Barn Burner: The Boys are Back!! (Boomer, Pinder & Warrener)

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

In the big picture, as a GM left the club in quite bad shape. But wow, his first couple of years and that 2004 deadline in particular were incredible. Midas touch.

Nilson and Nieminen had huge impacts.

Nieminen occupies a way bigger place in my heart than the 43 games he played for the club should warrant.

[Jetfire]

Originally Posted by Yamer

Nieminen occupies a way bigger place in my heart than the 43 games he played for the club should warrant.

Commodore with a grand total of 18 regular season games played for the Flames (20 playoff) and it felt like he was a Flame for 5+ years because he was just so recognizable. A great playoff run does wonders for a player's legacy in a city with a passionate fanbase.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Jetfire

Commodore with a grand total of 18 regular season games played for the Flames (20 playoff) and it felt like he was a Flame for 5+ years because he was just so recognizable. A great playoff run does wonders for a player's legacy in a city with a passionate fanbase.

That whole team really. Like you said, it was one season and a playoff run for a lot of the depth guys on that '04 team, yet I recognize and remember more of their faces than the last 10 seasons of Flames depth players combined.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Jetfire

Commodore with a grand total of 18 regular season games played for the Flames (20 playoff) and it felt like he was a Flame for 5+ years because he was just so recognizable. A great playoff run does wonders for a player's legacy in a city with a passionate fanbase.

Yep, especially when you're already a character, and have a giant red 'fro playing in front of the C of Red. It was meant to be.

(Then he beat the Grease in the 06 Stanley Cup Final to really cement his Calgary legacy)

[drewtastic]

Originally Posted by Yamer

Nieminen occupies a way bigger place in my heart than the 43 games he played for the club should warrant.

This whole sequence of events occurred in my end of the rink. I still see Niemenen’s goal in my mind’s eye almost the same way it’s shown here (just from a reverse angle). Such patience and poise.

Those guys were always so calm and determined. Confident. Couldn’t be rattled.

Miss that team.

https://youtu.be/r8w1Q6aF1fM?si=7t7V0zJ0IIz35zwC

[memphusk]

Hockey players have changed so much in comparison to those years. They were mentally and physically stronger.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Dude was inches from a cup winning goal.

I think only Gelinas was going to score the Cup winner for the Flames that year. And, well...

[GullFoss]

I thought Iginla had once said Keenan and Sutter were the best coaches he ever had

[Buff]

Originally Posted by drewtastic

This whole sequence of events occurred in my end of the rink. I still see Niemenen’s goal in my mind’s eye almost the same way it’s shown here (just from a reverse angle). Such patience and poise.

Those guys were always so calm and determined. Confident. Couldn’t be rattled.

Miss that team.

https://youtu.be/r8w1Q6aF1fM?si=7t7V0zJ0IIz35zwC

That goal was so memorable for many of us. He had so much time in front of the net with that puck. He faked left, went home to make sure he turned off his stove, realized he forgot to do the dishes so quickly did them, stopped on Deerfoot to change an old lady's flat tire on they way back, and came back to the game to finish pulling the puck to his back hand and put it in the net.

[dustygoon]

Originally Posted by memphusk

Hockey players have changed so much in comparison to those years. They were mentally and physically stronger.

As an aside, there is a very cool interview on the last chiclets with Gary Roberts. Talks about his business. He works for Kraken during the season (Ron Francis buddy), so doesn't connect with players during the year.

Talks about time in Calgary. Depression and drinking after injuring himself and calling it quits. Went to a flames game and had to leave it was so hard on him.

Training with Brad Mcrimmon taught him some stuff.

Another interesting part was that he trains Chris Tanev. Said he hasn't seen anyone work as hard as that guy. Not about bulk, but about longevity and injury recovery.

