Flames announce 23/24 opening day roster

[ben voyonsdonc]

On paper, it is probably one of our weakest teams in the past 5-6 years but I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. The team needs to rally around each other and be bigger than the sum of its parts.

They need to go out and work hard to win games. They won't win on their reputations alone.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by ben voyonsdonc

On paper, it is probably one of our weakest teams in the past 5-6 years but I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. The team needs to rally around each other and be bigger than the sum of its parts.

They need to go out and work hard to win games. They won't win on their reputations alone.

I think it's deeper in the top nine with Coronato (would be more so if Pelletier wasn't hurt), stronger on the fourth line with a younger look and Duehr for a full season, and flat on the blueline with Kylington missing last year and maybe this year.

Toffoli out is certainly a hit ... but Sharangovich and Coronato should make that up.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

I guess I'm hoping for too much. I expected the team to go with the players that stood out and earned a position over guys who did nothing. Zary, Solovyov, and Wolf outplayed guys who made the roster. I really don't care with how many rookies you have to go with. Playing Hunt and Oesterle is just as likely to result in the same number of mistakes as a young player, except the young player has the potential to get better and turn into a better player in the long run. As disappointing as Wolf was in camp, where he looked human for once, he still looked better that either Vladar or Markstrom. I don't see any improvement on paper with the veteran additions and think there are better players who got demoted. I'd rather see the team invest in the youth, that's all.

This is the strange part. The Flames goaltending situation deserves no benefit of the doubt, especially from Vladar who has yet to show that he is at all capable of getting to another level. Certainly basing any goalies play off of a handful of minutes behind piecemeal rosters in the preseason would not have been the organizational play here either.

Promoting Wolf this year was a no-brainer as he's been far and away the best goalie in the AHL for 2 straight years and should have been the play for a team desperate for a reset IMO. Sitting in this purgatory position where they are afraid to dump Vladar, who was the 70 something ranked goalie in the league is just silly when it comes at the expense of stalling out one of the best goalie prospects in the world. Vladar has minimal or no trade value because he has minimal or no trade value - every team has someone like him and the Flames need to get over that. An inspired and challenged Wolf could turn into lightning in a bottle if he's pushing Markstrom all year for minutes and, you know, getting actual NHL experience....a handful of games he is likely to see this season is shameful and could really work negatively against the kids development if he's even slightly chapped about the "look" he got in camp.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Pele and Kylington out too...not managements fault there. Did some people expect them to dress an all rookie team

I think Pele is a bit too old to switch sports.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

I think Pele is a bit too old to switch sports.

Actually, RIP. He passed away at the end of 2022. Joke still stands, however.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

This is the strange part. The Flames goaltending situation deserves no benefit of the doubt, especially from Vladar who has yet to show that he is at all capable of getting to another level. Certainly basing any goalies play off of a handful of minutes behind piecemeal rosters in the preseason would not have been the organizational play here either.

Promoting Wolf this year was a no-brainer as he's been far and away the best goalie in the AHL for 2 straight years and should have been the play for a team desperate for a reset IMO. Sitting in this purgatory position where they are afraid to dump Vladar, who was the 70 something ranked goalie in the league is just silly when it comes at the expense of stalling out one of the best goalie prospects in the world. Vladar has minimal or no trade value because he has minimal or no trade value - every team has someone like him and the Flames need to get over that. An inspired and challenged Wolf could turn into lightning in a bottle if he's pushing Markstrom all year for minutes and, you know, getting actual NHL experience....a handful of games he is likely to see this season is shameful and could really work negatively against the kids development if he's even slightly chapped about the "look" he got in camp.

Dump Vladar where? No one seems interested in the 70th goalie(your words) making $2M x 2.

The 2nd part is that you're going to give Markstrom at least a couple of games to start the season. Does it benefit Wolf to sit on the bench and open the door?

If any of the goalies underperforms Wolf will be called up. It can be as soon as 2-3 weeks into the season if Markstrom plays like last year. If Vladar strings together sub .900 performances or losses Wolf will be called up. Essentially you have insurance in case one of the goalies plays bad.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

Dump Vladar where? No one seems interested in the 70th goalie(your words) making $2M x 2.

The 2nd part is that you're going to give Markstrom at least a couple of games to start the season. Does it benefit Wolf to sit on the bench and open the door?

If any of the goalies underperforms Wolf will be called up. It can be as soon as 2-3 weeks into the season if Markstrom plays like last year. If Vladar strings together sub .900 performances or losses Wolf will be called up. Essentially you have insurance in case one of the goalies plays bad.

Wolf is coming up to play regardless how Markstrom/Vladar perform. He'll probably get a road game against a weaker team. Looking at the schedule though the earliest matchup might be Nov 14th in Montreal.

[Paulie Walnuts]

We started the 21/22 season with Mangiapane, Ritchie, Lewis, Lucic, Gawdin, Gudbranson, Kylington in the lineup. With guy slike Pitlick and Richardson waiting to rotate in.

