Post Mortem : What happens now?

[Vinny01]

What I think happens if Johnny walks is the team takes a big run at Forsberg and maybe has a shot there thanks to all the Swedish players on the roster. I think that is a downgrade and a mistake overall but I don’t know if they shift to rebuild just because Johnny leaves.

I think they should go full tear down if Johnny walks because they have some very valuable assets lead by Lindholm and Tkachuk. 2 years at $4.85M for a 27/28 year old number 1 C is a great value that many contenders will find a way to afford.

Markstrom would also have to move and I am not sure he would be interested in waiving but if the team strips it down he might be open to it.

Tkachuk is worth a ton in my opinion and would bring back several building block assets. I do the same with Mangiapane and if he is not interested in a long term fair deal for a 60pt player then see what you can get for him. Hanifin has a bunch of value and could be moved the same with Anderson.

I don’t think going after Bedard is easy but it is a direction and a choice the team could make and they could rebuild their prospect base quickly if they sell off the key pieces of the core.

If Johnny stays then the thought would be retooling this team and trying to win again next year. This is the more realistic option in my opinion but it is ultimately Johnny’s choice.

[PuckSlap]

I’m really sad today..

I feel like this was our year. I have no idea what we’re gonna need to do, to get this back on track.

I’m just being honest here, but I don’t think this team can compete in the playoffs. They don’t have that lethal clutch player.

[chedder]

It's called a lottery for a reason. We'd have to be spectacularly bad and spectacularly lucky to get that #1 ball.

[CaptainCrunch]

I expect that if Johnny had continued to be as good and high profile as he was in the Dallas series we probably wouldn't be talking about the will he sign here question.


But he didn't have a great series against Edmonton, and the fans and media started targetting him as a guy who didn't get it going against the Oilers.


Why would he want to subject himself to the same old ad neaseum questions?


I fully expect that its likely that Johnny will take a look at the easier travel schedule and lower profile East, American market and be gone.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

Oliver Kylington - first full season and knocked it out of the park. Experience should bring steadiness, and has a very bright future.

You might want to add that he had an exceptionally bad playoff, looked consistently overmatched. Likely Tavev's injury hurt him more than anyone, but also shows how much Tanev covered for him.

I think Calgary's needs to ride with him next year, and see if he develops more. No real alternative.

[Mathgod]

I say keep as much of the team together as possible. This is an extremely good team that should have gone far this postseason. Unfortunately they ran out of gas when it mattered most. With better load management and coaching adjustments, they would have been in a much better position to beat the Oilers.

[dissentowner]

If Johnny walks that is the end of Brad's tenure as GM. He should be fired the instant he signs somewhere else. I am pretty sure he has known all year he can get the deal done.

[Shazam]

Try and keep as many core pieces as possible.

They're still fairly young. More importantly, they're inexperienced. They're finally finding out what it takes to win.

They really do need a SC winner than can play on the first two lines.

[Yoho]

If Jonny leaves and the rebuild starts we could easily be in the running for Bedard.

[blankall]

IMO the obvious problem against the Oilers was the defence. Losing Tanev was a massive loss. The Flames were left with a top 4 of Kylington, Andersson, and Hanifin. They all made massive mistakes and could not close things down physically. The good news is that all 3 are only 25, which is very young for top 4 d-men, and they actually have good excuses for playing the way they did. They should continue to get much better.

It's easy to fault Markstrom, but when he's constantly having to deal with McDrai (3 of the best goal scorers in the league) plus Kane coming at him at full speed making tic tac toe plays, it's going to rattle any goalie.

The Flames also had no real offensive threat. Their best weapon from the point was Stone, who is at #6/7 guy with bad aim.

Perhaps the right move is to move Tkachuk for a young top pairing d-man. That worries me though, as I could see a reverse Phaneuf trade, where we move a high end young player for a bunch of lower end spare parts that don't work out...

[CliffFletcher]

There’s no way Murray Edwards lets this team rebuild while he’s trying to get a new arena built.

[Hack&Lube]

If Johnny walks, the window is closed unfortunately despite the solid Swedish core of the team. We don't have a playmaker that can compete on the top level that Edmonton and Colorado have. It will be very hard to replace.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Yoho

If Jonny leaves and the rebuild starts we could easily be in the running for Bedard.