Worth a listen. Funny having Colby Armstrong as part of interview and what kid he is around Roberts when they were on the pens together.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by GullFoss

I thought Iginla had once said Keenan and Sutter were the best coaches he ever had

Iginla liked Keenan because he wasn’t big on defensive structure and let Iggy freelance. There was a locker room divide at the time between players over the lack of commitment to defense. Brent was brought in to correct that but could never get Iginla to buy in.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Iginla liked Keenan because he wasn’t big on defensive structure and let Iggy freelance. There was a locker room divide at the time between players over the lack of commitment to defense. Brent was brought in to correct that but could never get Iginla to buy in.

Brent coached the worst Flames hockey I've ever seen.

He got the best out of literally *no* players. I don't think it's fair to say he couldn't get Iginla to buy in. That's not a fair comment at all.

[Freeway]

I think you can play loose defensive hockey if you have the supporting cast to allow for it. The Flames flat-out did not have that under Keenan. Or Brent Sutter. Or Hartley.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Iginla liked Keenan because he wasn’t big on defensive structure and let Iggy freelance. There was a locker room divide at the time between players over the lack of commitment to defense. Brent was brought in to correct that but could never get Iginla to buy in.

Keenan was 3 different people in 1. Treated his superstarstar skaters however they needed to be treated. Was ruthless with his goaltenders, and a duplicitous phoney with everyone one else.

Maybe Iginla liked scoring and not having to back check. But by the end of the second year that team really looked out of sorts even if they were pretty injured.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I like what Nilson said - he left Calgary because Keenan was hired. He stated that both Keenan and Darryl were hard coaches, and that Darryl was probably probably even harder (or did Warrener say that?). The difference was that Darryl respected you. Keenan didn't, and he didn't agree with how Keenan treated people. Sarich hinted at how it was either "Iginla or Keenan" in his interview, so maybe Iginla was just publicly saying one thing trying to keep things in-house? Or maybe him saying Keenan was the greatest coach he ever played for was at the start of Keenan's tenure? Interesting tidbits that come out from these interviews.


As for Brent Sutter - I think that era was one of the least entertaining periods of Flames' hockey. Yes, that team wasn't a potent offensive team, but it was even less able to play the system that Brent tried to make them play. Remember that they were the oldest team in the league, and that they were also one of the smallest. What was his system? Everything out of the zone must go up the boards. To generate offence, it based off the cycle. That team wasn't built for that hockey at all. They were better off the rush. They had the defensive personnel to help support it. I remember vividly by the middle of the second season, I started noticing how every time a defencemen grabbed the puck, the opposing team would hug the boards right away, knowing full well they wouldn't have to defend the middle.



Hartley was a much better (and the team was way more entertaining). The only thing he didn't allow was for defencemen to rim the puck back and forth behind the net - he wanted the puck moved up fast, as he believed in a fast transition. However, defensively, I thought he was decent - he was more concerned with shots from in-tight, but wasn't bothered by shots from the perimeter. For 1.5 seasons, this worked fine, especially considering the personnel. It was when the goalies suddenly couldn't save those perimeter shots that things fell apart. Then Ramo comes back from the AHL and emerged as a capable goalie once again, and the Flames were back in the race, until he got hurt. That's how I remember it anyway. I thought Hartley really made Backlund into a strong defensive player. Other than squeezing too much out of that team and falsely signalling to management that this team was further ahead than they really were in the rebuild, he was a great 'teaching coach'. Forced offensive players to play better defence, forced overly-defensive players to play better offence. It was a nice break between the tenures of Brent Sutter and Glen Gulutzan - some of the least inspired and exciting hockey in the history of the Flames (then a break with Peters, then again another difficult season to watch under Ward).



Breath of fresh air is what I call Huska. Seems to be firm and isn't shy to scratch a player or bench him (benched Huberdeau, even though he knew it would make a lot of noise). Treats everyone fairly and seems to have the respect of the team. Team is also not boring to watch. May this team never hire disruptive asshats like Gilbert and Keenan (and Hartley - good coach IMO, but divides the team with his stupid mind games), or terrible boring coaches who can't get the team to at least play to their ability (Gulutzan, Ward, Hay, Playfair, etc).


