Schneider in 6 career starts vs Flames – 4-2-0, 2.13 GAA, .936 SV%. Kiprusoff in last 6 home starts vs Canucks – 2-4-0, 4.73 GAA, .854 SV%.
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The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true. Go Flames Go!
Miikka Kiprusoff get the start in net for the #Flames tonight.
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The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true. Go Flames Go!
#Flames lines this morning: Tanguay-Backlund-Stempniak; Glencross-Reinhart-Jackman; Cammalleri-Horak-Baertschi; Begin-Jones-Cervenka
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The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true. Go Flames Go!
You know, while none of these lines are particularly good, the top 3 are extremely well balanced. Give the Flames 2 top six centres and they might have a reasonably entertaining forward lineup. Let's look forward for next year's lineup, assuming no further trades of guys currently under contract:
Say you overpay Mike Ribeiro for 5 years @$32M. That's your #1 centre during the 3-4 "rebuilding years", until at least one of the younger guys (say, Jankowski if he pans out or Barkov/Mackinnon/Whoever else is drafted this year and next) are ready to kick ass as top 6 centres. You may also have some space to get a good middle six player in terms of possession play - say, Cochrane boy Mason Raymond, who looks to be too expensive to keep for a cash-strapped Canucks squad, or Michael Ryder, or Pascal Dupuis. Take one of those guys on a 1-2 year deal with the full expectation that you'll sell them as a rental at the applicable trade deadling for a prospect.
Now, is that a good team? Not particularly. Probably not getting to the playoffs. But it also isn't likely to be awful, either, if Kiprusoff comes back. If Barkov's not ready for the big dance yet, Backlund or Stajan are capable of moving up a set without being huge craters in the lineup. Basically it is not a "bags over heads" unwatchable scenario up front, and even if the team is losing it shouldn't be an embarassment.
my wife rec'd 4 tickets from work, lower bowl, row 2 - the 4 seats right beside the flame bench. the sightlines will liely be awful, but it will be cool to sit close to teh bench.
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You know, while none of these lines are particularly good, the top 3 are extremely well balanced. Give the Flames 2 top six centres and they might have a reasonably entertaining forward lineup. Let's look forward for next year's lineup, assuming no further trades of guys currently under contract:
The only objective of this game should be to punish Bieksa. Two points don't matter. Score doesn't matter. Bieksa must pay. All night. Until the coach decides to sit him out for his own safety.
1. I hope all the Flames fans at the dome will rain boos on Bieksa all night, whenever he touches the puck.
2. Then the team picks up on the cue and hits him constantly. During the play and after.
3. A fight is necessary and still not satisfactory.
4. 60 minutes of Bieksa hate.
If you really think Backlund will be a 4th line center going forward you obviously don't watch him or the Flames play very closely. Stick to making Canuck line-ups where you might look like you know what you're talking about.
Thanks, bitter flames fan, but pay attention to what I'm saying because we're on the same page. That's sort of my point - Backlund is CLEARLY not a first line centre, but it's not out of the question to play him at any other centre spot in the lineup. In other words, I have Barkov (or Mackinnon) in the 2C spot, largely because I really think Barkov is NHL-ready and his skillset is best served in that role. But if the guy the Flames get isn't a Centre, or isn't ready right off the hop next year, Backlund is a serviceable if not great number 2 centre. Hell, in a pinch, Stajan can play that role too.
Everyone thinks the centre position is the weak one for the Flames, but realistically they're just missing top-end talent there. Top end centre talent is acquireable. ELITE centre talent is hard to come by, but you can get a guy to play serviceably in the #1 spot. 2-3-4, there are players in the system to fill those roles immediately and potentially in the future.
So if you want to re-do that lineup as BLANK-Backlund-Stajan-Reinhart, or BLANK-Stajan-Backlund-Horak, go right ahead. The point stands, it's not an apocalypse scenario and the foundation for a rebuild is in my (completely objective as a non-Flames fan) view not as dire as some seem to think.
