Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?!?

[mrkajz44]

Good thing we got Ortio through waivers and to the AHL just at the same moment its clear we will be missing the playoffs this year, and we might as well work on development as much as possible for all our younger players.

[-TC-]

Now's the time to start benching vets and playing kids... there are no playoffs for the Flames this year.

[Looch City]

No one Boblieves anymore.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Iggy City

No one Boblieves anymore.

I never did. There's no doubt he did a fantastic job last season getting the players to believe in themselves but fundamentally he may be a worse coach than Mike Keenan. Since he's coached the Flames they have been a hot mess in their own end more than not. This season has been the worst defensive Flames team I have ever seen despite the blue line on paper being much, much better than that.

[saillias]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I never did. There's no doubt he did a fantastic job last season getting the players to believe in themselves but fundamentally he may be a worse coach than Mike Keenan. Since he's coached the Flames they have been a hot mess in their own end more than not. This season has been the worst defensive Flames team I have ever seen despite the blue line on paper being much, much better than that.

Agreed. There seems to be a lot of denial of just how bad we are right now. This isn't just "expected, meh rebuilding." This is a team that made roster upgrades that is an absolute tire fire and tied for dead last in the league.

http://www.flamesfrom80feet.ca/2015/...-dreadful.html

[Benched]

Originally Posted by Iggy City

No one Boblieves anymore.

If we were in each game, neck and neck, and just getting beat by bad luck/bounces/bad calls etc. THEN maybe I would.

As it stands, we're hot garbage. I don't expect to turn on the TV and see last years Flames all of a sudden, competing, trying, exciting hockey...with that '3rd period magic'.


So yeah, we're now in the draft lottery race.

PS. How have Edmonton fans dealt with this sort of shoddy performance, lack of hope, and basically being out of it by mid-November for 10years????

[saillias]

Originally Posted by Benched

If we were in each game, neck and neck, and just getting beat by bad luck/bounces/bad calls etc. THEN maybe I would.

As it stands, we're hot garbage. I don't expect to turn on the TV and see last years Flames all of a sudden, competing, trying, exciting hockey...with that '3rd period magic'.


So yeah, we're now in the draft lottery race.

PS. How have Edmonton fans dealt with this sort of shoddy performance, lack of hope, and basically being out of it by mid-November for 10years????

First few years they ignored the current on ice product for the most part, focused on the stars, and excused the losing because rebuild. A lot of the same rationalizing I'm seeing around here about this team.

Once it became 5, 6 years of the same old story they started the Fire Lowe stuff and getting outright hostile.

[Rick M.]

nm

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Benched

...How have Edmonton fans dealt with this sort of shoddy performance, lack of hope, and basically being out of it by mid-November for 10years????

By insisting that it is not a matter of "if" but "when" their collection of high draft picks becomes a dynasty championship team.

Anyone but Oilers fans willing to go there?

[Looch City]

Yeah I agree, my post was more sarcastic haha. I haven't watched a single game past game 5. Complete waste of 3 hours at this point.

Disappointed that we regressed this far, was expecting atleast a half-assed effort...not this utter ####.

[Tinordi]

Originally Posted by saillias

Agreed. There seems to be a lot of denial of just how bad we are right now. This isn't just "expected, meh rebuilding." This is a team that made roster upgrades that is an absolute tire fire and tied for dead last in the league.

http://www.flamesfrom80feet.ca/2015/...-dreadful.html

Everything, and I mean everything, that could go right did go right last season.

How many times do you see this happening as well. Young team that nobody thought would do anything surges and makes the playoffs only to be out of it for a couple of seasons after.

Remember the alacrity that some posters had at the suggestion that maybe the Flames of last year were the Avalanche of two years ago? Turns out, maybe that's true. Maybe the Flames got extremely lucky and are now extremely unlucky. The fabled regression that many had the Flames in store for is here.

The bottom line is that the team isn't near talented enough. Not last season, not this season and that's why we're still rebuilding.

I don't hold any one accountable. I don't think Hartley deserved all the credit he got last year, nor the blame he's receiving this year. I think Treliving still managed to nab a major piece of the rebuild landing Hamilton last year even though we finished high in the standings and traded our 1sts to get him. I'm glad we only appear to have tied ourselves to one over-performing player from that season in Giordano, and frankly, if there was a least-bad player to commit to, it was him.

So yeah, re-calibrate your expectations. The timeline was always five years (at least) irregardless of short-term setbacks and accomplishments.

[Looch City]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Everything, and I mean everything, that could go right did go right last season.

How many times do you see this happening as well. Young team that nobody thought would do anything surges and makes the playoffs only to be out of it for a couple of seasons after.

Remember the alacrity that some posters had at the suggestion that maybe the Flames of last year were the Avalanche of two years ago? Turns out, maybe that's true. Maybe the Flames got extremely lucky and are now extremely unlucky. The fabled regression that many had the Flames in store for is here.

The bottom line is that the team isn't near talented enough. Not last season, not this season and that's why we're still rebuilding.

I don't hold any one accountable. I don't think Hartley deserved all the credit he got last year, nor the blame he's receiving this year. I think Treliving still managed to nab a major piece of the rebuild landing Hamilton last year even though we finished high in the standings and traded our 1sts to get him. I'm glad we only appear to have tied ourselves to one over-performing player from that season in Giordano, and frankly, if there was a least-bad player to commit to, it was him.

So yeah, re-calibrate your expectations. The timeline was always five years (at least) irregardless of short-term setbacks and accomplishments.

That is not a word.

[saillias]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Everything, and I mean everything, that could go right did go right last season.

How many times do you see this happening as well. Young team that nobody thought would do anything surges and makes the playoffs only to be out of it for a couple of seasons after.

