Elevate Klapka to 3rd line?

[IamNotKenKing]

Originally Posted by Bingo

That was option 2 ... take minutes away from the top six.

15
14
12
7

48 minutes

If Backlund is on the fourth line and gets 12 you need to take 5 minutes from the first three groups.

I'm good with Backlund winding down, but he's not there yet. He's centering a top ten line in the league for play driving and plays a huge role on this team.

I do think he settles in on the fourth line some day.

Not today.

Pardon my ignorance, but isn't a game 60 minutes long, thus we need 60 minutes of centre play?
Or is this just 5 on 5?

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by Toonage

I think the minutes would even out more with a competent 4L. Of course right now they play 7 minutes.

But they're also out there with a minute left in periods, he'll throw them out there after opposition icings with face offs in the O zone, generally he likes to use his 4L. Why not stretch that out a bit more.

And given Backlund's injury and maybe as he ages next year, its not the worst idea to have him in that role?

Agreed. Don’t shorten the bench as much in the 3rd period.

I also want to see what Klapka can do in a role with skilled players.

Huberdeau-Kadri-Farabee
Posposil-Frost-Sharangovich
Klapka-Zary-Coronato
Lomberg/Stromgren-Backlund-Coleman.

Zary and Coronato get to start building chemistry and hopefully turn into the top line as early as this year or more likely next year.

[EVERLAST]

Time for callups from Wranglers. Keep injecting guys in and out if possible. Keep it fresh and create competition from within.

Its time

[Kipper_3434]

Flames need to play Klapka more simply to increase his a value. If a gue that size puts up 10-15 goals and 35 points he will have value as a trade piece.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by IamNotKenKing

Pardon my ignorance, but isn't a game 60 minutes long, thus we need 60 minutes of centre play?
Or is this just 5 on 5?

Yep 5 on 5

[activeStick]

I don't mind Klapka the way others seem to. I've seen flashes and his big body is very appealing for me and I'd like to see him more to get a larger dataset on who he is. Agree with the majority who want to see Rooney taken out of the lineup.

Huberdeau - Kadri - Farabee/Pospisil
Pospisil/Farabee - Frost - Sharangovich
Coleman - Backlund - Coronato
Lomberg - Kerins - Klapka

Once Zary is back after 4 Nations, I go with the lines below and let Pospisil develop his game as a center.

Huberdeau - Kadri - Farabee/Zary
Zary/Farabee - Frost - Sharangovich
Coleman - Backlund - Coronato
Lomberg - Pospisil - Klapka

[DJones]

Rooney seems done. Lomberg needs to sit a few games.

4th line has been a disaster since Costco got hurt

[saillias]

I don't think he needs to be elevated, but rather different guys shuffled around to make a better 4th line. Try Pospisil, Stromgren, even Backlund at C.

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by DJones

Rooney seems done. Lomberg needs to sit a few games.

4th line has been a disaster since Costco got hurt

Kirkland was quite the perfect element for that 4th line.

[Bingo]

The legend of Kirkland never ceases to amaze me.

The puck went in for that trio, but they never drove the play. Just got some bounces.

He is the third worst xGF% forward on the team this year, better than only Rooney and Klapka and behind Duehr and Lomberg.

[mogg]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Huberdeau - Kadri - Farabee/Zary
Zary/Farabee - Frost - Sharangovich
Coleman - Backlund - Coronato
Lomberg - Pospisil - Klapka

Yeah with Zary back I don’t see room for him in the top 9 at all. No one there is getting bumped.

If Klapka isn’t moving the needle and there are no other obvious kids to try, isn’t that what Hunt’s for? To my eyes all he’s ever been is a steady, reliable dude you can plug in with confidence. If the goal is for the 4th line to, at the very least, stop taking on water, he can help.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Your shut down center is going to play 7 minutes?

Or you're going to take your top six down 2 minutes each?

10 minutes, plus heavy PK work

IF another line is struggling, can get more minutes

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Bingo

That was option 2 ... take minutes away from the top six.

15
14
12
7

48 minutes

If Backlund is on the fourth line and gets 12 you need to take 5 minutes from the first three groups.

I'm good with Backlund winding down, but he's not there yet. He's centering a top ten line in the league for play driving and plays a huge role on this team.

I do think he settles in on the fourth line some day.

Not today.

14
12
12
10

top 6 get PP time, bottom 6 PK time

run 4 lines, short shifts, and outwork the other team

[Junglist]

He shouldnt even be in the NHL.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I was watching the Anaheim feed, and they kept gushing over Klapka. He had a hell of a game, and was consistently an impact player every time he stepped on the ice. Then he has basically either disappeared for the next 3, or been bad. Against Detroit, I thought that the other 6'8" behemoth Soderblom completely outshone Klapka.

