Quote:
Originally Posted by ricardodw
Interesting that the persistent opinion that the Oilers will remain as a doormat team as it was during the Lowe dynasty.
Chiarelli based on his body of work in Boston is significantly smarter than Lowe.
His single glaring error was trading for Reinhart for 16 & 33 Reinhart is still on his ELC and an 865k cap hit and a 70 k AHL salary. He is closer to playing in the NHL than any d-man available at the #16 spot.. including the #53 and #60 pick.
That is pretty much a wash with what the Stars gave to the Flames for the Russell rental.
If he has the cap space to take advantage of a short term deal for Russell I don't see how this would be a bad thing.
He has addressed the Oilers Goalie situation with Talbot. He has been making the moves that Lowe wouldn't changing fancy forwards for solid defense. He has changed the feel of the Oilers adding Maroon and Lucic ...
I sincerely hope that past performance does not reflect future returns as I would like the Flames to win more than 1 playoff series every 12 years.
Imagine the fun playing the Oilers in the 2nd round.
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I don't think they will be a doormat, but I feel they have now elevated themselves merely to the 80-90 point range, and that's if everything goes right. They are one long term injury to Sekeras, Klefbom or Larsson from being a doormat. Zero organizational depth will do that for you. But it will be labeled as 'bad luck' when the cold, hard reality that injuries can happen slaps them in the face... again.
They are definitely improved in the size and toughness area though, I will give them that. However, one 3/4 D plus a bunch of thug castoffs from other teams doesn't equal a 25 point improvement. (Note: I'm not saying Lucic is a thug castoff, but his arrival meant Hall's departure so it's at best a wash imo as far as overall team improvement is concerned)
