Thoughts on the Pacific

[thefoss1957]

Simon...As a Chicago fan, I am familiar with Sutter. I think he is a bit stifling, offensively, with regard to his systems. And his churlish behavior can grate on players. Moreover, I despise some of his players, Brown in particular, and some of the tactics that the team resorts to.

[simonsays]

Originally Posted by thefoss1957

Simon...As a Chicago fan, I am familiar with Sutter. I think he is a bit stifling, offensively, with regard to his systems. And his churlish behavior can grate on players. Moreover, I despise some of his players, Brown in particular, and some of the tactics that the team resorts to.

Sutter has this ability to make average players feel like giants, and above average players feel like leviathans. To everyone else they look like #######s.

[Tsawwassen]

I like your analysis CaptainCrunch, if you have time, do you think you could do a thread on the Central Div? More than half the teams are in a playoff battle with the Pacific.

[Itse]

Doesn't seem like much has changed in the division. It's still a division with one good team (LA) and a lot of questions. San Jose seems set to make it thise year. It's an unremarkable team, but their top players are still good, their depth is okay and generally they seem to be chugging along somewhat reliably.

Edmonton is out, and Vancouver I think seems set to melt away. They look a bit better than they should due to having more games played, but overall there's not much there beyond the Sedins. One worrying sign for them is mediocre special teams, as that has usually been one of their strengths.

I don't think there's going to be a wild card from the Pacific. I think when teams start really pushing for those playoff spots, the Central teams will show their strength.

That would leave Anaheim, Calgary and Arizona to compete for the third spot in the division. These are all teams that have big questionmarks.

Anaheim seems the most likely team to make it, since their scoring is showing some signs of life and they're still good defensively.

Arizona is riding a great divisional record. If they can keep that going, they'll be really hard to pass in the standings. That's a big if though.

Calgary has horrid special teams and goaltending that might collapse the way it did to begin the season. The pre-Christmas hot streak is also unlikely to be the truth of the team. On the other hand the special teams have been so bad that it's just statistically unlikely that they'll stay that bad. Even getting them to slightly above average levels might be enough of an improvement to push them into the playoffs in a bad division.

Trades might also change the team significantly. For example if Hudler is gone at trade deadline, that's a notable loss. (We're already short on quality wingers, and Hudler despite having an off year is 4th in points on the team.)

One thing that the Flames have going for them though is that this group has shown to be a resilient bunch that responds to pressure well. One really good winning streak might pretty much guarantee a spot in the playoffs this year.

[Flamefan1]

Calgary will sneak into 3rd if Bennett is kept with Backlund and Hudler/Frolik, and Ferland stays with Mono and Gaudreau. Also Hiller must be given extremely limited games as he is no longer a capable NHL goalie (despite his shut-out). Also Wideman's time on power play needs to be reduced or eliminated as he is just too slow and immobile. Ideally Nakladahl needs to be brought up and given power play time (likely need injury for this too happen).

1) LA
2) Arizona
3) Calgary
4) Anaheim
5)SJ
6) Van
7) Ed

Also agree with comments on Hartley. Using Colbourne, Jones and others on first line(instead of Ferland), playing Wideman huge minutes despite poor play, and his power play personnel decisions certainly raise some questions.

[GullFoss]

My view is that the flames season will be decided in the next 12 games. They probably need 17 points.

Games against non-playoff teams: 6
Games that are playoff battles: 5
Games against a top tier team: 1


New Jersey - not a playoff team
Columbus - not a playoff team
Carolina - not a playoff team
Dallas - a tough game
Nashville - playoff battle
Carolina - not a playoff team
Columbus - not a playoff team
Vancouver - playoff battle
Toronto - not a playoff team
San Jose - playoff battle
Arizona - playoff battle
Anaheim - playoff battle

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Tsawwassen

I like your analysis CaptainCrunch, if you have time, do you think you could do a thread on the Central Div? More than half the teams are in a playoff battle with the Pacific.

Given time, I'm not as familiar with the central division except that its a murderers row in the top 2 with Chicago and Dallas probably running away with it now. I'm not sure what to think about St Louis, but they could be hurt by being forced to trade some key elements at the deadline.

I think that Minny is pretty secure int he Wildcard, and what's making them dangerous is that everyone is kind of over looking them.

Nashville, I liked the trade with Columbus for them, but they've been a team with what I think are chemistry issues all year, and while getting a number 1 center was a boon for them, I think that's a move that doesn't pay off this year.

Colorado is ok, but they've played a lot of games, and they're super inconsistent.

I honestly think that Winnipeg is done, on top of it they have the vibe of a team who's dressing room knows that they're done and they're one step from falling completely to pieces.

With the contract demands, it seems likely that Winnipeg might be closing the book on this core, and starting what they would hope would be a reload instead of a rebuild.

[edslunch]

Calgary is 26th in the league. Yeah games in hand yadda yadda but they are a middling team and are seemingly not able to take advantage of divisional games. I don't see them making it this year, hope I'm wrong

[heep223]

Originally Posted by thefoss1957

Heep...Hartley had a pretty good run in Colorado, where he had some elite talent. He had some building years in Atlanta, but only one playoff season. For you guys, two seasons to build, and last year's playoffs, he seems a good motivator, but, I question his abilities with x's and o's to give his guys an edge.

I'm not sure I use his past experience to judge him now, coaches develop just like players do.

However I agree with the bolded. I don't think strategy adjustments and tactics are his strength, and I don't think his assistants are getting the job done either (ie. powerplay). It's on the upper management team to recognize this and if they want to go with Hartley the motivator as their guy long term, he needs a stronger tactical team around him.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

The start hurt the Flames but in the end what's going to kill them is their poor record in the Division. You simply can't afford to lose the majority of the games head to head against the teams between you and the playoffs and still expect to make it.

This.

Five losses in our last eight games, all five to divisional opponents. That, right there, is why Calgary is falling right out of the playoff race and firmly into the Auston Mathews race.

[burn_this_city]

They have about 10 games to either pull it together or cut bait. I think Treliving will be active at the deadline, but more so if the Flames are 5 or more points out. If you can't make it with the division this bad, you might as well look to the future.

[D as in David]

A lot of talk this year about the Pacific being the weakest of the divisions. Going into tonight, a quick analysis shows that Pacific teams have achieved a record of 73-57-13 against Eastern conference teams for a total of 159 points. The Eastern teams have a 70-52-21 record against the Pacific for a total of 161 points. Since the Pacific has to play more games against the Central teams than the Eastern teams, it's the strength of the Central that is making the Pacific look weak.

[Pointman]

Originally Posted by heep223

I'm not sure I use his past experience to judge him now, coaches develop just like players do.

However I agree with the bolded. I don't think strategy adjustments and tactics are his strength, and I don't think his assistants are getting the job done either (ie. powerplay). It's on the upper management team to recognize this and if they want to go with Hartley the motivator as their guy long term, he needs a stronger tactical team around him.

Although this makes sense, somehow it reminded me of Keenan the motivator and Playfair the tactician.