Expectations for 2014-15 Season

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Originally Posted by howard_the_duck

IMO we just drafted a franchise player in Bennett - he's gonna be a dandy. But with that said, the possibility of drafting McDavid/Eichel, who project to be generational talents, would make this a SCARY good young team. It'd have the makings of a Penguins-like young core.

To be in the conversation of drafting one of those 2 players, in addition to the past 2 drafts we just had, makes this a really interesting season coming up.

This sounds like Oiler talk...and it gives me the willies ;-)

[activeStick]

Calgary should finish bottom 3, probably not bad enough to be dead last though. Lots of effort, in games more often than not, but the kids need another two years before they push for a playoff spot.

[Enoch Root]

For me, this is the year that really requires patience and maintaining focus on the goals.

There probably still won't be a lot of kids in the lineup, which is good because they aren't ready. As much as people want to see the youth get a chance, they are better off getting big minutes and developing chemistry together in the minors.

Sticking with the plan and being patient will result in another season similar to last year. And like last year, that will mean being rewarded with another bounty crop of prospects next summer.

Then next year things will start to change. Gaudreau, Baertschi, Bennett, Poirier, Wotherspoon and likely some others, should be ready (or close) to becoming full time NHLers. All of the current prospects will have had another year and we will begin to see what we've got (and what we still need).

That will change everything because then we'll start to look like that young up and coming team that we are waiting for.

But for now, patience.

Hopefully Adirondack can make it a great year.

[puckedoff]

It is going to be a tough year despite development of our young guys.
The west added quite a few good players. The central and pacific divisions are just nasty and it will be tough to get wins.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by Fozzie_DeBear

This sounds like Oiler talk...and it gives me the willies ;-)

Yeah it felt a little Oiler-y coming out.

[AcGold]

Even if the players in the draft are generational talents I don't care, I hope we make the playoffs. Complete long shot I know but here's the thing, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, and Washington have 3 of the most talented players in the game today and none of them are even close to winning a cup. Don't care about the draft, I expect the Flames to push for 2 points every game and try to make the playoffs even if the hockey world thinks that's crazy. I'm sick of losing

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by AcGold

Even if the players in the draft are generational talents I don't care, I hope we make the playoffs. Complete long shot I know but here's the thing, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, and Washington have 3 of the most talented players in the game today and none of them are even close to winning a cup. Don't care about the draft, I expect the Flames to push for 2 points every game and try to make the playoffs even if the hockey world thinks that's crazy. I'm sick of losing

Exactly.
But every top team spent their time in the basement, or you guarantee mediocrity forever.

One more top draft for the Flames and that's it.

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by AcGold

Even if the players in the draft are generational talents I don't care, I hope we make the playoffs. Complete long shot I know but here's the thing, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, and Washington have 3 of the most talented players in the game today and none of them are even close to winning a cup. Don't care about the draft, I expect the Flames to push for 2 points every game and try to make the playoffs even if the hockey world thinks that's crazy. I'm sick of losing

pretty certain the cup winning teams also have what could be argued as the most skilled players in the league (toews/kane/keith, kopitar/doughty/carter,bergeron/kreci/lucic/chara).

with the kind of draft coming up, it could solidify a decade plus playoff team, especially with the prospect collection already put together.

Patience is going to be critical.

Also, i don't want this rebuild to be equivalent to the Senators rebuild. They somehow made the playoffs about a year into their 3 year rebuild plan, and it took them COMPLETELY off course, and look at them today.

[icecube]

I expect another bottom five finish and I'd be absolutely shocked if they did any better. With a little luck they will pick bottom two and be set up for success for the next 15 years.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by AcGold

Even if the players in the draft are generational talents I don't care, I hope we make the playoffs. Complete long shot I know but here's the thing, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, and Washington have 3 of the most talented players in the game today and none of them are even close to winning a cup. Don't care about the draft, I expect the Flames to push for 2 points every game and try to make the playoffs even if the hockey world thinks that's crazy. I'm sick of losing

This is shortsighted. I want the playoffs as badly as anyone, but a season or 2 more of being out in order to gather the pieces that could make us perennial contenders is a no brainer for me.

[AcGold]

But is Toews really a generational talent? He doesn't have more than a ppg which guys like Crosby, Lemieux, Gretzky do; true generational talents. Toews is a great player and leader surrounded by a solid foundation.

Doughty isn't at the level of Pronger but he helps carry the team that can roll 4 lines effectively. I'd rather we start developing what he have to its potential and create a solid foundation that contends for years than hope for 1 guy to turn the tide. For years we had one of the best players in the game and one of the best goalies and couldn't get out of the first round.

Shortsighted is thinking 1 or 2 guys will take us from losers to contenders. Longterm we need our prospects we have now to be able to play.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Exactly.

But every top team spent their time in the basement, or you guarantee mediocrity forever.



One more top draft for the Flames and that's it.

Sorry to say, but there will be a few more rough seasons in store for the Flames after 2015. Rebuilds are almost never that quick.

In fact the GM himself has all but said he expects three more seasons of losing before we turn the corner.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by AcGold

Shortsighted is thinking 1 or 2 guys will take us from losers to contenders. Longterm we need our prospects we have now to be able to play.

Not immediately. It's then on the GM to make other astute moves to bring in support pieces around him - i.e Pens bringing in Recchi, Roberts to mentor Sid. And make no mistake, there is no better marketing tool than the opportunity to play on a young team built around a player of McDavid/Eichel's ilk.

And you're absolutely right about our existing prospects - they will need to develop into pieces that can contribute in order to become an elite team.

