GRIT Index 23-24

[Phaneufenstein]

As mentioned in other threads...
The ol' index looks pretty low for the upcoming season.

Could be a concern after a few years of having Looch stare guys down.
Never advocated for retaining him specifically, but there is a hole that hasn't been filled so far.

Who does the team have that can drop the gloves if needed?
Likely Dennis Gilbert, but he's not even a regular in the lineup with Kylington's return.

Who can the team target to acquire to increase overall toughness?
Should they? Could we see some PTOs? Kind of hard to imagine this given the recent talk of youth infusion.

The designated face-puncher is a thing of the past, but intimidation and contact are still very much in the mix.

I'm guessing Conroy realizes this, but haven't seen any moves made that help.

[Finger Cookin]

What does that stand for again? Get Ready It's Timetowinthecup?

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Phaneufenstein

As mentioned in other threads...
The ol' index looks pretty low for the upcoming season.

Could be a concern after a few years of having Looch stare guys down.
Never advocated for retaining him specifically, but there is a hole that hasn't been filled so far.

Who does the team have that can drop the gloves if needed?
Likely Dennis Gilbert, but he's not even a regular in the lineup with Kylington's return.

Who can the team target to acquire to increase overall toughness?
Should they? Could we see some PTOs? Kind of hard to imagine this given the recent talk of youth infusion.

The designated face-puncher is a thing of the past, but intimidation and contact are still very much in the mix.

I'm guessing Conroy realizes this, but haven't seen any moves made that help.

Players on the Flames that can drop the gloves:
Kadri, Z, Weegar, Gilbert, and very rarely Tanev.

I don't think we need a heavyweight. Punish the other team with big hits and physical play instead. Having a good PP also goes a long way in insuring the other team doesn't take liberties.

[soulchoice]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

Players on the Flames that can drop the gloves:
Kadri, Z, Weegar, Gilbert, and very rarely Tanev.

I don't think we need a heavyweight. Punish the other team with big hits and physical play instead. Having a good PP also goes a long way in insuring the other team doesn't take liberties.

Agreed, not many guys on the Flames will drop the gloves now and be effective. I’d not include Tanev on the list though. Sure, he is a warrior and plays a hard nose game but he has only had 2 fights in his career.

[CalgaryFan1988]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

Players on the Flames that can drop the gloves:
Kadri, Z, Weegar, Gilbert, and very rarely Tanev.

I don't think we need a heavyweight. Punish the other team with big hits and physical play instead. Having a good PP also goes a long way in insuring the other team doesn't take liberties.

Kadri?

I think you could have left him off the list.

14 NHL fights and 2 wins (according to hockey fights).

[Redrum]

You don't need a heavyweight necessarily, but you do need somebody. Especially if you plan on playing more kids. Gilbert is tough enough and actually seems to enjoy it, but yeah you want a regular guy in there.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by CalgaryFan1988

Kadri?

I think you could have left him off the list.

14 NHL fights and 2 wins (according to hockey fights).

I wasn't saying the Flames are going to be winning a lot of fights, but those guys can fight, and will drop their gloves.

Lucic only had 3 fights last year! I get the intimidation factor, but I don't see the Flames getting into 19 fights like they did last year and the year before, and I don't think that's entirely a bad thing.

[Strange Brew]

I hope those kinds of players are available easily enough on waivers.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Hate having an enforcer. Wasted roster spot.
And sometimes they "honor the code" when the other team needs to change momentum.
It's silly and dumb.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Phaneufenstein

ld be a concern after a few years of having Looch stare guys down.
Never advocated for retaining him specifically, but there is a hole that hasn't been filled so far.

Most overrated aspect of Lucic's time in Calgary. Did nothing against the Oilers and let Dube and Tanev fight Trouba.
Give me pests that play on the line and grind guys down versus a slow enforcer. Hopefully they can get a few speedy versions of Nieminen. That guy was one of the best agitators.

[Shazam]

What’s the correlation to truculence levels?

[Cali Panthers Fan]

When was the last time anyone can even remember Lucic fighting? Seems like he didn't do it once all last season.

Fighting is going away...real soon. I'm more concerned with general toughness and ability to check guys/fight through checks than fighting. I don't even care about big hits anymore (Zadorov not withstanding). Being gritty is more about being Rod Brind'amour, not Bob Probert.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Klapka

[ForeverFlameFan]

Don't need to sign one unless we REALLY need one. And that's a huge emphasis on need. Lucic wasn't even doing what he was employed to do, he rarely fought.

If we're comortably sitting in a playoff spot, maybe you can find one for cheap. Hathaway is with the Flyers for example, maybe we could get him for a reasonable deal. We don't necessarily need to address this until later if need be. Kadri, Mangiapane, Coleman are a few off of the top of my head that get in the dirty areas and stir up trouble after the whistle. What more do you need? Fighting is going away anyway.

[Freddy]

I think Zadorov almost single handedly gives the Flames the minimum intimidation factor necessary. I would like him to be extended for another multi year contract because he does bring the beef, big hits, ability to clear scrums infront of the net, and is a pretty good defenseman in his own right. Weegar also knows how to take care of his own.

[Cheese]

Vegas had a total of 4 fights last year.

Florida had 1 if I'm to believe hockeyfights. Com

[Bingo]

I'm ready to let go of the fighting era ...

I get that it's moving away, have always found it interesting to see MMA rising in the US with the NHL trying to avoid fighting though, but that's a different argument.

With Lucic though I don't think it comes down to fighting majors. It's more complicated than that. How many guys honestly were willing to fight him? What was his affect on the ice that isn't measured in fight totals? Will his absence mean more guys are run?

Just asking the questions, because I honestly don't know.

Guessing it's a bigger impact than some are willing to admit and less impactful than others assume.

[btimbit]

I think I said this in another thread recently but whatever, I'll just repeat it. I love physical hockey, and fighting, and seeing the NHL turn from a physical team game slowly into a basketball-ish game that focuses more individual skill makes me a little sad

but

In the modern NHL where they just call every small penalty, even in the playoffs, I think it's smarter for teams to not get too caught up in chasing toughness. Skilled grit like Rasmus Andersson, I'm all for. But let's not worry about who's going to throw punches, it's just not necessary

[The Cobra]

Since the GRID index contains "blocked shots", and blocked shots are usually a function of dmen who get continually out possessed of the puck, I question how accurate this is for its intended function.

Teams that give up the most shots often lead in blocked shots.

[Phaneufenstein]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I'm ready to let go of the fighting era ...

I get that it's moving away, have always found it interesting to see MMA rising in the US with the NHL trying to avoid fighting though, but that's a different argument.

With Lucic though I don't think it comes down to fighting majors. It's more complicated than that. How many guys honestly were willing to fight him? What was his affect on the ice that isn't measured in fight totals? Will his absence mean more guys are run?

Just asking the questions, because I honestly don't know.

Guessing it's a bigger impact than some are willing to admit and less impactful than others assume.

Thanks for actually reading my post.

I didn't advocate for having an enforcer, like many in the thread assume.

The bolded are the same questions I'm asking and how it will affect the the way the team plays during the regular season and potentially playoffs.

Dirtbags like E.Kane etc, are likely to be a lot more effective at their dirtbag tricks without that presence on the Flames.

How can this be mitigated and is management looking at options and what those options can be?