Remember the alacrity that some posters had at the suggestion that maybe the Flames of last year were the Avalanche of two years ago? Turns out, maybe that's true. Maybe the Flames got extremely lucky and are now extremely unlucky. The fabled regression that many had the Flames in store for is here.

The bottom line is that the team isn't near talented enough. Not last season, not this season and that's why we're still rebuilding.

I don't hold any one accountable. I don't think Hartley deserved all the credit he got last year, nor the blame he's receiving this year. I think Treliving still managed to nab a major piece of the rebuild landing Hamilton last year even though we finished high in the standings and traded our 1sts to get him. I'm glad we only appear to have tied ourselves to one over-performing player from that season in Giordano, and frankly, if there was a least-bad player to commit to, it was him.

So yeah, re-calibrate your expectations. The timeline was always five years (at least) irregardless of short-term setbacks and accomplishments.

I simply don't buy it. I do not accept the rebuild argument. Do you just fail upward after 5 years? Is it not concerning that all the high end pieces from our prospect pool are on the team and contributing, already our best players, and we are what we are?

The team has talent and should be better. I'm not an Oiler fan.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by saillias

I simply don't buy it. I do not accept the rebuild argument. Do you just fail upward after 5 years? Is it not concerning that all the high end pieces from our prospect pool are on the team and contributing, already our best players, and we are what we are?

The team has talent and should be better. I'm not an Oiler fan.

Player development very simply is not a straight shot upwards. It just doesn't work that way.

That being said, it only grants patience towards the likes of Monahan, Gaudreau, Bennett, Jooris, Brodie, and Hamilton. I still think that the main reason why we're failing is systematic and the fact that our veterans have been anchors this year.

[polak]

Originally Posted by saillias

I simply don't buy it. I do not accept the rebuild argument. Do you just fail upward after 5 years? Is it not concerning that all the high end pieces from our prospect pool are on the team and contributing, already our best players, and we are what we are?

The team has talent and should be better. I'm not an Oiler fan.

I have to agree with this.

Our best players have already graduated. There's no one on the farm besides Gillies (and whoever we draft this year) that is even a good bet to make the team.

This rebuild went from looking great to looking pretty scary in one season.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Everything, and I mean everything, that could go right did go right last season.

How many times do you see this happening as well. Young team that nobody thought would do anything surges and makes the playoffs only to be out of it for a couple of seasons after.

Remember the alacrity that some posters had at the suggestion that maybe the Flames of last year were the Avalanche of two years ago? Turns out, maybe that's true. Maybe the Flames got extremely lucky and are now extremely unlucky. The fabled regression that many had the Flames in store for is here.

The bottom line is that the team isn't near talented enough. Not last season, not this season and that's why we're still rebuilding.

I don't hold any one accountable. I don't think Hartley deserved all the credit he got last year, nor the blame he's receiving this year. I think Treliving still managed to nab a major piece of the rebuild landing Hamilton last year even though we finished high in the standings and traded our 1sts to get him. I'm glad we only appear to have tied ourselves to one over-performing player from that season in Giordano, and frankly, if there was a least-bad player to commit to, it was him.

So yeah, re-calibrate your expectations. The timeline was always five years (at least) irregardless of short-term setbacks and accomplishments.

Yeah sure most knew they overachieved last season. If you go back I predicted this team would be in tough to make the playoffs this season and I believed they may take a step back. However this isn't a step back. It's Oilers bad. The Avs struggled last season but they were never this bad. This team is still in the middle of a rebuild yes but their play shows a team that isn't really competitive against any teams in the NHL. If it wasn't for being affective at the 3 on 3 gimmick this team would be historically bad going into early December. Saying that you are in year three of a rebuild and the talent isn't there yet simply isn't acceptable when they play a variety of hockey that is so fundamentally poor.

There's no bad luck involved when your defense plays in their own zone like it's a fire drill most nights. There's no bad luck involved when your goaltenders have issues stopping even the most pedestrian of scoring chances. There's no bad luck involved when your PP and PK are both practically last in the league. Yes the coaches deserve a lot of the blame as this team is extremely poorly coached. That "rah-rah" believe in yourself stuff will only take a team so far when you lack fundamentals to fall back on when bounces are no longer going your way which is exactly what has happened.

Right now I'm worried about the long term damage this is doing for the young players as you see even a proven coaching staff in Edmonton has been challenged trying to get the bad habits broken and play fundamental hockey after the disaster of Eakins swarm and believe me this Hartley system isn't any better. Bad habits all around on this team.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by polak

I have to agree with this.

Our best players have already graduated. There's no one on the farm besides Gillies (and whoever we draft this year) that is even a good bet to make the team.

This rebuild went from looking great to looking pretty scary in one season.

I have a different view, in that Mony and Johnny and Bennett and Hamilton and Brodie and Ferland and Jooris and Granlund and Colborne will continue to improve over the next 5 years (some more than others). I don't think when young players graduate to the big team that they're making their max contribution right away. To me this will further the rebuild without even touching anyone on the farm. But to each their own I suppose, I know you tend towards the dramatic

Also - we do have some nice high end D prospects still.

[polak]

The main reason I worry about this rebuild now is that our vets are mostly worthless and playing themselves to an even lower value every game. It's hard to rebuild without any assets to trade.

Kylington and Andersson have a lot of potential but they're pretty far off. I hope were competitive before they're ready

[Samonadreau]

Interesting how it was a December losing streak that almost lost the season last year and its a December winning streak that has a chance to save the season this year.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Samonadreau

Interesting how it was a December losing streak that almost lost the season last year and its a December winning streak that has a chance to save the season this year.

On win bumped us up 3 spots. It should also be pointed out that only 6 points separate the bottom 16 teams.

The Flames currently sit 4 points out of a playoff spot with 2 games in hand on 3rd place Vancouver. ploffs?