's been a while since that was the case.

There will be ups & downs this season, but I'm just glad to be enjoying Flames hockey again. The bad coach era really sucked the joy out of the game for me.

[Jacks]

Amazing the difference a high end veteran coach can make, Sutter is a calming influence who is getting the most out of the players. So many years have been wasted with terrible coaching. Team is playing a bit above their heads right now but I'll enjoy it while it lasts, nice to see entertaining hockey again.

[Itse]

Meh.

[djsFlames]

I trust in Sutter to make us a winning team. No doubt around him.

It won't be this good all year but they are more resilient, look better conditioned, have a more uptempo system that will squeeze more points out of games and a solid tandem that can make the big saves.

They're good enough to see 1-2 rounds in the pacific, but they're roughly an Eichel and a defense upgrade short of entering the contention conversation. So do with that what you will, Mr. Treliving.

[Burning Beard]

Give the players a specific role and let them be a part of a bigger picture and look what happens. Clearly they weren't playing for each other last year with Ward but I'd say Sutter has changed that. There will be times they lose this year and the negative folks will rejoice, but having a good coach who can right the ship will be very important and allow them to get back on course. They will be a hard out in the playoffs having played that style of game all season.

[MJK]

A+

Winnings games and complete compete level is there. Outplaying everyone so far. What more can you ask for?

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Enjoying watching games again...and it's been a while since that was the case.

There will be ups & downs this season, but I'm just glad to be enjoying Flames hockey again. The bad coach era really sucked the joy out of the game for me.

Bad Coach Era 4.0 of the millenium

2001-2003
Sutter
2006-07
Keenan
2009-2012
Hartley
2016-2021
Sutter

[Kovaz]

Cautiously optimistic. IMO the biggest question marks coming into the year were:


1. Finding an effective 2nd D pair
2. Generating offence from the middle 6 forwards


I was reasonably confident Markstrom would bounce back under Sutter, team D would be solid, and the top line would score some goals. But so far we're 2/2 on the things I was worried about. As long as Kylington keeps it up over a larger sample of games I'm feeling good about our D, and Backlund-Coleman looks like instant chemistry on the "3rd" line. I'm lukewarm about the other 2 lines though - unless Mangiapane scores 50 we'll need more out of Monahan and Dube. Definitely more good than bad though

[Erick Estrada]

All they can do in October is win the games on their schedule and they have achieved that for the most part. The Ducks game bothers me a bit as they had it in the bag but that's going to happen over 82 games. It's going to take a few months before we get a read on how good this team really is but it feels somewhat sustainable as long as the guys scoring don't all go cold at once.

[blankall]

I was one of the few that was optimistic from the get go. I really liked what I saw under Sutter at the end of last year, after that small adjustment period. I was really hoping that the top line, especially, would continue their great play into this year.

There have been so many years in the past, where I've thought the team looked great on paper, but needed a couple of guys to take a step forward. It looks like it's finally happening this year with guys like Mangiapane and Kylington filling major holes.

I was also optimistic about Coleman. The acquisition was eerily similar to the Brouwer and Neal ones. The difference being that Coleman was coming from a tweener position on the Lightning and looked far more capable of creating his own offence from the 3rd line and far more willing to get into the corners and boards. So far it looks like third time's a charm.

Overall, outside of Tampa, the level of competition in the NHL is not that great. Montreal proved last year that any team can go far in the playoffs once they're in. People holding their breaths for some kind of tear down that is going to result in the Flames emerging as some clear contender are waiting around for something that is very very unlikely. In the new NHL parity is king and there are very few contenders. You can't even do what Pitts or Chicago (or what Edmonton tried to do) with building with multiple #1-3s in a row anymore. The new draft rules prevent that.

[Macho0978]

I really like our 1st and 3rd line. I think that will stick all year. I believe that Pitlick Coleman and Backlund will be one of the best 3rd lines in the league

Our first line has potential to be one of the best as really Tkachuk hasn't produced that much yet.

At some point Mangiapane and Dube will slow up. Ritchie eventually will hurt their play and when they hit a dry patch this team probably loses a bit more than they have been.

I think the key is Monahan. When Richardson comes back I assume Monahan will center Dube and Mangiapane. Monahan needs to produce and if he can return to something close to his old form then maybe the 2nd line will keep it up. If he drags that line down this team will fall in the standings.

Right now our d has been very good. At some point guys like Gudbrannson and Valimaki will have bad games and cost us.

Absolutely love Kylington and Tanev so far but is Kylington really this good? His speed is elite so maybe this is his breakout year but a bit skeptical he is this good.

I'm fine with the goalies. Markstrom's numbers are great but he has had some off games so I think he can keep it up.

What's different this year for past years is they have played great almost every period. To me this is a Sutter thing and that is our x factor. Will he finely get the most out of this group? Still early but looking great so far.

Monahan, Kylington, Valimaki are the keys to this team. Dube and Mangiapane have been great and will slow up but I'm confident they are just growing as players and they are evolving into 2nd line players (Mangiapane might be 1st line caliber). Kylington and Valimaki always have had potential and Kylington has never really got a crack and Valimaki had a horrible rookie year but it is realistic that they are way better than they played last year as they get older and more confident.

Monahan needs to step up or we should just dump him in a trade and call up one of Zary or Pelletier at the deadline. They can't be any worse than he has been the last year and a half

[BigFlameDog]

Optimistic for sure. I was of the thought they weren't even close to as bad as they showed last year or even the season before. Bad coaching, covid crap, more bad coaching.

I thought it was really bad under Gully, ok under Peters and terrible under Ward so expected things to be much better under Sutter. I wasn't sour on the talent.

That said, it's early and I am a Flames fan so I still find myself in the fetal position on the couch covering my eyes regularly during the games.

[TheIronMaiden]

It's a long season but a Good start buys a lot of space.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I was optimistic as the signings were happening in the off-season and saw a legitimate attempt at building an identity here. I am even more optimistic now that I see the defencemen moving the puck up the ice faster (it isn't Brodie/Giordano/Hamilton esque, but it is working!).


As I said in last night's PGT, I still believe this team has more room to improve. Though their metrics have been rather sparkling, I do think they will improve a bit further yet as I do think that players are still figuring out their roles and the team overall is still learning (as Darryl himself stated in the post-game press conference).


I expect a damn exciting year where they at least challenge for 1st in the division. This is huge, as I don't see a contender in the west outside of Colorado.