My thoughts the end . . . maybe

[Patek23]

Well look on the bright side we could be Bolts or Penguins fans right now

[Maritime Q-Scout]

I often wonder what the Flames culture is like at the executive level.

I truly believe that in order for a team to win, it starts with the owners/president and works down.

Stress should work it's way up the corporate ladder, not down. What I mean by that is when the heat is on the 4th line for not producing, your 1st line should be saying "we've got this". When the 1st line isn't producing the coaching staff should be deflecting the heat to themselves. The GM deflect it to themself, off the coach. President or whomever deflect off the GM.

If your employees/players are supported and allowed to make mistakes then they'll go through fire for you. The going through fire is the "extra gear" that's talked about in the playoffs.

Is the rink too much of a distraction? Are people looking out for themselves and not others? Are people in the organization properly supported?

I don't know the answers to any of these questions. Perhaps everything is fantastic and the team is a model franchise? But one playoff run in 30 years tells me it's not the players, that each year, while an isolated data point, shows a trend.

We look north to the dumpster fire that is the Oilers, and basically point the finger to Katz, Lowe, et al.

How much better are our owners, executives, etc?

Now some might read this and take my questioning as condemning the franchise. They are legit questions, and if the answers are "it's great" then great.

I think there's something off within the organization's culture. Is there a Calgary OBC that are blind to something?

I don't know.

Yes, the playoffs changed to a completely different game.

How effective was Peters at getting makeup calls?

How is the team approaching the NHL about the playoffs officiating?

I'm rambling on my phone at this point with lots of questions and no real answers.

[danny darko]

Originally Posted by Flaming Homer

Well look on the bright side we could be Bolts or Penguins fans right now

You mean fans of recent back to back cup Champs with 3 cup wins in the last decade? Or fans of a team who won the cup in 04, crushing the hopes & dreams of a Cinderella team and their fan base in the finals?

I don't know, neither of those options sound all that bad lol.

[Aeneas]

Originally Posted by Buff

I want to quit being a fan. Of any team. I'm getting too old to go through the up's and downs and disappointment. It comes with being a fan of any team. I hate it. I don't handle it well. I want to be done.

I still love hockey. I enjoy watching playoff hockey more when it isn't my own team playing. I just enjoy watching the competition. That said, I hate unfairness and the officiating is so poor that it always creates an unfair advantage for one team or another. Intentional or not, it does. That ruins some of my enjoyment.

Now here is my problem. The Flames are my first true love. I've been a fan since I was a little boy and they moved to Calgary. How can I quit the Flames after nearly 40 years? It's hard to. It's the only thing I know. It leaves me conflicted.

It's hard.

My thoughts exactly.

Loved first run in 1981, some good moments in early 80's. 1986 awesome, 1989 fantastic, 2004 nearly perfect, 2015 love Ferly. But so much suffering, no need to rehash them.

[Buff]

It also hurts to be right. My friend pointed out to me what I said a few weeks ago. "This Flames team doesn't have what it takes to win in the playoffs"

He thought I was ridiculous for not believing. I just didn't believe. It would be nice to believe in your team after they had a good, no great, regular season but this team had bred mistrust in me since 1990.

[RogerWilco]

Originally Posted by Buff

I want to quit being a fan. Of any team. I'm getting too old to go through the up's and downs and disappointment. It comes with being a fan of any team. I hate it. I don't handle it well. I want to be done.

I still love hockey. I enjoy watching playoff hockey more when it isn't my own team playing. I just enjoy watching the competition. That said, I hate unfairness and the officiating is so poor that it always creates an unfair advantage for one team or another. Intentional or not, it does. That ruins some of my enjoyment.

Now here is my problem. The Flames are my first true love. I've been a fan since I was a little boy and they moved to Calgary. How can I quit the Flames after nearly 40 years? It's hard to. It's the only thing I know. It leaves me conflicted.

It's hard.

You will feel different in a couple of weeks. I spent thousands to travelled to the last 3 grey cups and was completely dejected after the first two, completely lost my will to be a sports fan. But it just made this year so much more special.

There will be something good for the flames in the next 5 years, I'm sure of it. We just may get our hearts crushed a couple of times along the way.

[Johnhitbox]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

I'm too stubborn to quit.

I rage for a bit then come back for more.