More Darryl Sutter types (at least when the team needs one), Badger Bobs, and even Huskas (so far, not a single complaint by me). Strong leaders, firm but fair, good communicators, etc., who actually get something out of these teams.


I love hearing stories and tidbits from the '89 team (They should invite more members from that team to talk about it), the '04 team, and I look forward to more players from that last generation (Gaudreau, Monahan, Bennett, Giordano, Backlund especially) talk about going from Brent Sutter's tenure right down to Darryl's Tenure (and Huska - if it is Backlund getting interviewed). I find these really interesting. The funny thing is that whenever Conroy mentions Hartley, he seems very positive on him. I don't agree with Sarich's takes as I haven't heard him share a story that I actually found to be terrible - finding out that he wasn't ready to play because he went golfing and drinking the day before and inserting him into the lineup just to teach him a lesson doesn't strike me as something terrible enough to bring up - but from Stajan's viewpoint, there were many things there, especially how he divided the room.



Either way, it is interesting to hear the dynamics of how the teams were, and listen to some interesting stories. Hopefully the Barn Burner does a lot more of these interviews.

[Nelson]

Pinder proposed forward lines on Thursday’s show. He proposed Zary at centre, Pospisil as 4th line centre, Pelletier with Backlund and Coleman, and Pelletier and Coronato in the top 9. I think this could mean the below lines, because I think Huberdeau and Mantha are meant to play together.

Kuzmenko - Kadri - Coronato
Huberdeau - Zary - Mantha
Pelletier - Backlund - Coleman
Sharangovich - Pospisil - Lomberg

I also have those 4 centres, but I have Pelletier on the 4th line with Pospisil.

Kuzmenko - Kadri - Sharangovich
Huberdeau - Zary - Mantha
Coleman - Backlund - Coronato
(Pelletier) - Pospisil - Lomberg

(I’m assuming Rooney, Duehr and Hunt are your extras.)

What do ppl think of the line combinations above?

FWIW, I think the defence pairings are pretty straight-forward:

Weegar - Miromanov
Bahl - Andersson
Bean - Pachal

[SuperMatt18]

Sharangovich on the 4th line to start the year again is crazy though, so think it has to be one of Pelletier or Coronato on the 4th line.

Huberdeau-Sharangovich-Mantha
Zary - Kadri - Kuzmenko
Coleman -Backlund - Coronato
Pelletier - Pospisil - Lomberg
Rooney

That would be my lineup and roster to start the season.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Nelson

Pinder proposed forward lines on Thursday’s show. He proposed Zary at centre, Pospisil as 4th line centre, Pelletier with Backlund and Coleman, and Pelletier and Coronato in the top 9. I think this could mean the below lines, because I think Huberdeau and Mantha are meant to play together.

Kuzmenko - Kadri - Coronato
Huberdeau - Zary - Mantha
Pelletier - Backlund - Coleman
Sharangovich - Pospisil - Lomberg

I also have those 4 centres, but I have Pelletier on the 4th line with Pospisil.

Kuzmenko - Kadri - Sharangovich
Huberdeau - Zary - Mantha
Coleman - Backlund - Coronato
(Pelletier) - Pospisil - Lomberg

(I’m assuming Rooney, Duehr and Hunt are your extras.)

What do ppl think of the line combinations above?

FWIW, I think the defence pairings are pretty straight-forward:

Weegar - Miromanov
Bahl - Andersson
Bean - Pachal

Pinder thinks the team goal-scoring leader last year should be on the 4th line?

[Nelson]

Originally Posted by D as in David

Pinder thinks the team goal-scoring leader last year should be on the 4th line?

I don’t actually know what his lines would be, but I just know he said his lines would have those four things: the 4 centres (Kadri, Backlund, Zary and Pospisil, with Pospisil as 4C), Pelletier and Coronato in the top 9, Pelletier with Backlund and Coleman. So, I’m guessing as to what the lines would be, because I don’t believe he put a picture on the screen.

[transplant99]

Im still positive the team will try Sharangovich at C and see what happens.

And as SuperMatt mentions, it will likely be with Mantha and Huberdeau.