However, we have seen one magnificent monster game, plus he led the Wranglers in scoring last year. This points to the very real possibility that something is there. The problem is that Rooney and Lomberg aren't helping. What do you do? That line is really a mess.

No, you don't push Backlund to the 4th line. You can't. Frost is good defensively, don't get me wrong, while Kadri is more of mixed bag there. Backlund is in a completely different league. Let's call him for what he really is - an elite checking center that contributes offensively. Think of the Backlund line as the checking line. You can not take minutes away from this line, as this line needs to go head to head against the top lines on the opposing teams.


The one thing I would try is to do a "ramp up" set of games for Zary when he returns. That's a long injury, and I would like him to play slowly ramp up when he gets back. Let him center the 4th line and continue the "Zary and center experiment" for 2 weeks or so. I just feel like we are POTENTIALLY repeating the same mistakes from the past - Bennett should have remained a center and developed as one consistently.


Anyway, this is a short ramp up for Zary to get back into the swing of things and allow him to feel comfortable with his knee again, and get back to game shape. Tough to stay in game shape when you have a long-term lower-body injury. Give him the 4th line center role, give him PP time and PK time. Should get him to around... ~12 minutes, depending on the game.


I also think it is time to move Coronato off the Backlund line. Backlund is amazing at sheltering young players. Heck, he was the only one capable of not cratering when James "The Real Bad Deal" Neal was put with him. Neal cratered every other line he was on, and badly. Coronato is a player now, and I think it is time to elevate him up to a scoring line. I think it makes sense to move him alongside Frost and Sharangovich. It gives a young playmaker two lethal shooting wingers with opposite handedness to work with, and hopefully build chemistry with long-term. For those that argue against breaking up the CBC line, you were probably the same ones arguing against breaking up the Glencross - Jokinen line, or the 3M line. Imagine if the 3M line never got broken up? No way we would have had a 3 40 goal scorers on the top line, with two of them hitting over 100 points each. As for Backlund, he can shelter anyone still.


You can then either just push Pospisil down to the elite-checking line with Backlund and Coleman, or push him down to center the 4th line and see if it can give that line a boost.


These options don't allow for a "Zary at Center" experiment to become a permanent fixture - at least not without some trades. It will, however, allow us to have two bona fide scoring lines instead of one (on a team that has considerable trouble scoring). It allows for a better 4th line, and a small glimpse into the window of Klapka playing with more talented players and seeing if there is more to his game (again, he led the Wranglers last season). The only other issue is... for a temporary line of Klapka - Zary - Pospisil (which gives Zary a familiar face to work with too), you then end up with Lomberg on the 3rd line. i mean, essentially Lomberg is really a checker, so he might fit in there, but it doesn't feel quite right to give him more minutes. I love him and all, but that seems a bit counter-productive, but perhaps Backlund can shelter him as he shelters anyone? Backlund continues to be so underrated here.


I think the lines that will eventually come out of this is (barring a trade that gives Zary room to be a full-time top 9 center):


Huberdeau - Kadri - Farabee
Sharangovich - Frost - Coronato
Zary - Backlund - Coleman
Lomberg - Pospisil - Klapka


This makes the most sense to me long term, even if it is arguable if Pospisil is a center or not. Rooney has not been as good as last year (and he was good last year!). I like Bishop and loved the call-up, but he was a bit underwater too. Push Zary in there just to ramp him up to game speed again, and then push Pospisil in the middle here and see if these three can provide more than just sandpaper - let's see if they can provide stronger metrics and not cough up as many goals against. Lomberg with Backlund and Coleman is a bit crazy though, even if it is just a short run. Flames can't afford to lose games between now and the end of the season.

[FBI]

What do we think we have in Klapka? It would be so fricken awesome if this guy popped.. 6'8 monster with hands

[topfiverecords]

This thread is a fun read from the perspective that it was started today.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I think it's time to shake up the fourth line ... who am I kidding it's past time.

If you look at relative xGF% for forwards across the NHL (expected splits, five on five, vs teammates) Rooney is 5th worst, and Lomberg is 22nd.

That normalizes for system, goaltenders etc within each team.

They need to fix the fourth line.

I'd start with Rooney, but it may need two new faces.

That's season long. In the last successful run, I think they've been in the positive.

They are mainly an aggressive forechecking unit with Klapka and Lomberg, but Rooney is more of a passive defender like Backlund, so it's not the best mix. Their problems are mainly in their own end where they struggle to clear the zone. And on the backcheck because Lomberg gets trapped deep a lot due to his style.

[Finger Cookin]

Sure, why not. It won't change much.

[Reggie Dunlop]

The player becomes waivers eligible next season. Some decisions will have to be made over the summer. Do they offer him a new contract? A lot of teams would take a chance on a 6'8" behemoth.