[GDT] Preseason: Flames @ Jets. 6pm MT

[Eric Vail]

Originally Posted by flambers

Backlund is 3rd line center for at least 1 if not 2 more years.

Kerins can't play 4th line, he is not a energy type of a guy, nor is he great at face offs (i.e. same thing with Zary)

I would think that line is "Lomberg, Kirkland and Klapka"

Remember where Fleury played as a rookie, 4th line centre. They had Gilmour, Nieuwendyk and Otto as the #1-3 centres respectively.

You don't have to only have grinders on the fourth line.

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

Remember where Fleury played as a rookie, 4th line centre. They had Gilmour, Nieuwendyk and Otto as the #1-3 centres respectively.

You don't have to only have grinders on the fourth line.

Agreed. A 4th line with speed, a strong forecheck, and some scoring prowess is just as intimidating as a bunch of slow, low-skilled grinders. It's past time to reinvent the Flames' 4th line. No need to keep borderline speed and skill at the expense of youth, speed, and skill.

[dammage79]

If I had my way for deploying the D corps:

Bahl-Weegar
Grushnikov-Parekh
Kuznetsov-Pachal/Bruz with BRZ taking over full time and Pachal getting spot duty. Solo as the 8th d man.

Waivers won't let that happen this year though. But I think it's clear that the Flames are really packed with good d men.

[Wastedyouth]

Grushnikov looked better last night than at any point on the Wranglers last year.

That's great to see!

[Toonage]

Kind of makes you wonder why he hadn’t gotten into any games until yesterday.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Southside

Perhaps with the uninspiring backup battle the Flames will be closely monitoring the waiver wire for a backup?

One has been good and one is all they need

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by BigThief

Looking at the roster and how training camp has shaped up I don't think Conroy and crew have too many hard decisions to make. Unless they're emotionally attached to some players waiving Bean, Miromanov and Kirkland is a no brainer. Joel Hanley as well. Plenty of talk about Kerins needing to play up the roster as well, but if he's better than Farabee, play with there.

Also full props to Kerins, this is a guy that's never impressed me too much. He seemed utterly lost at times but the Flames were patient. Couldn't stick in the AHL as a 20 year old, slowly found his game as a 21 year old, and really formed into a good player at 22. There is no way you send him down at this point, and it's not even a waiver discussion, he's been good he should be with the big club.

Steinberg, after the game seemed pretty certain they would keep Bean, a the 7th D. One of the reasons he mentioned was that no owner likes to keep a lot of one way contracts on the AHL roster, that's one of the reasons he doesn't see both Bean and Miromanov starting the season in the AHL.

Steinberg's 14 forwards: Huberdeau, Kadri, Coronato, Zary, Frost, Sharangovich, Coleman, Backlund, Farabee, Pospisil, Klapka, Lomberg, Kerins, Kirkland.

Here he mentions that the Pospisil C experiment failed, and he could see the 4th line being Lomberg - Kirkland - Pospisil to start.

Steinberg's D-pairings:
Hanley - Weegar
Bahl - Andersson
Pachal - Parekh
Bean

Wolf
Prosvetov

Personally, I hope Steinberg is wrong, and that both Kuznetsov, and Kerins stay with the team and play meaningful minutes off the bat.

[Toonage]

Steinberg has an almost bizarre infatuation with Kirkland.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Steinberg has an almost bizarre infatuation with Kirkland.

He's Backlund 2.0.

He absolutely loves the guy. His key arguments for Kirkland over Kerins: Faceoffs, PK, defensivly responsible, money in the shootout.

I think that Frost will take over most of those responsibilities ahead of Kirkland, and I'd rather see the team get some more offense in Kerins.

[Toonage]

That shootout bit bugs me. Teams and goalies would have figured him out. That heater was not going to go on all season like he’s just somehow unstoppable in the shootout no matter what.

He’s almost 30, slower coming off of a major injury and his skill set is replicated elsewhere.

[flambers]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

He's Backlund 2.0.

He absolutely loves the guy. His key arguments for Kirkland over Kerins: Faceoffs, PK, defensivly responsible, money in the shootout.

I think that Frost will take over most of those responsibilities ahead of Kirkland, and I'd rather see the team get some more offense in Kerins.

Personally if Kerins is on the 4th line, I doubt the 4th line is going to generate much in terms of offense, Lomberg had 3 goals last season.

Remember the number of minutes that line plays,

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by flambers

Personally if Kerins is on the 4th line, I doubt the 4th line is going to generate much in terms of offense, Lomberg had 3 goals last season.

Remember the number of minutes that line plays,

Would you rather him on the 4th line or on waivers?

Lomberg I expect to be more and more in and out of the lineup, depending on opposition. But with more offensive players than Rooney he might have more offence. He has speed. And with a bigger role in Fla he had 12 goals.

The point wouldn't be for Kerins to have a lot of offence anyway. It'd be to have him in the NHL at NHL game speed.

[flambers]

Flames have to either find a top 9 role for him,

Or he is likely on waivers,

[Redrum]

I was thinking maybe Posp-Kerins-Klapka as a possibility. The team also put itself in a position where it can't really afford to throw away centers and needs to shed some wingers.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by flambers

Personally if Kerins is on the 4th line, I doubt the 4th line is going to generate much in terms of offense, Lomberg had 3 goals last season.

Remember the number of minutes that line plays,

Lomberg also put up 12, and 9 goal(in 55GP) seasons with FLA. That line looked dangerous last year down the stretch, especially once Pospisil/Klapka became mainstays on that line.

Kerins - Sharangovich - Pelletier was also a fun 4th line for a spell, outscoring the opposition 4-0. Lomberg - Kirkland - Coronato was also amazing for their brief stint, outscoring the opposition 3-0. I thought Rooney was somewhat of the culprit behind the lack of offense.

Anyway, I'll take the over on Lomberg scoring 5 goals this season if he's a regular in the rotation. I could also see the 4th line scoring at least 20–25 goals this season.

[dissentowner]

If Kerins makes this team it's as the 13th forward. You can't play him on line 4, he doesn't work there. You either keep him in case an injury happens in the top 9 or you waive him.

[dammage79]

Honzek -Kerins-Gridin as the 4th line. Do it.

[SuperMatt18]

The problem is the coach has the view that the 4th line has to be grinders

On a rebuilding team it should be a way to break in young players.

Pospisil-Kerins-Klapka could be a perfectly fine 4th line that combines some skill and grit while also being younger

Kirkland can go to the AHL and Lomberg can be 13th forward

[Ba'alzamon]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

Personally, I hope Steinberg is wrong, and that both Kuznetsov, and Kerins stay with the team and play meaningful minutes off the bat.

He is. The Flames are going to do 13 forwards and 8 defensemen, like last year.

[dammage79]

I trust Megan Mickelson's take on Honzek. He's developing into a solid PK player and honestly, with his offensive skills still a work in progress, the 4th line is perfect for him for right now. Plus when his offense does pop eventually, it's an added boon to the overall team scoring and makes the depth dangerous to other teams.