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by AcGold

But is Toews really a generational talent? He doesn't have more than a ppg which guys like Crosby, Lemieux, Gretzky do; true generational talents. Toews is a great player and leader surrounded by a solid foundation.

Doughty isn't at the level of Pronger but he helps carry the team that can roll 4 lines effectively. I'd rather we start developing what he have to its potential and create a solid foundation that contends for years than hope for 1 guy to turn the tide. For years we had one of the best players in the game and one of the best goalies and couldn't get out of the first round.

Shortsighted is thinking 1 or 2 guys will take us from losers to contenders. Longterm we need our prospects we have now to be able to play.

Toews and Kopitar are at least in the same tier as crosby as far as this generation's most elite centers. One could argue toews'intangibles make him equal to or better.

Doughty/keith have proven that he could very well be the "pronger" type generational dmen. Especially considering the fact that they have anchored their teams very deep in multiple years, as well as already winning multiple stanley cups.

I actually would consider your last statement to be the complete inverse of my view (my opinion, not saying it is correct).

Short term thinking is that we have collected enough talent in the rebuild to start making strides to be a playoff team and playing prospects in roles they are ready for. Long term success likely means playing our skilled prospects in the leagues/roles which lead to the best development in this stage of their careers. With lack of quality alternatives, it means the nhl club is likely not going to be a high caliber one again this year. However, given the upcoming draft, this may turn out to be a desirable consequence of being patient again this year.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by AcGold

But is Toews really a generational talent? He doesn't have more than a ppg which guys like Crosby, Lemieux, Gretzky do; true generational talents. Toews is a great player and leader surrounded by a solid foundation.

Doughty isn't at the level of Pronger but he helps carry the team that can roll 4 lines effectively. I'd rather we start developing what he have to its potential and create a solid foundation that contends for years than hope for 1 guy to turn the tide. For years we had one of the best players in the game and one of the best goalies and couldn't get out of the first round.

Shortsighted is thinking 1 or 2 guys will take us from losers to contenders. Longterm we need our prospects we have now to be able to play.

Completely agree.

Which is why I want the Flames to remain focused on proper development and patience, and not rush the kids and the team up the standings before they're ready.

[AcGold]

Logical, the way I figure it is having the very high end talent does not guarantee success. When teams place one guy up on a pedestal and say this is our guy for the next decade he has a target on his back. It seems like having a bunch of 5-8 million/year contracts is way better than one or two 8-11.

I'm not saying getting generational talents is bad just that a team with 4 lines and no real superstar seems to win over one or two guys because the game is so fast and players are getting so big one guy doesn't make as big of a difference as in generations of the past. At this moment Pittsburgh is slowly falling apart, just watch and see what happens to Chicago if they sign 1/3 of their cap to 2 players, doesn't seem to work in today's game.

[heep223]

I expect to drink a lot of beer, watch some fights and cheer my guts out. I want them to win but I expect them to lose.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

Sorry to say, but there will be a few more rough seasons in store for the Flames after 2015. Rebuilds are almost never that quick.

In fact the GM himself has all but said he expects three more seasons of losing before we turn the corner.

Yes, but enough high end prospects in place, imo.

[Hackey]

Originally Posted by AcGold

But is Toews really a generational talent? He doesn't have more than a ppg which guys like Crosby, Lemieux, Gretzky do; true generational talents. Toews is a great player and leader surrounded by a solid foundation.

Doughty isn't at the level of Pronger but he helps carry the team that can roll 4 lines effectively. I'd rather we start developing what he have to its potential and create a solid foundation that contends for years than hope for 1 guy to turn the tide. For years we had one of the best players in the game and one of the best goalies and couldn't get out of the first round.

Shortsighted is thinking 1 or 2 guys will take us from losers to contenders. Longterm we need our prospects we have now to be able to play.

Either way Doughty is a number 2 overall pick and Toews is a number 3 overall pick. These are the types of players you almost always have to draft and they aren't players you usually find later in the draft. Flames have a couple high end prospects in Monohan and Bennett. They likely need 2-3 more and on top of that will need other prospects to add the needed depth. If we can land another elite player or two in the draft over the next couple years we can start to supplement those players with other drafted players and UFAs. I'm perfectly fine with being in the basement for another year or two. It's the life cycle of sports. There's no point in trying to accelerate that unnecessarily and having it hurt us more in the long run than help us. There is no shame in being in the basement for 2-4 years. LA, Chicago, Pittsburgh, St Louis, Colorado, etc were all there for a lot longer. Every team goes through it at some point.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Hackey

Either way Doughty is a number 2 overall pick and Toews is a number 3 overall pick. These are the types of players you almost always have to draft and they aren't players you usually find later in the draft. Flames have a couple high end prospects in Monohan and Bennett. They likely need 2-3 more and on top of that will need other prospects to add the needed depth. If we can land another elite player or two in the draft over the next couple years we can start to supplement those players with other drafted players and UFAs. I'm perfectly fine with being in the basement for another year or two. It's the life cycle of sports. There's no point in trying to accelerate that unnecessarily and having it hurt us more in the long run than help us. There is no shame in being in the basement for 2-4 years. LA, Chicago, Pittsburgh, St Louis, Colorado, etc were all there for a lot longer. Every team goes through it at some point.

Exactly.
Monahan and Bennet could become an elite 1-2. You don't often luck out and get those guys with the 10th pick in the draft.
2015 could be the best in the last few and next few years. This potentially sets you up for the next 10+ years.
Patience