[Signing] Flames sign Blake Coleman (6 years, $4.9m AAV)

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Last I looked, Tkachuk WAS our current top line RW.

And how did that work out for him? He didn't look great at all on RW. Also the team was unable to make the playoffs with him as the top line RW in probably the weakest division the flames will ever play in.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Last year after the formation of Gaudreau - Lindholm - Tkachuk our top nine typically looked something like:

Mangiapane - Backlund - Nordstrom
Dube - Monahan - Ritchie

Being able to slot Coleman on the Monahan line keeps that line from being a liability. Being able to slot Coleman on the Backlund line keeps that line as offensively dangerous as various iterations of Backlund's line over the year, while being a strong shutdown unit.

I disagree that it doesn't solve issues.

My only issue with the signing is his age (30 next season) and term (age 35 in the final season)

Yeah I've never disagreed that Coleman won't make this team better, and you are right that it does solve a (tiny) problem at a very steep AAV. I'd rather we focus on getting that elite 1st line center that is available in 1 of 3 ways: Eichel, Wright and Bedard.

[Jiri Hrdina]

You can keep banging you're head on the re-build tree but why bother when it ain't happening.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

And how did that work out for him? He didn't look great at all on RW. Also the team was unable to make the playoffs with him as the top line RW in probably the weakest division the flames will ever play in.

How did it work? He looked better than he did the whole season leading up to the switch.

The team was already pretty much out of the playoffs when the switch was made.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

You can keep banging you're head on the re-build tree but why bother when it ain't happening.

Have you stepped into the AB politics thread? The amount of people with callouses on their foreheads in that thread should be evidence enough

[Savvy27]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

And how did that work out for him? He didn't look great at all on RW. Also the team was unable to make the playoffs with him as the top line RW in probably the weakest division the flames will ever play in.

He was only the top line right wing for the last 13 or so games. It worked out really well, the line was excellent together.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Yeah I've never disagreed that Coleman won't make this team better, and you are right that it does solve a (tiny) problem at a very steep AAV. I'd rather we focus on getting that elite 1st line center that is available in 1 of 3 ways: Eichel, Wright and Bedard.

There was never a realistic chance that the Flames would be in contention to draft Wright or Bedard, and the contract Treliving gave Coleman in no way prevents or impedes the Flames from acquiring Eichel. It is a very weird thing about which to complain.


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[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

You can keep banging you're head on the re-build tree but why bother when it ain't happening.

I don’t get why people think Wright/Bedard are a guarantee.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

There was never a realistic chance that the Flames would be in contention to draft Wright or Bedard, and the contract Treliving gave Coleman in no way prevents or impedes the Flames from acquiring Eichel. It is a very weird thing about which to complain.


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It's almost like I said that...

Eichel can still become a flame, but Treliving definetly complicated matters by bringing in a lot of salary in Coleman

Spoiler!

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

I don’t get why people think Wright/Bedard are a guarantee.

No doubt they are great players, but the problem is there are a bunch of teams in full tank mode that will be almost impossible to out tank them. You might have a 10% chance at the end of the day. Not exactly great odds.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

I don’t get why people think Wright/Bedard are a guarantee.

I don't think anyone is under the illusion that it is a guarantee. People just look at the roster and prospect depth and see that a rebuild is in the near future. There is a greater probability of being a lottery team than a Cup contender, so they see it as better odds to go with bottoming out than trying to force a win-now situation. Nothing is guaranteed, but the NHL disproportionately rewards failure over mediocrity. They have corrected this to a degree by changing the lottery odds, but still not enough to make worthwhile for pretenders.

If I had it my way, there would be almost equal odds of winning the lottery for all non playoff teams.

[Tkachukwagon]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1420637125679194115

Sorry if this has been posted already. I have to admit I don’t know much about Coleman beyond his reputation as a “hard working” third liner. If he can produce, I think he is going to be a fan favourite in Calgary.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

I don’t get why people think Wright/Bedard are a guarantee.

They're not. No players are guaranteed. But neither is the current or future roster winning anything. It's about probabilities with all of it

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I don't think anyone is under the illusion that it is a guarantee. People just look at the roster and prospect depth and see that a rebuild is in the near future. There is a greater probability of being a lottery team than a Cup contender, so they see it as better odds to go with bottoming out than trying to force a win-now situation. Nothing is guaranteed, but the NHL disproportionately rewards failure over mediocrity. They have corrected this to a degree by changing the lottery odds, but still not enough to make worthwhile for pretenders...

It is interesting to me that a number of posters are frustrated by what they see as the team "trying to force a win-now situation, " and yet seemingly have no problem with them attempting to manufacture a rebuild. It's the same thing, just in reverse.

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[Sofa GM]

Originally Posted by Tkachukwagon

https://twitter.com/user/status/1420637125679194115

Sorry if this has been posted already. I have to admit I don’t know much about Coleman beyond his reputation as a “hard working” third liner. If he can produce, I think he is going to be a fan favourite in Calgary.

Coleman is a solid 2nd liner and an exceptional 3rd liner. He has decent offensive skills and is very very good defensively. He is an excellent skater. Pairing Coleman and Backlund against the duo from up North would be a good remedy.

I don’t love the contract length and this it’s probably $500k too high, but he will be a well liked player by the fan base here.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

It is interesting to me that a number of posters are frustrated by what they see as the team "trying to force a win-now situation, " and yet seemingly have no problem with them attempting to manufacture a rebuild. It's the same thing, just in reverse.

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You're surprised that people that want one thing aren't also satisfied with doing the exact opposite?

[Heavy Jack]

Mangiapane - Lindholm - Coleman

That’s about as complete 200 foot game as a line can have IMO. Can’t wait for camp to start so we can start getting a feel for this new roster! Excited to see other moves as well ahead of training camp too, really hope to see Eichel obviously but intrigued about the left side of our D as well and what kind of opportunities are forced from our prospect depth!

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

You're surprised that people that want one thing aren't also satisfied with doing the exact opposite?

That is not at all what I was getting at. I was merely pointing to the hypocrisy in these types of responses based on how they are both disruptive—and frequently unsuccessful—approaches to sidestepping the natural cycle in team-building.

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[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

That is not at all what I was getting at. I was merely pointing to the hypocrisy in these types of responses based on how they are both disruptive—and frequently unsuccessful—approaches to sidestepping the natural cycle in team-building.

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It's not hypocrisy, it's an opinion. Manufacturing situations is literally what managing a team is all about.

It's just a question of strategy. There is always gravity pulling the team in some direction. The only question is do you spend assets to reverse the pull in one direction, or do you cut the tether to let the team fly in one direction.

For people who see the team falling, it's only a matter of whether you hit terminal velocity now or in 2 years, but spending assets to defy gravity at this point is pointless. For people who see the team being pulled in a positive direction, it makes sense to spend assets to stop the bleeding we witnessed last season.

The worst place to be in the NHL is tethered in that neutral area for too long though. The league rewards bottoming out more than it does putting in the effort to stay average. If you stay in no-man's land for too long, you just slowly deplete your assets until you hit rock bottom anyway.

[sureLoss]

Looks like Coleman has made it to Calgary

https://twitter.com/user/status/1423344815824019459