Loyal fan.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Red]

Originally Posted by Buff

It also hurts to be right. My friend pointed out to me what I said a few weeks ago. "This Flames team doesn't have what it takes to win in the playoffs"

He thought I was ridiculous for not believing. I just didn't believe. It would be nice to believe in your team after they had a good, no great, regular season but this team had bred mistrust in me since 1990.

Many here think that skill trumps toughness. The Aves D had their way with our soft forwards. They removed their will to compete. They have some big guys that play to their size. Our D only has 2 players that are hard to play against, Gio and Hamonic. And 3 forwards, Tkachuk, Bennett and Hathaway.

Hope that Tre saw this. You can't win with that much softness throughout the entire lineup.
Brodie for a big, tough D please. And get a couple of F with size. Preferably a C that can skate and gain the zone. Push Monahan to the 3rd line where he can match up versus lesser players. At least in the playoffs. He is too slow to be in the top 6 and it will get worse as the league gets faster each passing year.

[Tiger]

So much talk about toughness... but the avs won because they were the faster more skilled team. Most their goals were amazing passes and amazing shots. We got beat by skill. Not because they were bigger. On D they swarm Johnny and he had no one there to help him. There was no space, but they didnt manhandle the flames by any means, they played smarter.

[442scotty]

After two years of Gulutzan hockey my big hope for the year was for the flames to play entertaining hockey and for the majority of the year that’s what we got. As good as the team appeared to be I didn’t think they were good enough to go anywhere in the playoffs. It still sucks when they lose though.

The Av’s found their game at the right time of year and with MacKinnon playing his best they were going to be tough to beat. Lots of questions to be asked now.

If Chucky didn’t get hurt when he got crushed early in the second game then where did he go? I’m sure hoping that he was hurt because he disappeared after that hit. And I don’t think having a slower offensive stud like him playing on a checking line against MacKinnon was a great idea.

I hope Monahan was hurt because he was pretty much invisible. Nuf said about him. The defence ? No complaints about Gio, Anderson, Valimaki. Brodie needs to go and Hanafin has been in the league a while now and really wasn’t great.

There are a LOT of holes on this team and Treliving needs to be better! (If he doesn’t get fired for Neal & Brouwer)

So I’m just hoping to be entertained again next year because anything else is gravey

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by Tiger

So much talk about toughness... but the avs won because they were the faster more skilled team. Most their goals were amazing passes and amazing shots. We got beat by skill. Not because they were bigger. On D they swarm Johnny and he had no one there to help him. There was no space, but they didnt manhandle the flames by any means, they played smarter.

add willingness to attack... i agree with everything you say.

What is shocking to me, aside from the flames lack of want too, was the Avs players causing the havok are't all that big.

Andrigetto 10 RW L 5' 10" 188
Calvert 11 LW L 5' 11" 186
Compher 37 LW R 6' 0" 193
Jost 17 C L 5' 11" 191
Kerfoot 13 C L 5' 10" 175
Neito 83 LW L 5' 11" 190
Wilson 22 C L 6' 1" 221

outside of the #1 line, it was these players that stuck out to me and with the exception of Wison, all are pretty average NHL'er size wise.

they just out competed calgary. Peters got out coached too: i was stunned at how good the Avs were at stopping the puck at the half wall just above the dot...that's not a fluke - they saw something and forced the flames into tons of turnovers.

and most shocking to me? McKinnon is listed at 6'0" 205lbs on the Avs website...

the way he played i thought he was 6'3" 215lbs... but he was pretty overage to other NHL players, being 1" shorter than average and 6 pounds heavier than average.

[Flamescuprun2018]

Most disappointing playoff series in Flames history.

A series of game 7 Vernon glove or toe saves could have made 1989 Vancouver series even more disappointing.

We learned alot about the heart and grit of this team. They could not find that extra level of commitment/energy to make it a series. BT will surely make one or two moves in off-season to revamp the top 9. Ridding us of Neal without crippling our cap space will be his greatest challenge.

I will continue to watch this team closely. It is the only pro sport at the highest level in this town so not much choice.

As long as BT is GM I remain hopeful. His contract wizardry and work ethic has won over my support and admiration.

He is a top 5 GM in the league if/when he goes on vacation July 1 and 2 or at least does not sign any UFAs with 400+ games played and age 30 or more (Neal/Brouwer).

Monahan, Brodie, Frolik, Stone, Neal are possible targets for a trade. BT draft day theatrics are next up.