Guys like Lindholm, Tkachuk, Markstrom, Andersson, Mangipane, are too good and will win enough games on their own to prevent the Flames from being in a lottery position.

If Johnny leaves and you want to start a rebuild, you immediately trade Marky, Lindholm and Tkachuk. But that is a dumb move, so they won't.

[Psytic]

Originally Posted by blankall

IMO the obvious problem against the Oilers was the defence. Losing Tanev was a massive loss. The Flames were left with a top 4 of Kylington, Andersson, and Hanifin. They all made massive mistakes and could not close things down physically. The good news is that all 3 are only 25, which is very young for top 4 d-men, and they actually have good excuses for playing the way they did. They should continue to get much better.

It's easy to fault Markstrom, but when he's constantly having to deal with McDrai (3 of the best goal scorers in the league) plus Kane coming at him at full speed making tic tac toe plays, it's going to rattle any goalie.

The Flames also had no real offensive threat. Their best weapon from the point was Stone, who is at #6/7 guy with bad aim.

Perhaps the right move is to move Tkachuk for a young top pairing d-man. That worries me though, as I could see a reverse Phaneuf trade, where we move a high end young player for a bunch of lower end spare parts that don't work out...

Hope for a Hamilton style trade (as in where we got Lindholm and Hannifin and got better ). That D core cant handle fast teams.

[Saqe]

It is truly a pickle, you have to keep Gaudreau no matter what. Letting him walk would be asset mismanagement at its worst. But at the same time can they win with this core? If you bring back both Gaudreau and Tkachuk and commit to them, then you're truly stuck. The team looked great during the regular season but in the playoffs it doesn't look like they are particularly close to winning it all.

[GreenLantern2814]

If Johnny extends, you run it back and try to fine tune the mix. They won a round, fought through adversity, and lost to a team with two top-5 players.

We have 0 top-5 players - it’s tough to win like that. Prioritize the acquisition of another superstar. Bread and Circus, our prospects, and future 1sts should be on the table to acquire one, and he has to play centre.

If Johnny doesn’t sign, nuke it from orbit. Lindholm, Tkachuk, Hanifin, Mangiapane, Markstrom - the returns of those five players would kickstart a rebuild the way we hoped the Iggy/Bo trades would.

The worst Outcome would be Johnny leaves, Tkachuk qualifies himself, and we try to “just get in because anything can happen” before losing 19 for nothing, trading Lindholm for a fraction of what we could’ve, and paying Andrew Mangiapane $6.5M for six years to be our best player.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

What I think happens if Johnny walks is the team takes a big run at Forsberg and maybe has a shot there thanks to all the Swedish players on the roster. I think that is a downgrade and a mistake overall but I don’t know if they shift to rebuild just because Johnny leaves.

I think they should go full tear down if Johnny walks because they have some very valuable assets lead by Lindholm and Tkachuk. 2 years at $4.85M for a 27/28 year old number 1 C is a great value that many contenders will find a way to afford.

Markstrom would also have to move and I am not sure he would be interested in waiving but if the team strips it down he might be open to it.

Tkachuk is worth a ton in my opinion and would bring back several building block assets. I do the same with Mangiapane and if he is not interested in a long term fair deal for a 60pt player then see what you can get for him. Hanifin has a bunch of value and could be moved the same with Anderson.

I don’t think going after Bedard is easy but it is a direction and a choice the team could make and they could rebuild their prospect base quickly if they sell off the key pieces of the core.

If Johnny stays then the thought would be retooling this team and trying to win again next year. This is the more realistic option in my opinion but it is ultimately Johnny’s choice.

Forsberg is UFA? That actually sounds like a good idea. I know he's friends with Jarnkrok

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

There’s no way Murray Edwards lets this team rebuild while he’s trying to get a new arena built.

Could have a team rebuilt and refreshed by the time the new arena is ready.

The same old mediocrity doesn't create excitement.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Could have a team rebuilt and refreshed by the time the new arena is ready.

The same old mediocrity doesn't create excitement.

Canadian fans have patience for a rebuild.

At least, this Canadian fan does.

[Southside]

Started this morning with killing my Sportsnet package. If Hrudey returns on colour, I likely don't renew it.

For the team I think alot hinges on Johnny. Have to get that dealt with quickly so you know where you are at at draft and in free agency. Tre needs to get to work on that now. Every other decision basically has to wait that.