Expectations for 2014-15 Season

[FireGilbert]

I think the Flames can improve in the standings next year. My very early predictions:

30. Buffalo
29. Carolina
28. Nashville
27. Edmonton
26. Florida
25. Vancouver
24. Washington
23. Calgary

I can realistically see the Flames being ahead of all these teams. Carolina is bad and are entering a rebuild and the same could be said for Washington. Nashville will not improve without Trotz and well Edmonton just sucks. I'm also not sold on the Canucks until they make some big moves to improve the team. At the moment they have no scoring depth or goaltending. I agree about Florida improving though, I just think the Flames will improve just as much.

[bluloc]

28th spot and we win the lottery.

[lanny9]

Honestly, although I want to see wins I don't see us doing as well as last year. We are going to lose Cammy. Don't think we will attract any free agents in year two of a re-build. We may get a salary dump player but again that player is unlikely to help us in the standings(reason for them being a salary dump in the first place).

We had a fun season last year, I expect that to continue, but at the same extent I expect some rookies and sophomores to make mistakes when called upon in much larger roles. This is the learning curve of becoming good NHLers, very few get it right from the start imo.

Although it is blasphemy to say so I see the Coilers being much better this year, they will have grown some and I expect their coach to have a very short leash to start the season, start off bad and he will be gone and maybe a couple others above him.

Buffalo, hard to judge they have some incredible talent in the wings, do these guys step up and play NHL hockey this year? I personally think they can play their way out of the basement.

Florida should be much better with either 1st overall, or a good piece for that first plus a goalie who may have something to prove.

Vancouver, Washington, Nashville & Carolina, they could all improve or at least stay the same. They all have new coaches that should breathe new life into their players.

So where do we end up, could be last, could be 5th last. Again, I don't want to see them lose but at the same extent if they are playing hockey that we can be proud of, like last season then, I will be ok with a high draft pick next year. After All it could be the best top 10 in a very, very long time.

[Bar-Down]

I think it will be a "sophomore slump" for the whole team. Teams will be expecting our great work ethic and won't take us so lightly this year. I could see some players having down years after such a great one (Hudler, Gio etc).

I think they will still be entertaining to watch but just won't get the results.

It will be a perfect year to finish really low, grab one of the superstars in the 2015 draft and things will start to come together nicely with all the other prospects ready to participate full time.

#4 overall in 2014 and #2 or #3 in 2015 and we will be ready to roll!

[dammage79]

Expectations in one word? Tempered....

Come on! No one used this yet?

[dissentowner]

I have no expectations because I learned long ago trying to predict hockey is a fools game. Every year there is one team expected to be terrible that does really well and one team that is supposed to be a contender that sucks bad.

[TheDebaser]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I have no expectations because I learned long ago trying to predict hockey is a fools game. Every year there is one team expected to be terrible that does really well and one team that is supposed to be a contender that sucks bad.

Totally true.

[StrykerSteve]

What are my expectations? One word, say it with me.

P-L-A-Y-O-F-F-S

[The Swedish Flame]

Cup or bust.

[Hackey]

I expect Flames to be somewhere in the bottom 5 again. I think people predicting us to be just outside the playoffs will be disappointed. Our roster as of now looks bad and I can't see it drastically changing. Last year a lot went right and we still finished 27th.

[kyuss275]

Probably bottom 5. Almost every player had career years last year. It be nice if they continue with that but my guess at least a couple players will regress.

Granted it's pretty early for this. For all I know GM pulls of a couple of major trades and the flames battle for the final playoff spot.

[Red Slinger]

The Flames are very short on experienced talent. The talent they do have is still young and inexperienced. There are holes and question marks all over the lineup. Hard to say where they'll finish since we don't know what they or other teams do in free agency. Unless something unusual happens I expect a bottom 3 finish.

[Enoch Root]

Very similar to last year: lots to be excited about, very entertaining, great signs of things to come from the kids, plenty of close and exciting games, but in the end, 26th to 28th place.

If we get that, I will be very, very pleased.

[Gaskal]

My realistic expectations next year are that we finish 28th.


This year we had the worst roster in the entire league and were projected to finish dead last at the start of the season.

-First season without Kipper and Iggy
-Gio's first as captain
-Barren in talent

We were supposed to be the Buffalo of the league pretty much.

A lot of things went right though.
-Team fully bought into Hartley's coaching
-Gio's Norris season and setting the work ethic
-Monahan being clutch
-Brodie being a stud
etc.

Can honestly say it was a good season & even felt that the team overachieved. With all these things going right though we're still sitting in 27th. If we went through the ups and downs more typical of a long hockey season we could easily slide two or three spots down. Flames overachieved this season and are picking 4th overall. Flames would have to massively overachieve even more to pick after that.

[flamesfan1297]

I expect us to be cup contenders....

Okay, probably 26th in the league

[Monahan23]

Tough to judge, completely depends on what Treliving does. But I'd like to come bottom 3 just to get one of McDavid, Eichel or Hanfin but that's unlikely and I think we'll finish around the 20th-24th range.

Variables are
-Monahan's sophmore slump?
-2014 DP
-continue work ethic
-Giordano
-Rämö
-Baertschi
-Gaudreau
-Glencross' health

[FlamingHomer]

Flames drop another place in the standings from last year and so does Brian Burke's personal grooming.

[Husky]

My only expectations are the young guys continue to show improvements whether it be offense, defense, etc part of their games.

I am fine with a bottom 5 finish again. However, if Ramo plays at the level he was in the last part of this year, this team could over reach and compete for 8-10th.

[Mars]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Expectations in one word? Tempered....

Like a well forged blade...

I'll be happy if the Flames can keep up the work ethic from this past season, but I don't think work ethic alone will improve our position in the standings, especially with Cammi likely gone to free agency and having a few more rookies taking full time positions in the line up.

At best I see us treading water if we manage to replace Cammi's offense somehow, so probably another finish around 27th again, plus or minus two positions depending on our puck luck.

[JBR]

Year 2 of the rebuild. I expect we will finish lower than in 2013-14. Painful to look at the standings, but the upside is exciting hockey, watching the future stars be given the reigns and the potential prize at the end of the McRainbow.


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