You know, while none of these lines are particularly good, the top 3 are extremely well balanced. Give the Flames 2 top six centres and they might have a reasonably entertaining forward lineup. Let's look forward for next year's lineup, assuming no further trades of guys currently under contract:
Say you overpay Mike Ribeiro for 5 years @$32M. That's your #1 centre during the 3-4 "rebuilding years", until at least one of the younger guys (say, Jankowski if he pans out or Barkov/Mackinnon/Whoever else is drafted this year and next) are ready to kick ass as top 6 centres. You may also have some space to get a good middle six player in terms of possession play - say, Cochrane boy Mason Raymond, who looks to be too expensive to keep for a cash-strapped Canucks squad, or Michael Ryder, or Pascal Dupuis. Take one of those guys on a 1-2 year deal with the full expectation that you'll sell them as a rental at the applicable trade deadling for a prospect.
Now, is that a good team? Not particularly. Probably not getting to the playoffs. But it also isn't likely to be awful, either, if Kiprusoff comes back. If Barkov's not ready for the big dance yet, Backlund or Stajan are capable of moving up a set without being huge craters in the lineup. Basically it is not a "bags over heads" unwatchable scenario up front, and even if the team is losing it shouldn't be an embarassment.
If you're rebuilding, why would you overpay for any guy? How would throwing away money to a guy like Ribeiro help service a young team? You throw away money to guys like that if you're trying to win, not rebuild.
If you're rebuilding, why would you overpay for any guy? How would throwing away money to a guy like Ribeiro help service a young team? You throw away money to guys like that if you're trying to win, not rebuild.
Because the rebuild will take at least 3-4 years and those 3-4 years should not be a race to the basement. The Flames management isn't right about much but they are right about the playoff mandate - whatever team you have to put on the ice, it should be trying to make the playoffs. When re-building, my view is that you term out your UFA signings to expire around the time when the fruit of the rebuild is about to ripen. The Ribeiro's of the world play the big roles while the young guys develop until they're ready to take over. If that happens before his contract is up, he becomes an overpaid but effective #2C. You do NOT want to be the Oilers, throwing your Magnus Pajaarvi's to the wolves before they're in any way capable to play in the show. I don't think their method is going to be beneficial to RNH, for that matter, either.
In the meantime, the money thrown at serviceable guys on short term deals is like buying draft picks, because they'll be traded at the dealine to contenders a la Jagr.
The attitude by some people here seems to be "okay, we're in rebuilding mode now, so let's suck as much ass as possible for the next five years to get high draft picks". That's not the way to do it. It's not all about getting top 5 picks every year, it's about accumulating potential roster players and developing them. Please note: the Blue Jackets made the playoffs in 2009, went in the tank, and have now emerged from the abyss and are moving gradually in the right direction towards the playoffs. Now compare them to the Oilers.
i want the flames to win this one... i hated hearing oilers fans cheering in our barn, i would hate vancouver fans cheering even MORE. I know we are aiming for high draft picks, but you just can't let these guys come into our barn and give their fans something to cheer about.
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Because the rebuild will take at least 3-4 years and those 3-4 years should not be a race to the basement. The Flames management isn't right about much but they are right about the playoff mandate - whatever team you have to put on the ice, it should be trying to make the playoffs. When re-building, my view is that you term out your UFA signings to expire around the time when the fruit of the rebuild is about to ripen. The Ribeiro's of the world play the big roles while the young guys develop until they're ready to take over. If that happens before his contract is up, he becomes an overpaid but effective #2C. You do NOT want to be the Oilers, throwing your Magnus Pajaarvi's to the wolves before they're in any way capable to play in the show. I don't think their method is going to be beneficial to RNH, for that matter, either.
In the meantime, the money thrown at serviceable guys on short term deals is like buying draft picks, because they'll be traded at the dealine to contenders a la Jagr.
The attitude by some people here seems to be "okay, we're in rebuilding mode now, so let's suck as much ass as possible for the next five years to get high draft picks". That's not the way to do it. It's not all about getting top 5 picks every year, it's about accumulating potential roster players and developing them. Please note: the Blue Jackets made the playoffs in 2009, went in the tank, and have now emerged from the abyss and are moving gradually in the right direction towards the playoffs. Now compare them to the Oilers.
I dont' want to suck as much as possible and I agree to the mandate of making the playoffs. But rebuilding you don't sign guys like Ribeiro that just put up points. You look for leadership guys that kids can learn from. Plus, you still don't overpay for anyone. Any old guy that takes a big contract to play with a rebuilding team, his mandate is to retire rich and happy. Not to win.
Anyhow, this is a gameday thread. Go Flames Go.
Last edited by genetic_phreek; 04-10-2013 at 12:59 PM.
Reason: Just cuz
