Expectations - to be, or not to be.... a Contender

[flamesfan1297]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

The team is close to being a contender this year if everything goes right including Smith staying hot, Bennett getting on the score sheet, and somebody stepping up as the top line RW. The Flames are built very similar to Nashville with a deep defence supporting an average forward group. If the Preds can get close to a Stanley Cup, why can't the Flames?

Next year is where I think their contender window starts to open with Stajan coming off the books and a Brouwer buy out being realistic. This should allow Treliving the room to acquire the missing piece of a top line RW even with having to re-sign Backlund and possibly Smith.

Smith is still under contract next season, but yes agree it will be nice to have Stajan and his cap hit off the books, and an open roster spot. Hopefully Jankowski can step in and fill that position next year.

[Caged Great]

The Flames should be in a position now where they start cashing in some prospect capital to further the team's needs.

I do not see Bartkowski/Kulak being the #6 at the end of the season. That will be replaced by a legit top 5 NHL D-man of some sort.

Similarly, the Ferland/Lazar experiment on the top 9 is going to be short lived unless they step up quickly. I frankly would not be surprised if the Flames made another splash for a veteran RW after the Olympics. Perhaps a welcome home party might be in order before the trade deadline for a certain soon to be hall of famer. Otherwise go out and find any "bargain" Versteeg caliber or better guy available for cheap.

[dino7c]

Nashville almost won a Stanley cup...after a pretty average regular season. It's far too early to be making these calls...that being said upgrade the top line RW like I have been saying for 3 years

[jlh2640]

I have said all along, we should be a competitive team but not ready to be called anything close to a contender yet.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Nashville almost won a Stanley cup...after a pretty average regular season. It's far too early to be making these calls...that being said upgrade the top line RW like I have been saying for 3 years

You and me both. It's like those football teams that get the star QB and receiver and pay them both a lot of dough and then fail to address an inadequate offensive line and wonder why their offense never achieves its potential. Kind of bizarre actually as Treliving has overly focused on every position except the one that's been sorely lacking post-Hudler.

[Bourque's Twin]

The Western Conference doesn't have any true contenders anymore. Therefore, I think the Flames have 5 year window to do something.

Vancouver, Arizona, and Vegas need more time.

Chicago, LA, San Jose, Minnesota and St. Louis are still good teams but past their primes and on the decline. None are contenders.

Dallas, Edmonton, and Winnipeg fall under the same category as Calgary. They have some great young pieces, but need to put it all together.

Anaheim is the closest team to a contender in the West, but their best 3 forwards are on the wrong side of 30, and 2 of them are not nearly as impactful as they once were (Perry, Kesler). Their secondary scoring is good but I don't think its capable of transitioning into the team's primary scoring in 3 years.

Nashville is coming off a cup run after a mediocre season, which shows that anything can happen in the Western Conference. They've also started the year with an even GF-GA and are 4-3-1. Our Flames are 4-4 with a -3 differential.

[Anduril]

I still don't believe in the fascination of getting a top line RW as an achievable goal. Most teams in the NHL don't have a top line with 3 first line players. It's usually some mix of elite and good players with a 3rd for chemistry.

Teams I'd argue who either have or could put it together a 1st line realistically:

Boston
Dallas
Nashville
Washington
Winnipeg


Maybe Pittsburgh

And some of those you could argue. As much as it would be great to have that 1 line dominance that the Flames had with Hudler, that's still hoping for chemistry between Gaudreau, Monahan and a 3rd.

[_Q_]

I'm willing to give it some time. Bennett not coming in and being a game changer right away has seriously held this team back. I think we need to try the kid on the wing and see if he can flourish in that environment.

[N-E-B]

I thought the key was Bennett had to take the next step. He hasn't done that yet, so no they aren't.

They are a good team but I think it's a bit premature to expect them to win the Stanley Cup. I do, however, expect them to be in the division race all season. I don't think LA or especially Vegas will keep up their pace.

[EldrickOnIce]

A contender has a 3rd line that contributes significantly and a 4th line that contributes some.
To this point the Haynes article in the news section aptly describes their contribution: None.
This is not to say there isn't potential within the organization, but it's not happening, nor does it look close, at this point.

[Samonadreau]

Step 1: Call up Janko - [CHECK]

Step 2: Move Bennett to the Wing

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Anduril

I still don't believe in the fascination of getting a top line RW as an achievable goal. Most teams in the NHL don't have a top line with 3 first line players. It's usually some mix of elite and good players with a 3rd for chemistry.

Teams I'd argue who either have or could put it together a 1st line realistically:

Boston
Dallas
Nashville
Washington
Winnipeg


Maybe Pittsburgh

And some of those you could argue. As much as it would be great to have that 1 line dominance that the Flames had with Hudler, that's still hoping for chemistry between Gaudreau, Monahan and a 3rd.

The issue is that plenty of teams at least have three top six players on their first line. The Flames have been rotating bottom 6 forwards on the top line for a few seasons now. It's no surprise Monahan and Gaudreau's best seasons came when they had a RW that had top 6 skills in Hudler.

[Enoch Root]

One of the keys, in order for them to take the next step to contender, was to have a couple of the young guys take the next step in order to round out the offensive attack.

So far, there has been no progression from any of them. That includes Bennett, Ferland, Lazar, Jankowski, Poirier, Shinkaruk or anyone else you want to add to the list.

But there is still lots of time for that to happen. On top of that, Jagr was brought in to boost the offense as well, and it's simply too early to see any results from that. But again, there are still 74 games left int the season.

As for the D, I think there are two things at play here. When people talk about great defensive players, I think we definitely have that. But you also need to play good team defense. And I don't think the Flames are there yet. But I think they'll get there.

Also, Hamilton has started slowly, and Brodie has been inconsistent. But I am not worried about either.

Of all the things that needed to take place in order for the Flames to graduate into contender status, the only one that has actually transpired yet is the goaltending. But it's early - no reason to think the other things can't get going as well.

[REDVAN]

This team is a contender... for one of the wc playoff spots.

[madmike]

I see the Flames as the new Blues unfortunately. Lots of solid players throughout the lineup. But no true superstars, which is what gets you the Cups.

[ForeverFlameFan]

We're going to need another impact winger. Lazar has a ways to go, and Bennett/Ferland are not meeting up to expectations. Hopefully within the next couple of years one of Dube/Mangiapane/Poirier break out to be a solid top 6 RW/LW.

[Tinordi]

Originally Posted by madmike

I see the Flames as the new Blues unfortunately. Lots of solid players throughout the lineup. But no true superstars, which is what gets you the Cups.

I think the Blues comparison is decent but Tarasenko is a legit superstar and we don't have a comparable player in the Flames organization.

[blankall]

I'm of the camp that you do not need a franchise centre to be a contender, that is merely one way of getting there. Right now, obviously we are missing some offensive punch though. If we were to have two 60ish point centres plus Backlund, as a 40+ point centre, that would be acceptable center depth for a championship team. So yes, I'll echo comments that Janko or Bennett emergeing as that centre would go a long way.

Our defence needs to tighten up too though. Losing that game in Minnesota after having a late lead was unacceptable.

So to sum up...if we could score more goals and let less goals in, we'd win more games...shocking.

[Pellanor]

Jagr signed. Curse broken. Great goaltending to start the season. Solid D core. Young forwards who should continue to improve. Jango unchained. I may be optimistic, but I expect us to be contending.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by madmike

I see the Flames as the new Blues unfortunately. Lots of solid players throughout the lineup. But no true superstars, which is what gets you the Cups.

Terasenko is pretty close IMO