Former Flames player performance thread - 2022/23 season

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

so is this season showing that lindholm was the weakest member of that top line ? or at least the most "complementary" player? or do people just see it as lindy is having a slow start

I see it as a small sample size. Huberdeau has been the most disappointing to me. Not that he hasn't made some nice plays here and there, but he hasn't been dominant on the ice either.

I expect both players will start producing more eventually.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Correct -- Valimaki and Christian Fischer are both +2, everyone else on the team is either 0 or a negative (Gostisbehere is last with a -9).

It's obviously not a perfect stat but it's still worth mentioning...

to be fair playing more games and harder matchups...the more games and minutes you play with the Yotes the worse the plus/minus will be

[tvp2003]

^^ Agree 100%

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by TheoFleury

He wanted to stay, she wanted to stay

Weird how it still didn't happen

Was his mom the final say so?

You can find this stuff easily enough, but I believe it was more like this:

He wanted to play close to home.

She preferred to stay in Calgary and start a family there.

When the offers were not as strong as he had hoped, they compromised and landed in CBJ—not Canada, not home, but not so far away.

Sent from my SM-G986W using Tapatalk

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

so is this season showing that lindholm was the weakest member of that top line ? or at least the most "complementary" player? or do people just see it as lindy is having a slow start

I don't think it's a slow start. Elias never takes a shift off and plays to his identity every game. Lindholm's biggest is issue is that he's not a prototypical #1 center IMO. He doesn't drive play up the middle of the ice, he deferred to Gaudreau and Tkachuk to do the heavy lifting for him in that department.

So is Lindholm the ideal center to play with Huberdeau? Probably not. I know for myself, I didn't see that combo working from day one. In theory, it probably made sense to substitute a 115 point player with another 115 point player, but that's not how hockey works unfortunately. Huberdeau and Gaudreau play completely different styles.

From what I've seen, Huberdeau needs someone who can push the pace of play for him, someone who can drive defenses back and give him the time and space to work his magic and find his line mates. I do still wonder if Backlund could work well with Jonathan, that remains to be seen.

But as for Lindholm, I think a line that's focused heavily on checking would be ideal for him. He's a got a heavy stick and a ton of jam. He has no problem playing grinder hockey and that's not a bad thing. The 4th line is doing that right now and they're producing a lot at 5 on 5 right now.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

I think it's mostly chemistry. Especially when you have 2 new wingers, one of which is the new shiny toy the team traded for that can rack up huge points. Might be trying to force some passes and plays that aren't there, the three were still not totally comfortable together, you start squeezing the stick and pressing, and that can affect your entire game. Lindy is still a great player. Just needs to be comfortable with his wingers and the confidence will come back. Not worried.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

I think it's mostly chemistry. Especially when you have 2 new wingers, one of which is the new shiny toy the team traded for that can rack up huge points. Might be trying to force some passes and plays that aren't there, the three were still not totally comfortable together, you start squeezing the stick and pressing, and that can affect your entire game. Lindy is still a great player. Just needs to be comfortable with his wingers and the confidence will come back. Not worried.

Maybe it's the lack of chemistry, although it's possible it could just be the player themselves. Tkachuk has also had zero problem fitting into Florida's equally differing system. But Hubderdeau conversely, has had a really tough time adjusting in the same time frame that Kadri has had and he's fit like glove from day 1. Maybe it's just me, but I know I'm not seeing the types of things shift by shift that I think Darryl wants to see and it has 100% reflected in his ice time.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1587897429403238403

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

so is this season showing that lindholm was the weakest member of that top line ? or at least the most "complementary" player? or do people just see it as lindy is having a slow start

That's pretty common knowledge IMO. Lindholm does some good things without the puck and is a good finisher. He made it easier for Gaudreau and Tkachuk to do their thing offensively. However he's not nearly as gifted a player as the other two and his offensive stats were a product of playing between two of the best wingers in the game. You can argue it was the league's best line at even strength so it was a great blend of overall talent that complemented each other. I still think Huberdeau and Lindholm could make for a really good line but I think the line would need a RW that can carry the puck and is a solid passer. Toffoli actually hasn't been bad this season but isn't a great skater and is more of a finisher than a puck distributor and I'm not sure he's an ideal fit for that line.

[dino7c]

Lindholm has 5 points in 8 games while "struggling" leagues hardest strength of schedule too. Wouldn't be shocked if he was back around ppg when they get rolling.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by TheoFleury

He wanted to stay, she wanted to stay

Weird how it still didn't happen

Was his mom the final say so?

Man, I hate all the speculation and agree with posters that make emotional guesses regarding a spouse is cringy, but just because of recent posts again suggesting that his wife wanted to leave or other incorrect speculation towards Johnny - for clarification as close as you can get - Gaudreau's wife wanted Calgary over New Jersey/Philly because she was not a fan of Johnny's partying friends and lifestyle on the east coast, and made really close girl friends in Calgary and saw our city as a place to raise a family with Johnny away from the partying lifestyle and close to her girl friend circle. She loved it here with Johnny and the separation from everything back home, and was already looking to get permanent work here in anticipation of the possibility of staying here for years.

Johnny himself was open to anything up until the final day, including Calgary, but preferred New Jersey/Philly and really wanted to see the offers, thinking they'd be in the $11-$13AAV range. Ultimately they made a choice as a family to go to Columbus (for less than New Jersey) to be away from the partying lifestyle of Johnny's home and friends but close enough to travel to friends and family of both Johnny and his wife.

That is the truth from a surefire source close to the situation and hopefully can put to bed the weird/incorrect guesses by so many posters. If you don't believe us then don't believe us, I guess.

[jayswin]

Basically, I'll boo Gaudreau because sports is for fun and he left when he was suggesting that there was chance until 12th hour, even though he was fully allowed to do so. The booing won't be out of anger, but because sports is fun and booing a former player is fun.

But the important message here for posters that claim to be connected and blame Mrs. Guadreau is that I can confidently claim that you are completely incorrect and that if it was all her decision then Johnny would have signed in Calgary well before the trade deadline.

[jayswin]

And honestly, if Johnny had known the market then he would have agreed with Meridith and signed here. They were anticipating offers in the $11-$13AAV range and they didn't come.

Johnny liked it here and would have stayed here for the offer Brad presented with 20/20 vision, his wife loved it here. The offers league wide didn't work out. That is the story. Still seeing posts about his wife controlling the situation are hilarious. I have no reputation or attempts at being a news breaker here and don't care, honestly. If you don't believe it you don't believe it.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by jayswin

And honestly, if Johnny had known the market than he would have agreed with Meridith and signed here. They were anticipating offers in the $11-$12AAV range and they didn't come.

Johnny liked it here and would have stayed here for the offer Brad presented with 20/20 vision, his wife loved it here. The offers league wide didn't work out. That is the story. Still seeing posts about his wife controlling the situation are hilarious.

IDK by all accounts the Flames offered him with 7x10.5 on free agency day when he hadn't signed anywhere

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by dino7c

IDK by all accounts the Flames offered him with 7x10.5 on free agency day when he hadn't signed anywhere

Yep, that happened for sure. Not close enough to know the discussion on that offer but the speculation is that they had felt that they had burned the bridge after how discussions went in the final hours on the last day, and had already moved on to leaving Calgary. Which jives with Guadreau's comments in interviews shortly after.

"Once we decided we weren't returning to Calgary".

[Sandman]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

I don't think it's a slow start. Elias never takes a shift off and plays to his identity every game. Lindholm's biggest is issue is that he's not a prototypical #1 center IMO. He doesn't drive play up the middle of the ice, he deferred to Gaudreau and Tkachuk to do the heavy lifting for him in that department.

So is Lindholm the ideal center to play with Huberdeau? Probably not. I know for myself, I didn't see that combo working from day one. In theory, it probably made sense to substitute a 115 point player with another 115 point player, but that's not how hockey works unfortunately. Huberdeau and Gaudreau play completely different styles.

From what I've seen, Huberdeau needs someone who can push the pace of play for him, someone who can drive defenses back and give him the time and space to work his magic and find his line mates. I do still wonder if Backlund could work well with Jonathan, that remains to be seen.

But as for Lindholm, I think a line that's focused heavily on checking would be ideal for him. He's a got a heavy stick and a ton of jam. He has no problem playing grinder hockey and that's not a bad thing. The 4th line is doing that right now and they're producing a lot at 5 on 5 right now.

I agree for the most part, but I have to respectfully disagree about Huberdeau needing an elite play-driver to put up numbers, as he had 115 pts last year playing primarily with Bennett and Duclair-neither of which I would classify as play-drivers. In fact, both of those guys benefited from playing with Huby. I think the issue is that Sutter employs a very details-oriented system that will take time for him (and Weegar) to get used to, but both should be fine. Florida played a bit more run-and-gun.

[JohnnyB]

That all sounds believable to me. It's just crazy of Johnny to have expected he would be getting offers in that range when restricting his own market size and not giving teams time to prepare. He really communicated his situation very poorly if he was aiming to get such high salary. He must have either been getting some bad advice or he was just a bit delusional. Either way, it seems he played a once in a lifetime hand right into a lesser result via poor judgment.

[MissTeeks]

Sounds about right lol.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1588204734082695171

[FanIn80]

[bdubbs]

Stupid handsome Monahan. Haven't been paying attention to the Habs--how has he looked this season?