Brad Treliving To Address Media at 2 PM.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

I think Gaudreau will produce around 0.75 PPG in his rookie season. A rough estimate going by how he was over a PPG at the WCs and 2 PPG in the NCAA, I think he can produce near a MacKinnon pace. He's so consistent, and while I don't expect him to produce at a point per game pace because it's difficult to achieve for any player, he'll still produce well north of Monahan and Baertschi, who were just shy of 0.5 PPG...

Gaudreau is such a wild card. He will be entering the NHL with one of the highest NHLEs in the past decade—comparable to the likes of Crosby, Malkin, Patrick Kane, Tavares, and Stamkos—and there are so many intangibles (both good and bad) to his game that it is difficult to predict how he may perform. Something that he really has going for his is the "success" factor: simply put, Gaudreau has utterly smashed through expectations at virtually every level at which he has played. Why should the NHL be any different?

[SuperMatt18]

As of right now this is probably what our opening night roster looks like.

FORWARDS
Mason Raymond ($3.150m) / Mikael Backlund ($1.500m) / Jiri Hudler ($4.000m)
Baertschi (Gaudreau) / Sean Monahan ($0.925m) / Joe Colborne ($1.250m)
Curtis Glencross ($2.550m) / Matt Stajan ($3.125m) / David Jones ($4.000m)
Brandon Bollig ($1.250m) / Lance Bouma ($1.250m) / Brian McGrattan ($0.750m)
Max Reinhart ($0.618m)

DEFENSEMEN
T.J. Brodie ($2.125m) / Mark Giordano ($4.020m)
Ladislav Smid ($3.500m) / Dennis Wideman ($5.250m)
Kris Russell ($2.600m) / Deryk Engelland ($2.917m)
Tyler Wotherspoon ($0.925m)

GOALTENDERS
Jonas Hiller ($4.500m)
Karri Ramo ($2.750m)

[formulate]

Looks pretty accurate in terms of starting lineup. I would, however, assume we won't have 2 rookies sitting in the press box on opening night. If Reinhart/Wotherspoon/Granlund/whoever can't crack the top 12/6, I'd hope they would be in the AHL. Perhaps a guy like wolf and another D UFA (McBain?) take those #13 and #7 spots.

[_Q_]

^^That line up is definitely lacking top end talent, but in all honesty, it doesn't look that bad.

[formulate]

If we can get repeat performances from Gio, Brodie and first-half Russell and Wideman, that's a pretty good d core.

[getbak]

I think we're likely to see one more forward and possibly one more defenceman acquired. Plus, there could be some swaps where one NHL player leaves and another comes in, but those will just shuffle some of the names on the roster.

On one hand, you want to leave roster space for the young guys, but you also have to keep injuries in mind and realize that your 23 man "healthy" roster won't all be healthy for many games. Last season, Chris Butler and TJ Brodie were the only d-men who played every game (Brodie was a healthy scratch in the last game, but played the other 81). That's why it wouldn't surprise me if they get another d-man and Wotherspoon starts the season in the AHL, until the inevitable injuries start happening.

[Goriders]

I`ve agreed with everything they have done this off season. Even the previous off season, especially the draft, was a good one.

If they somehow can get Byron back into the mix I think we are really heading in the right direction. Not that he a core guy, but he is super versatile, quick and nothing but good things happen when he is on the ice.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the younger guys are ready. There are a couple that are close in my mind (granlund, reinhart). Gaudreau might also fit into that slot.

I have a feeling that the flames at the start of this season are going to look a lot different at the end. But I think we are slowly piecing together a pretty good team.