Battle of Alberta Real Talk

[Robbob]

I think the NHL also looked the other way to help the Oilers. Smith on LTIR because he is old should never have happened. the Cap hit for Keith disappearing because he retired and became a "development coach".

That 6M in magical cap space went a long way in helping them this year getting out of cap hell.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Robbob

I think the NHL also looked the other way to help the Oilers. Smith on LTIR because he is old should never have happened. the Cap hit for Keith disappearing because he retired and became a "development coach".

That 6M in magical cap space went a long way in helping them this year getting out of cap hell.

You know this is only because they have McDavid, too.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

You know this is only because they have McDavid, too.

Exactly. NHL needs their marquee players in the post season. I think even the NHL will throw a little party when McDavid walks in a couple years.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

As much as I hate to say it, I think the Oilers have a real shot this year considering how the league has been officiating to promote McDavid and his team. It all depends whether or not it carries into the playoffs. If the refs put the whistles away as usual, then they are probably screwed. If they keep fabricating penalties every time an Oilers player dives, this could end up being the worst possible time line for Flames fans.

I think they will go far. I mean they made the conference finals last year and they are better now. McDavid is on a mission.
However, I don't think they win it all. I think the cup is going east, likely to Boston. But it would not surprise me one bit if Edmonton makes the finals.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Igottago

I think they will go far. I mean they made the conference finals last year and they are better now. McDavid is on a mission.
However, I don't think they win it all. I think the cup is going east, likely to Boston. But it would not surprise me one bit if Edmonton makes the finals.

They made the finals because Calgary let them. They didn't look good against any opponent last POs.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Robbob

I think the NHL also looked the other way to help the Oilers. Smith on LTIR because he is old should never have happened. the Cap hit for Keith disappearing because he retired and became a "development coach".

That 6M in magical cap space went a long way in helping them this year getting out of cap hell.

And the whole Kane fiasco where he escapes from his contract, and no one really suffers, so he can then sign with the only team that can stand him.

[GreenLantern2814]

It’s hard to beat two of the top-4 players in the world with no top-10 players in the world.

[Reggie Dunlop]

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

Not sure RNH duplicates the year hes having again, but what a treat for them he's been this year. Dude takes less to stay around, and then a few years later doubles his points total

He's everything the Flames wanted out of Huberdeau (same draft year, don't forget) at half the price.

[Steve Bozek]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

He's everything the Flames wanted out of Huberdeau (same draft year, don't forget) at half the price.

Exactly. I would have liked the Huberdeau signing if the cost was cut by 1/3 to 1/2. At $10.5M, I thought the Flames should have said no thanks.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

So what was the "long game" talk? That's actually the opposite of what they've done. Every year they've tried to shortcut their way up the ladder.

It was honestly dumb of me to frame it like that. My bad

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

It’s hard to beat two of the top-4 players in the world with no top-10 players in the world.

No top 50 players arguably

Do the Flame have a top 20 D in the league ? A Top 30 forward ?

You win with elite talent in this league not depth .

We lost our 2 closest to elite players (MT is looking to be and JG more of a “should be your 3rd best player on a cup team) and replaced them with “should have been really good players “.

Who then weren’t really good

People always talk about 04 but the Flames had elite players without argument in Kipper and Iggy .

This team has nothing resembling elite talent , and no path to acquiring in the near term . That’s a recipe for disaster going forward

[Hackey]

At the end of the day I don't think anyone can deny that being an Oiler fan and watching McDavid and Draisaitl on a nightly basis would be extremely exciting. Heading into the playoffs it also must be exciting knowing those two guys can win rounds for you on their own. Guys like Hopkins and Hyman are having huge years so I'm sure they have a lot of optimism heading into the playoffs like most fan bases do. At the end of the day I'd rather be enjoying that than sitting on the sidelines trying to take pride in not tanking. We're watching a horrendously boring product with no signs of anything great for a long time. All signs point to things getting much worse before better. But at least we didn't tank. That's exciting.

[Sainters7]

I still maintain that outside of the Battle of Alberta in the 2nd round last year, the Greasers haven't looked good in a playoff series since probably round 1 vs Sharks in 2017. It took McDavid going into God mode (that he still hasn't come down from) in game 6 vs LA to drag them back from the abyss and eek out a series win against a team regarded as the worst team going into the playoffs last year. Then they got swept by Colorado.

They just always get up for their arch rivals every BoA, it's extra motivation. When they aren't playing us in the playoffs, things seem to go awry for them. They still have playoff demons to exorcise in my opinion, which has mostly been their theme during their McWindow.

[ForeverFlameFan]

The inevitable has happened. McDavid and Draisaitl well in their prime, and their GM FINALLY made a great trade for them with Ekholm. The minute I heard that trade go down I knew they'd string more wins than they should. The silver lining is their goaltending, it's not that good. Skinner is improving, but he;s still in the meh territory. Campbell is also mega meh.

As others have mentioned there isn't really a BoA anymore. When we were dominating the Oilers they were just plain bad. When they finally came out of the ashes because of pure luck from their 4th 1st OA in 6 years (2010-2015), all it took was for one or two more forwards to figure it out and get things going. And Draisaitl was first, RNH is showing some huge promise now, especially with the contract that he has.

You're just going to have to cross your fingers that the Nurse and Campbell contracts are enough to nullify any more good additiions to their lineup. Like I said, Ekholm was one of their best trades they've made, probably since drafting McDavid. Cross your fingers McDavid and/or Draisaitl want out soon. Edmonton will have an extremely hard time fitting them in their system (probably a 30m combined cap hit), and also Bouchard and Broberg likely to get an increased raise as well.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

They made the finals because Calgary let them. They didn't look good against any opponent last POs.

They went 3-7 against the Kings and Avalanche in the playoffs last season and went 0-4 against the Jets the season before. If the officials fall for McDavid embellishment and call a lot of powerplays in the playoffs, the Oilers have a chance to win some rounds but for the most part McDrai and company have looked pretty bad in the playoffs.

[Monahammer]

As Tkachuckwagon succinctly put, the oilers franchise is an absolute stain on professional sports. Nothing but shame for them, even in the face of potentially winning this year.
Also, their fans are the absolute worst. Total scum.

However, this team is better than ours, and IMO it's not close. So what does that mean for us?

It means that our franchise should feel deep shame and needs to scrub the deck with leadership. Preferred scenario for me is literally everyone out and start fresh. But, failing a total gutting, I would greatly prefer keeping Treliving, potentially one step removed from direct management (like POHO) and then building something new beneath him. Conroy would be acceptable in this scenario. Sutter back to the farm and never to be seen again.

[Strange Brew]

I think they are a dangerous team. As long as they are alive, I will have a strong rooting interest in the playoffs at least.

For their opponent, to be clear.

[CroCop]

I hate em but they are gonna walk to the scfs this year. I just hope those good teams in the east don’t beat each other up to much to get there.

[chedder]

Originally Posted by CroCop

I hate em but they are gonna walk to the scfs this year. I just hope those good teams in the east don’t beat each other up to much to get there.

Walk? I think they'll have trouble with both LA and the Avs. Hell, even Vegas isn't an easy out if Stone is healthy.