Realistic Optimism

[Duffalufagus]

Cherished fellow Flames fans:

As we turn over into the second half of the season I am, for the first time in at least 14 years, incredibly optimistic about our chances to make some serious noise in the playoffs this year (knock on wood, obviously).

This is the best team, top to bottom, that we have seen here since arguably the late 80’s. Going into the season we were looking at a team that was projected to have one of the top bluelines in the league this year. The goaltending was somewhat of a question mark as we didn’t really know what Smith was going to be. All we knew is that a push was hopefully the worst case scenario. Anything better was, at best, a question mark going into the season.

The real concern going into the season was offence. As Tre noted, what kept him up at night was where the goals would come from. We had a top line that underperformed for the most part last year and a second line that arguably over performed offensively. Scoring beyond the top 6 continued to be a massive problem.

The first half of the season gave reason for serious pause. The only real positive was that any question regarding the goaltending was quickly put to bed; Smith was absolutely lights out in the first quarter of the season and, frankly, was the only reason we managed to stay afloat.

The D was a disaster. Gio was solid, but Hamilton was sleepwalking up to and through November, Brody was a disaster in our own end and Hamonic was looking like he was going to pay Chiarelli like returns. In short, our paper tiger defence was making the haters on HF look like Nostradamus. Smith was the only thing keeping the D unit together.

The predictions about scoring issues were also manifesting. The top line was cooking until December, but that was basically it. 3rd and 4th line scoring was historically bad, and the lineup was littered with journeyman vets who just weren’t getting it done. Bennett was Helen Keller walking down the Deerfoot during rush hour. It was a mess.

Queue 2018: Goaltending remains A+, the defence looks like a top 3 unit in the league. Hamonic, who looked like a bust for what we gave up in the offseason, has settled in and Brody has shored up his game. Hamilton is full beast mode. And, most importantly as it relates to genuine playoff aspirations, this core is solid in its own end and contributing big time offensively. The unit is humming.

However, for me, the biggest reason for optimism about our realistic chances in the dance is the solidification of the forward unit. Many great posters here were crying out for an injection of youth and speed into the forward lineup. We had no scoring depth, Bennett was useless as a centre, Brouwer was competing for the most overpaid player in the league, and Jankowski didn’t make the team notwithstanding his amazing camp.

But, Tre and Gully channeled the collectibe wisdom here and made big changes which are now paying off in spades. For the first time in, well, ever we now have 3 strong centres. We have youthful role players that are contributing big time. Ferland is a revelation. Johnny and Mony are on pace for career years.

Lineup wise, this is a deep team. From the net out. I don’t remember the last time I thought that about our team. Our advanced stats are so good that Cullen is actually giving this team props. This is a real contender we have here boys and girls.

Now, the west is so deep and competitive that the playoffs are obviously not at all guaranteed. Far from it. But, for the first time in a generation, if we get in I think we can beat anybody in a 7 game series. Legitimately. And this is the first time I’ve felt like this since CD’s replaced cassette tapes. The ‘04 run was amazing, and we won the cup in game 6, but Cinderella was driving that bus.

It is great to be a Flames fan right now. I am, for the first time, realistically optimistic that we are a contender.

Go Flames Go.

[Bunk]

I’ll be very interested to see how they do out of this break. If they can keep the level of play up and continue to build confidence, a deep run doesn’t seem crazy. We’ll see.

[Flamescuprun2018]

Totally agree. Depth in several positions is the notable difference. No cakewalk with a very competitive Sharks, Ducks and Kings to slip into top 3 in division but consistent play should do the trick.

Rittich is the other X factor here as he is sure to play more than back to backs and give Smith that crucial rest down the stretch for a long playoff run! His SV% is lights out so far.

Remarkable to also see Stockton perform with a decent crop of wingers, strong D and Gillies emerging. Some additional help if needed if we go deep into playoffs and injuries mount.

Fun times ahead with a core is that is very young...

[FlamesFanTrev]

Originally Posted by Duffalufagus

The ‘04 run was amazing, and we won the cup in game 6, but Cinderella was driving that bus.

What a great write-up! I think your right, '04 was a Cinderella story, but it's kinda like what is happening with Vegas right now. The '04 flames played with so much heart and grit, they were almost an unstoppable Force, dispite not being the leagues most talented team. They played hero hockey! If this 17/18 flames team, with all their skill and talent could play with that kind of determination and effort level, game in and game out, for a full 60 minutes, they would be coasting to the cup finals. There have been some great strides in that regard over the last month, I hope they can keep it up.

[Sylvanfan]

About this time last year Nashville was starting to emerge from a sluggish start to the season after making some bigger roster moves in the previous 12 months. So here's hoping the Flames are on that type of trajectory.

[Jay Random]

Excellent takes!

I would only quibble by saying that the Flames had a strong group of centres up until 1995. That year they had Joe Nieuwendyk, Robert Reichel, Joel Otto, and Kelly Kisio down the middle, and it was a sheer travesty that they didn't get out of the first round. Then Reichel left for Germany, Otto bolted as a UFA, Kisio retired, and Doug ‘Watch Me Wreck My Team’ Risebrough played chicken with Nieuwendyk over a few bucks and ended up losing him too.

I have literally been waiting over 20 years to see the team rebuild that kind of strength at C. Monahan is a step below Nieuwendyk, Backlund is so much better than Reichel it's laughable, and Jankowski is shaping well to become Otto Lite. It almost feels like old times.

The way things are going at the moment, the biggest obstacle I foresee is meeting Vegas in the divisional final. We haven't yet had a chance to see how the Flames do against the Golden Knights, something I've been looking forward to all year. If it does come down to those two teams in the second round, we'll have to see which one is the windshield and which one is the bug.