On top of that we had a broken Sean Monahan.

Things can change, guys can step up and prove themselves.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Toonage

I can't stress how much I think having a younger 4L alone will improve this team. I get that people liked Lucic, had a soft spot for him, but his actual play was truly awful and it was made worse by Sutter's insistence on giving him so much ice time (and thats not even considering his top 6 stint).

This is the thing for me.

Having Duehr and Greer on the 4th line is going to bring so much more energy than we got from the 4th line last year. Will they be any better? Probably about the same, talent-wise, IMO, but the energy will be a big positive for the team and should rub off on the other guys.

[DJones]

Jesus, bunch of implants from Edmonton or something in this thread?

They seem shocked at what the team looks like haha

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

This is the thing for me.

Having Duehr and Greer on the 4th line is going to bring so much more energy than we got from the 4th line last year. Will they be any better? Probably about the same, talent-wise, IMO, but the energy will be a big positive for the team and should rub off on the other guys.

Its the speed as well with the size. Lucic was ok when he got going but he was slow and brutal in the DZone.

If these guys can use their size and speed to run around in the offensive zone create some havoc especially if they can pin the other teams top line, and still have the ability to backtrack would be awesome.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

I think Pele is a bit too old to switch sports.

And all his goals would be called back for a kicking motion

[dino7c]

Vladar had a .938 in the preseason before he was thrown to the Wolves in the Edmonton game.

The waiver eligible guy went down.... Markstrom is starting the first few at least. I really don't get this debate the Flames did exactly what they should have done. Did you want Wolf working the gate? Or playing in the AHL for now.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

I guess I'm hoping for too much. I expected the team to go with the players that stood out and earned a position over guys who did nothing. Zary, Solovyov, and Wolf outplayed guys who made the roster. I really don't care with how many rookies you have to go with. Playing Hunt and Oesterle is just as likely to result in the same number of mistakes as a young player, except the young player has the potential to get better and turn into a better player in the long run. As disappointing as Wolf was in camp, where he looked human for once, he still looked better that either Vladar or Markstrom. I don't see any improvement on paper with the veteran additions and think there are better players who got demoted. I'd rather see the team invest in the youth, that's all.

*Ahem* No. No, he did not. The best individual game performance in training camp was Vladar's in Seattle, and all three goalies turned in VERY comparable showings: some good; some bad; all to be expected.

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

...Promoting Wolf this year was a no-brainer as he's been far and away the best goalie in the AHL for 2 straight years and should have been the play for a team desperate for a reset IMO. Sitting in this purgatory position where they are afraid to dump Vladar, who was the 70 something ranked goalie in the league is just silly when it comes at the expense of stalling out one of the best goalie prospects in the world. Vladar has minimal or no trade value because he has minimal or no trade value - every team has someone like him and the Flames need to get over that. An inspired and challenged Wolf could turn into lightning in a bottle if he's pushing Markstrom all year for minutes and, you know, getting actual NHL experience....a handful of games he is likely to see this season is shameful and could really work negatively against the kids development if he's even slightly chapped about the "look" he got in camp.

All the hand-wringing about Dustin Wolf continues to be ridiculous. There is no question that he will play NHL games this year, and there are several situations which could see him finish the season as a permanent fixture on the roster. But, the ONLY way Wolf was ever going to make the team out of camp is if he absolutely blew the doors off in his pre-season showings, and he didn't do that.

He is only 22-years-old, and he is guaranteed to be on the roster next season. He knows this. Everyone knows this. He is not suddenly going to turn into a pumpkin because he won't be sitting on the Flames bench tomorrow.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Vladar had a .938 in the preseason before he was thrown to the Wolves in the Edmonton game.

The waiver eligible guy went down.... Markstrom is starting the first few at least. I really don't get this debate the Flames did exactly what they should have done. Did you want Wolf working the gate? Or playing in the AHL for now.

I feel like some people think Wolf should just be given the #1 job.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Buff

I feel like some people think Wolf should just be given the #1 job.

It seems obvious to me that there are people who feel this way.

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by Toonage

I can't stress how much I think having a younger 4L alone will improve this team. I get that people liked Lucic, had a soft spot for him, but his actual play was truly awful and it was made worse by Sutter's insistence on giving him so much ice time (and thats not even considering his top 6 stint).

Yeah we need a Mangiapane-Ryan-Hathaway type of 4L, that was good times.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Buff

I feel like some people think Wolf should just be given the #1 job.

Plus, he'll be ruined because he wasn't gifted the job.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by D as in David

Plus, he'll be ruined because he wasn't gifted the job.

on day 1, no less.

[Bingo]

I honestly get the excitement of young players making the team. It's a pretty normal thing to be disappointed that the Wolf "era", for example, isn't starting on day one.

But the jump to this being harmful for the player or the wrong thing to do when clearly the kid playing and asset management have to be looked at ... is the leap for me.

If the Flames have a deal for Vladar in mid November for a 3rd round pick I don't think anyone could argue they made the right move, right?