[Steve Bozek]

Originally Posted by Red

Many here think that skill trumps toughness. The Aves D had their way with our soft forwards. They removed their will to compete. They have some big guys that play to their size. Our D only has 2 players that are hard to play against, Gio and Hamonic. And 3 forwards, Tkachuk, Bennett and Hathaway.

Hope that Tre saw this. You can't win with that much softness throughout the entire lineup.
Brodie for a big, tough D please. And get a couple of F with size. Preferably a C that can skate and gain the zone. Push Monahan to the 3rd line where he can match up versus lesser players. At least in the playoffs. He is too slow to be in the top 6 and it will get worse as the league gets faster each passing year.

Was it toughness or just more skill/speed? Without much clobbering Flames players into the boards or great open ice bodychecks, the Avs simply won most of the puck battles along the boards. They anticipated and intercepted passes, ran circles around the Flames on offence, and usually prevented the Flames from mounting sustained pressure when the Flames were on offence. The fear they generated in the Flames was not fear of getting hit, it was fear of making mistakes.

[burn_baby_burn]

As a seasoned Flames fan, you need to prepare for the worst. Hope for the best. Some people who are not Flames fans were commenting on the Flames game 1 win. I said, all they have done is guarantee a game 5. It would be nice to have some confidence in your team, especially after the regular season they just had. But, I'm a seasoned Flames fan.

[Scroopy Noopers]

The loss wasn’t a fluke, and the holes in our teams game were exposed at different points throughout the season.

For that, I am excited to see the moves Treliving makes to address the situation. Because you know there will be SEVERAL.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

But, I'm a seasoned Flames fan.

We are indeed well marinated in disappointment.

[Red]

Originally Posted by Steve Bozek

Was it toughness or just more skill/speed? Without much clobbering Flames players into the boards or great open ice bodychecks, the Avs simply won most of the puck battles along the boards. They anticipated and intercepted passes, ran circles around the Flames on offence, and usually prevented the Flames from mounting sustained pressure when the Flames were on offence. The fear they generated in the Flames was not fear of getting hit, it was fear of making mistakes.

Why do you think they won those board battles? Did you see Czarnik getting stapled to the boards last night early on? A guy that small can only do so much.
Toughness isn't just fighting and open ice hits. Toughness is being able to go to the net through traffic. Our guys can't do that. And our D couldnt stop them from doing that.

We have seen the same script for years. This team gets manhandled with ease. Doughty was right, Flames are easy to play against.

[Red]

And to add. How much skill do we need? How much speed do we need?
We were the speedy skill team all year and ended up at the top of the conference as a result.

Speed and skill are not what's missing here. Goaltending was great too. What else is there? Did the players stop caring as soon as the tough games started?

IMO they got manhandled. Couldn't win a board battles. Got pushed out from the slot. Couldn't stay in the crease. And on the other spectrum, weren't strong enough to stop Colorado players from attacking the net. Colorado boxed us out, we couldn't do the same.

[Cheese]

This:

The NHL itself


I've really started to lose my interest in the NHL, the reffing is inconsistant.



The NHL talks about speed and skill and they call it to highlight that in the regular season. But the message changed in the playoffs. Suddenly there was interference and clutching and grabbing and tackling and slashes to the hand and the refs wouldn't call it. I doubt it would make a difference in this series because the Avs weren't going to be denied. But the inconsistancy of calls and the sudden shift back to 90's hockey is just stupid.

[Steve Bozek]

Originally Posted by Red

Why do you think they won those board battles? Did you see Czarnik getting stapled to the boards last night early on? A guy that small can only do so much.
Toughness isn't just fighting and open ice hits. Toughness is being able to go to the net through traffic. Our guys can't do that. And our D couldnt stop them from doing that.

We have seen the same script for years. This team gets manhandled with ease. Doughty was right, Flames are easy to play against.

When I hear talk about toughness, I think of Don Cherry’s belligerence, but I agree that toughness is a that ability to fight through checks, and take a hit, but keep on ticking. For most of the season I saw the Flames doing that, but not as consistently in the last month or so. But our top line lacked something beyond toughness for the last part of the season as well as the playoffs. And in the playoffs, I still think it was more the Avs’ speed and skill that won the puck battles along the boards in the Flames’ end, and left our defence unsure of themselves, rather than the hitting.