[Eric]

I was actually thinking about making a similar thread. The team we've seen over the past couple months is the team we all hoped for in October.

I think we can do some damage in the playoffs.

[Corral]

'04 was Cinderella for sure. But far more recent than those late 80s/early 90s teams, I think there was a lot of 'realistic optimism' surrounding this team in '06 to '09 as well. I'm sure expectations were likewise then about making some playoff noise in one of those seasons with a prime Iginla and Kiprusoff - along with the supporting cast assembled by Sutter.

I've learned to curb my optimism until watching how we do in game 3 of round one.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Excellent takes!

I would only quibble by saying that the Flames had a strong group of centres up until 1995. That year they had Joe Nieuwendyk, Robert Reichel, Joel Otto, and Kelly Kisio down the middle, and it was a sheer travesty that they didn't get out of the first round. Then Reichel left for Germany, Otto bolted as a UFA, Kisio retired, and Doug ‘Watch Me Wreck My Team’ Risebrough played chicken with Nieuwendyk over a few bucks and ended up losing him too.

I have literally been waiting over 20 years to see the team rebuild that kind of strength at C. Monahan is a step below Nieuwendyk, Backlund is so much better than Reichel it's laughable, and Jankowski is shaping well to become Otto Lite. It almost feels like old times.

The way things are going at the moment, the biggest obstacle I foresee is meeting Vegas in the divisional final. We haven't yet had a chance to see how the Flames do against the Golden Knights, something I've been looking forward to all year. If it does come down to those two teams in the second round, we'll have to see which one is the windshield and which one is the bug.

You realize Reichel as a Flame was a two time 40 goal scorer and put up seasons of 88 and 93 points? Backlund's career points high is closer to Reichels career goal season than his points season. Different times and totally different roles so I just don't see how you can justify saying that. Sure it's true Reichel was only ever clutch when playing in a Czech uniform but the guy was a really good player. When you consider international play there is no doubt Reichel had a much better career than Backlund.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

You realize Reichel as a Flame was a two time 40 goal scorer and put up seasons of 88 and 93 points? Backlund's career points high is closer to Reichels career goal season than his points season. Different times and totally different roles so I just don't see how you can justify saying that. Sure it's true Reichel was only ever clutch when playing in a Czech uniform but the guy was a really good player. When you consider international play there is no doubt Reichel had a much better career than Backlund.

Reichel was a defensive disaster. As for his goal scoring, I forget which highly esteemed sports journalist it was that said, late in his tenure with his flames, approximately: ‘The next important goal that Robert Reichel scores will be the first.’ He did score a lot of goals, but had a disconcerting tendency to score the sixth goal in a 6-1 win, or the only goal in a 4-1 loss. And he scored most of those goals in a much higher scoring era, before the Devils won their first Stanley Cup and the neutral-zone trap became generally adopted.

After Reichel returned from Frankfurt, he never again scored more than 25 goals in a season. The last three years of his NHL career, he was one of the favourite whipping boys of the Toronto fans, who sneeringly called him ‘Bob’ and made the most entertainingly sarcastic remarks about how valuable he was to their team.


The fact that Reichel scored only 8 playoff goals in 70 games played tells you a great deal about the man's play. He had a better disappearing act than Kent Nilsson, without matching Nilsson's elite-level skills.

[JJFlash]

I have always believed that the Flames were perfectly built for the Playoffs. However, they did not seem to have a game that translated to regular season wins. It appears that the Playoffs have started early with a logjam of teams vying for positioning. The games I have been watching while the Flames were on a break supported this. The Pittsburgh v LA and Anaheim v LA demonstrated the playoff mode.

The only changes I can see for the playoffs is on the third and fourth line. I will buck the trend and say that Jagr will stay and make the 3rd line dominant again. The fourth line will see Brouwer, Stajan, but Hrivik's pro game will replace Mangi's inexperience. Lazar will be the 13th forward. Hamonic's rugged style will lead to him being banged up and Ras will move to the second pairing and will keep Bart on the bench.

[JJFlash]

I missed Hath, he will sub in for Stajan on the wing since Stajan does not have another gear for the playoffs. I am not giving up on Brouwer since I believe he will offer more value in the trenches of the playoffs.

[Nage Waza]

What is with people calling Janko 'Otto lite'? They are not the same player in any capacity.

Good posts otherwise!

[dissentowner]

We are going to win the Cup. That is my realistic optimism.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Nage Waza

What is with people calling Janko 'Otto lite'? They are not the same player in any capacity.

Both smart and capable defensive centremen with the skill to chip in on offence. The ‘lite’ part acknowledges that Jankowski doesn't use physical intimidation as part of his game.

That not enough for you?

[EVERLAST]

Jankowski will at some point show he can be a physical force. He hasn't skated away from scrums so it's not like he's afraid.
Hell Ferland doesn't need to fight anymore as guys in the league know he'll beat they're asses.....for the exception of Beiksa who's my hero.

When this team puts in a full 50 minute effort were pretty good. If they only knew 60 minutes makes the difference.

Smith gives us hope every game and I hope he peels the paint off the walls after games and calls guys out.

I'm happy with where certain players continue to progress and I just hope it's contagious as the sooner the rest of the team jumps on board we'll be good.

Jankowski
Kulak
Mangiapane
Hathaway
Bennett
Tkachuk
Gio
Stone
Johnny
Ferland

All of the above at least appear to try .

Still lots of hockey to play so that's good.....just still cautiously optimistic


The guys above