Building The 2018/19 Flames Roster

[SeanCharles]

Originally Posted by Funkhouser

I still like:

1A) Gaudreau - Monahan - Ryan (offensive starts...we have seen that 13 & 23 can carry a decent RW on their own...plus Peters loves Ryan)
1B) Tkachuk - Lindholm - Neal (defensive starts...all are first-line players)
3A) Bennett - Backstrom - Frolik (elite defensive line, allows Bennett to gain confidence)
3B) Mangiapane - Jankowski - Czarnik (young line who can hopefully feast and develop against other teams' worst players)

I think this is a very balanced lineup with two equally strong #1 lines (causing fits for the opposition) and an elite defensive line

Ryan should be at the highest on the 3rd line. Backlund is better offensively and has chemistry with Tkachuk.

[djsFlames]

Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm
Tkachuk - Ryan - Neal
Bennett - Backund - Frolik
Lazar/Hathaway - Jankowski - Czarnik/Foo

Giordano - Brodie
Hanifin - Hamonic
Valimaki - Stone
Kulak

Smith
Rittich

[R2theJ]

Gaudreau - Monahan - Neal ... IMO Neal was signed to play on the top line

Bennett - Lindholm - Tkachuk ... Solid second gritty scoring line

Ryan/Janko - Backlund - Frolik ... checking line that can chip in on the scoresheet

Lazar/Hathaway/Janko/Ryan - Czarnik/Foo ... younger more speed 4th line (pick'em based on performance and opponent)



Gio - Brodie ... goes without saying

Hanifin - Hamonic ... this will be a good second pairing

Kulak - Stone/Andersson ... not sold that Stone is still here come the season - depends on how Rasmus & Valimaki show

Prout/Valimaki ...Prout will draw in for muscle once in a while



Smith

Gillies ... he wins the training camp battle

Rittich

[Iceman57]

Gaudreau - Monahan - Tkachuk
Bennett - Backlund - Neal
Frolik - Lindholm - Ryan
Lazar - Jankowski - Czarnik

-Hathaway
-Quine

Giordano - Brodie
Hanifin - Hamonic
Valimaki - Stone

-Kulak

Smith
Gillies


- If Peters shows Bennett some faith right away and places him in the top six with talented linemates, I believe it would boost Bennett's confidence and allow him to reach that next gear we've only seen glimpses of so far.

- Something tells me Valimaki plays so well during TC he forces his way onto the roster.

- Unlikely but it's possible Gillies could prove during TC that he's better served being the back up this year to be mentored by Smith while Rittich clears waivers and tandem with Parsons in Stockon.

- I believe Jankowski is going to be really good so having him play some sheltered minutes i feel allows Jank to learn the NHL game & his position properly. It would be nice to see him on the PP from time to time as well.

[TheKurgan]

(1A) Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm (Lindholm gives the top line some 2-way defensive backup)
(1B) Tkachuk - Backlund - Neal (Neal would make this line a very real scoring threat although I would like Tkachuck signed long term first )
(3rd) Bennett - Ryan - Frolik (good solid third line)
(4th) Mangiapane - Jankowski - Czarnik (AHL Allstar line - give the kids a chance!)
Foo/Lazar/Hathaway

Giordano - Brodie
Hanifin - Hamonic
Kulak - Stone
Andersson

Kylington, Prout

Smith
Rittich

1st PP - Gaudreau - Monahan - Neal - Giordano - Brodie
2nd PP - Tkachuk - Backlund - Lindholm - Bennett - Hanifin

Looks way better than it did in April, its been a good offseason (on paper)

[savardandjokinen]

Gaudreau Monahan Neal
Tkachuk Lindholm Ryan
Bennett Backlund Frolik
Mangiapane/Foo Jankowski Czarnik
2 of Lazar/Hathaway/Mangipane/Foo/Free agent

Giordano Brodie
Hanifin Hamonic
Andersson Stone
Kulak

Smith
Rittich

[FlamesFanTrev]

Originally Posted by TheKurgan

(1A) Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm (Lindholm gives the top line some 2-way defensive backup)
(1B) Tkachuk - Backlund - Neal (Neal would make this line a very real scoring threat although I would like Tkachuck signed long term first )
(3rd) Bennett - Ryan - Frolik (good solid third line)
(4th) Mangiapane - Jankowski - Czarnik (AHL Allstar line - give the kids a chance!)
Foo/Lazar/Hathaway

Giordano - Brodie
Hanifin - Hamonic
Kulak - Stone
Andersson

Kylington, Prout

Smith
Rittich

1st PP - Gaudreau - Monahan - Neal - Giordano - Brodie
2nd PP - Tkachuk - Backlund - Lindholm - Bennett - Hanifin

Looks way better than it did in April, its been a good offseason (on paper)

I wonder if Peter's will go with 4 forwards on the PP1 also. Apperantly that was his MO in Carolina, but he never had access to so many capable offensive dmen. It's amazing how much better the roster looks to my eyes without Brouwer listed anywhere.

[RedHawk12]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm
Tkachuk - Ryan - Neal
Bennett - Backund - Frolik
Lazar/Hathaway - Jankowski - Czarnik/Foo

Giordano - Brodie
Hanifin - Hamonic
Valimaki - Stone
Kulak

Smith
Rittich

I really like these two lines. Bennett can hopefully find his rookie form on the Backlund line, and Ryan doesn't have to carry the offense on his line. I feel Ryan would have to if he played with guys like Bennett, Frolik or Czarnik.

I would do a Mangiapane-Janko-Czarnik line. And the Monahan line is solid.

[Lil Pedro]

Gaudreau-Monahan- Lindholm
Tkachuk- Backlund- Neal
Bennett- Jankowski- Czarnik
Frolik - Ryan- Hathaway

Extras: Klimchuk, Lazar
***want Mangi playing meaningful minutes in the A if he can't crack the lineup

Gio- Brodie
Haniffin- Hamonic
Kulak- Andersson

Extra: Prout

Smith
Rittich


I think Stone gets moved before the start of the season

[savardandjokinen]

Originally Posted by Lil Pedro

Gaudreau-Monahan- Lindholm
Tkachuk- Backlund- Neal
Bennett- Jankowski- Czarnik
Mangiapane - Ryan- Hathaway

Extras: Foo, Lazar

Gio- Brodie
Haniffin- Hamonic
Kulak- Andersson

Extra: Prout

Smith
Rittich


I think Stone gets moved before the start of the season

Frolik?

[The Boy Wonder]

Gaudreau - Monahan - Neal
Thachuk - Backlund - Bennett
Lindholm - Ryan - Czarnik
Mangiapane - Jankowski - Frolik

To me Lindholm bennett Tkachuk and Neal can all be rotated between the wing spots on the top three lines

Gio Brodie
Hanifin Hamonic
Kulak Andersson / Stone

[JurassicTunga12]

Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Elias Lindholm
Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - James