[PGT] still alive but barely

[Sylvanfan]

Well it's been an annoying frustrating season with the Flames for the most part. Felt like they were always playing from behind or trying to give a lead away. The type of season that would push an animal lover inexplicably kick his dog. At least we won't have to watch them get rolled in the playoffs. This group would have been 4 or 5 games at best.

I certainly hope they smarten up and realize they need to rebuild. This team sorely lacks talent and is pretty old. Give out pricey extensions this summer to the pending UFA's and it will be a good decade until this team finds itself within the top half of the playoff bracket. As is...it's going to be hard to fix.

[Goriders]

Not sure why everyone is so down this morning. The scenario is the exact same as before the vancouver game. Winnipeg has to lose 2 which they still do and the Flames have to win out. Which is still the same.

Vancouver has been one of the better teams in the league the last 15 games or so and we took 3 of 4 from them. We beat Wpg in their own barn. Which is a tough out.

I think they’ll beat Nsh and SJ at home. So they need two of SJ, Minn and Col to take care of business. The last two are fairly likely.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

There are people that think Treliving is great. True story.

There's some serious revisionist thinking with that drive by.

I think most of the hockey world thought the team did well in a tough situation and had a good team on paper (GMs job).

Didn't pan out on the ice, but that doesn't take away the fact that the GM put in place a team that was top 3-5 in Stanley Cup odds at the beginning of the season.

[Infinit47]

I enjoyed the comeback, and don't bother to watch shootouts.

I still think the Flames need a total management enema, but at least the players are showing some fight.

[chedder]

It's not exactly the same. With a Flames win, Winnipeg would have needed 4 points to clinch. Now they only need 3 points.

So technically they could have 3 'losses' now and still beat us.

[Jore]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I keep hearing this, but I see no indication that this was not an option this year, after Gaudreau and Tkachuk left.

From LeBrun: https://theathletic.com/3591497/2022...living-lebrun/

Treliving was quick to stress that this isn’t about him. That his front office as a team showed its teeth. That the Flames’ ownership showed a huge commitment, too, in the response, notably the Huberdeau and Kadri contacts. Murray Edwards, co-owner and Flames chairman, in particular, backed the idea of not re-tooling but rather keeping the team in win-now mode.

[Tron_fdc]

Jets going 1-2 isn’t totally unrealistic. Back to back vs SJ then Minnesota. 3 games in 4 nights as well.

Final game of the year vs the avs 2 days later.

It isn’t likely but I wouldn’t be shocked if it happened.

[skcli]

This is in reality the best efforts this Flames team can summon no matter how important the game is. They came out weak and fall behind the 8 ball. Tried their best (e.g. Zadarov, Tanev, Duheur) but fall short because the so call top players are underwhelming. Just look at the PP and the short handed goal against.

I am not looking forward to them making the playoffs because they will be embarrassed by the higher seeds. I look forward to a more competitive team with better hockey skills, hopefully before the new arena is built.

I still have hopes, but not for this current team roster and coaching staff.

[Flamesfan05]

Originally Posted by Bingo

There's some serious revisionist thinking with that drive by.

I think most of the hockey world thought the team did well in a tough situation and had a good team on paper (GMs job).

Didn't pan out on the ice, but that doesn't take away the fact that the GM put in place a team that was top 3-5 in Stanley Cup odds at the beginning of the season.

Thanks for confirming you are one of them.

I believe most people believe he went all in for short term win. He clearly failed. Now the future is dim.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Goriders

Not sure why everyone is so down this morning. The scenario is the exact same as before the vancouver game. Winnipeg has to lose 2 which they still do and the Flames have to win out. Which is still the same.

Not close to the same.

The Jets have to lose two but in one less game.

The odds of losing 2 of 3 vs. 2 of 4 is entirely different .

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by JurassicTunga12

Flames continuing to stay alive in the race

An apt visualization.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

Thanks for confirming you are one of them.

I believe most people believe he went all in for short term win. He clearly failed. Now the future is dim.

Yeah I like Treliving. He makes more good decisions than bad. I think if you adjust for market he's a top ten GM in the league.

The rest of my post stands as accurate. You didn't push back on that at all with your Easter rhyme.

There's a Lebrun post above that takes your Treliving all in point down quickly.

[Burning Beard]

Flames ain't dead yet! The pushback to make it bodes well for next season even if they fall short at the end of the day.

[FormerPresJamesTaylor]

What's your top GM lists? Because I can't fathom Treliving being so high

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Bingo

There's some serious revisionist thinking with that drive by.

Not really. There have been a few of us who have been quick to point out the failings of Brad Treliving but have been shouted down by the Brad Treliving fan club. It doesn't matter what you point out about the flaws in Treliving or the paper thin organization he's "built" (that's being polite) there is a segment, of which you are the leader, that will make excuses for and build narratives that just aren't supported in reality. The failures are long and well documented. Yes, Treliving has made some good moves but he has made as many if not more poor moves. You don't get by on a GM that is .500 in their decision making, especially when it comes to coaching selections and trading away futures that needed to counter the mistakes made.

I think most of the hockey world thought the team did well in a tough situation and had a good team on paper (GMs job).

On paper. And only because they refused to look at the gaps and problems that existed in the roster. It was as obvious as the day was long that the Flames were short a top six winger, preferably a scorer on the right side. It was glaring and mentioned by many posters here. Many of those projections we also dependent on the whole team coming back and the loss of Kylington was a major blow to those hopes. Then there was the concern about Markstrom going full Tommy Salo. Well founded concern which turned out to be right on the nose. Finally there was the Sutter concern. Were the players coming in "Sutter players" and would they peacefully coexist. The projections were nice, but not really supported in any way.

Didn't pan out on the ice, but that doesn't take away the fact that the GM put in place a team that was top 3-5 in Stanley Cup odds at the beginning of the season.

Except he didn't for all the reasons listed above. In a perfect world, maybe. In the real world, not so much. The missing winger, the missing top four blueliner, the missing goaltender, and the missing dynamic of a coach who could use the talent at his disposal proved the house of cards built could not support the weight of expectations.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Every media member close to the team won't even discuss a rebuild because they know it won't happen. What else needs to be said?

Doesn't that say more about how clueless and soft our media is?

[playmaker]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

The most Calgary Flames season it could have been.

We’re going to end up drafting 15th. We have an old, expensive team that is over the (rumoured) salary cap for 2023/2024, and we have a mediocre prospect pool.

This team should not under-react to the irrelevancy of their existence. Time to start planning a roster build from scratch. Hopefully get the foundation in before the new arena is built and online.

Yep, when you look at winning teams in this league the pattern is obvious - there's typically #1G, #1D, #1C and a star winger. And they don't have to be generational talents or stats leaders, just legit for the position.
I can imagine winning it all having just 2 or 3 out of 4 but the Flames have literally NONE of them in place. In Lindholm, Backlund and Kadri they have basically three 2nd line centres. I think Johnny Gaudreau fooled Treliving into thinking that Monahan and Lindholm are bona fide 1st line centres, they are not. Hanifin, Andersson and Weegar would be 2nd pairing Dmen in a championship team IMO. Huberdeau is nowhere near Kucherov or Rantanen this year and the goaltending situation is well known. Besides of that, the team is slow by today's NHL standards.
A rebuild is inevitable at this point. They can still squeeze into the playoffs and try for a miracle but just I don't see the talent, the compete level and all those ingredietns you'd want in a championship team. Just accept the reality and go for a rebuild, here's my proposal:

1) Huberdeau's contract is untradable at this point so just keep him and hope he can rebound to support the rebuild

2) Retain half of Kadri's salary and trade him, at 6x3.5 his contract is palatable for many teams

3) Extend Backlund if he wants to stay, he's exactly the type of player the organization needs as a role model for young guns

4) Blow up the rest, not necesarilly in the offseason and of course make sure the price is right. Grab as many draft picks, high quality prospects and reclamattion projects as possible.

5) Bring a completely new team to the new buildng

[ComixZone]

I don’t agree that Andersson, Hanifin, and Weegar are 2nd pairing defenceman on top teams. I think they’re all #2 guys, but the lack of a game breaking #1 is painfully evident.

The fact that Lindholm, Hanifin, Tanev, Toffoli, and Zadorov are up in 1-year makes the path forward clear in my eyes. A good organization would extract maximum value out of those assets. The team is not close to winning, is (by all reports) dysfunctional as all hell, and the next wave of players does not include a #1 defenceman or a #1 centre - which are at the top of the “Needs” list. It’s time to burn it down.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Originally Posted by Jore

From LeBrun: https://theathletic.com/3591497/2022...living-lebrun/

Yeah, the Flames aren’t going anywhere until ownership changes their philosophy to building a team

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

Not really. There have been a few of us who have been quick to point out the failings of Brad Treliving but have been shouted down by the Brad Treliving fan club. It doesn't matter what you point out about the flaws in Treliving or the paper thin organization he's "built" (that's being polite) there is a segment, of which you are the leader, that will make excuses for and build narratives that just aren't supported in reality. The failures are long and well documented. Yes, Treliving has made some good moves but he has made as many if not more poor moves. You don't get by on a GM that is .500 in their decision making, especially when it comes to coaching selections and trading away futures that needed to counter the mistakes made.



On paper. And only because they refused to look at the gaps and problems that existed in the roster. It was as obvious as the day was long that the Flames were short a top six winger, preferably a scorer on the right side. It was glaring and mentioned by many posters here. Many of those projections we also dependent on the whole team coming back and the loss of Kylington was a major blow to those hopes. Then there was the concern about Markstrom going full Tommy Salo. Well founded concern which turned out to be right on the nose. Finally there was the Sutter concern. Were the players coming in "Sutter players" and would they peacefully coexist. The projections were nice, but not really supported in any way.



Except he didn't for all the reasons listed above. In a perfect world, maybe. In the real world, not so much. The missing winger, the missing top four blueliner, the missing goaltender, and the missing dynamic of a coach who could use the talent at his disposal proved the house of cards built could not support the weight of expectations.

Man you can be long winded.

A team with three solid centers, four top four defenders, above average 5-6 guys (one went AWOL), and a vezina finalist goaltender is a contending hockey team.

Too many good players didn't play well.

But that doesn't change the construction no matter how many words you throw at me.