"Patience"... What are we waiting for?

[BACKCHECK!!!]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

What was clear from the Anaheim series is that the Flames are a long way from being an actual contender.
The young core gained valuable experience but the needs are apparent. Treviling has shown he understands this. I don't know if there are enough important additions that can be made via trade and free agency.
I think 2017-18 is the prime time, and therefore patience is required.

I think if you want to make a big push for 2017, you'd better get started making additions via trade and free agency now.

It's not like we'll be able to throw a contending team together on the fly next off season either.

A top-4 defender here. A big-bodied top-6 goal scorer there. A high-end goalie somewhere else.

It's going to take a few years to add the support pieces we need, and if you think 2017-18 is our window to win, then we need to start getting those ducks in a row now. Now waiting until summer 2017.

[chubeyr1]

Biggest issue with this team right now is age! We need size! Our young guys will get bigger, Bennett is 18, 20 or 30 pounds of muscle not out of the question. 10 pounds for Johnny hockey not out of the question either!

Monahan, another ten pounds will make him better at faceoffs.

Patience, this year was a fluke on paper! Year two of a rebuild and we are in the second round of the playoffs? Give our young guys a chance to grow.

Stay the course. Huge draft coming up! Lots of picks for quality players. With what we have this draft could set this team up for the playoffs for the next 15 years.

Build it right!

[PrettyBoyFlizzy]

We are still a very young team we are developing like the young Hawks but these guys are are younger. Bennett is only 18 it's unrealstic to expect him to dominate next season. We need to be patient these guys won't age when the younger guys are ready. By 20/21 Bennett should be ready to take a large role and Sean and Johnny will be 23 that's hardly a old group. We can't plug holes with free agents it's not how it works. We just have to let our young guys develop and this playoff run was huge in being ready to contend sooner.

[Five-hole]

"Patience" refers to continuing to stockpile assets that have a chance of gaining in value instead of moving those assets for "post-apex" assets, i.e. veterans and UFAs. Patience refers to not blowing your load to try to win the cup next year, and instead amass resources to be a competitor with a chance to win every year for the next decade.

[Robbob]

You have to let the kids develop. The best thing about the competitive environment that they have created is that it is pushing everyone. We are seeing prospects grow by huge leaps and bounds which inevitably means some are progressing faster, which means some are just becoming assets just due to the shear number of guys they have picked up in the last few years. It will only become more competitive when they add 6 more players from the top 100 in this years draft.

I hesitate to use the Chicago comparison, but you look at the number of picks they had leading up to the cup win there are similarities.

The first rounders obviously were key for them, but they also got the likes of Hjalmarsson, Boland, Bickell, Brouwer, Byfughlien, Crawford, Keith etc with their later picks.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by PrettyBoyFlizzy

We are still a very young team we are developing like the young Hawks but these guys are are younger. Bennett is only 18 it's unrealstic to expect him to dominate next season. We need to be patient these guys won't age when the younger guys are ready. By 20/21 Bennett should be ready to take a large role and Sean and Johnny will be 23 that's hardly a old group. We can't plug holes with free agents it's not how it works. We just have to let our young guys develop and this playoff run was huge in being ready to contend sooner.

^ very well said.
With 2 full years under his belt, Monahan was not ready for Ryan Getzlaf.
Soon, Getzlaf may not be ready for him.
To expect Bennett to be 'the guy' as a rookie is foolish.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Robbob

You have to let the kids develop. The best thing about the competitive environment that they have created is that it is pushing everyone. We are seeing prospects grow by huge leaps and bounds which inevitably means some are progressing faster, which means some are just becoming assets just due to the shear number of guys they have picked up in the last few years. It will only become more competitive when they add 6 more players from the top 100 in this years draft.

I hesitate to use the Chicago comparison, but you look at the number of picks they had leading up to the cup win there are similarities.

The first rounders obviously were key for them, but they also got the likes of Hjalmarsson, Boland, Bickell, Brouwer, Byfughlien, Crawford, Keith etc with their later picks.

Yup, the Chicago example is only applicable if you go full bore into the draft.

They had something like 44 picks in 4 seasons prior to winning the cup.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by polak

But how do you build for the future now that we are a bubble team?

Whike the likelyhood is less, you still stick to the plan. Just look at how Anaheim accumulated its core:

Getzlaf 19th overall
Perry 28th overall
Fowler 12th overall

Their high draft pick was Lindholm at 6th overall - BUT that was in 2012. The year after they made the playoffs as a 2011 bubble team. The Kesler trade might have put them over the edge, but they were much better last year than we were this year.

[polak]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Haha, yeah this happens at the beginning and end of each season. I refer to it as "Here's MY take" syndrome.

There's lots of hardcore fans on here, so for a lot of posters the beginning and end of seasons are a huge deal. They see the other threads, but have so much to say and have thought it through so much that they just can't resist believing that their thoughts need to be separated out into it's own topic for fear it will get lost/buried.

lol I won't even deny that this is spot on.

[Itse]

One thing I mean by patience is not deciding too soon on who are the young players to keep and who to move. Sending out the wrong guy can be extremely costly.

As for acquisitions, I don't see us being contenders next season. So no rentals or guys good for just 1-2 years.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Haha, yeah this happens at the beginning and end of each season. I refer to it as "Here's MY take" syndrome.

There's lots of hardcore fans on here, so for a lot of posters the beginning and end of seasons are a huge deal. They see the other threads, but have so much to say and have thought it through so much that they just can't resist believing that their thoughts need to be separated out into it's own topic for fear it will get lost/buried.

Yup, same things happens during big events too. Draft days, big trades, UFA signing etc.

[ScorchyScorch]

Originally Posted by heep223

They were talking on the Fan this morning comparing the Flames to the Hawks team that lost in the 2nd round in 09 (or was it '10?). They then went out and picked up Hossa and another high profile free agent and won the cup.

It's not as cut and dry as people think, that we have to embark on some 5 year slow rebuild plan. Every team and every situation is different.

this.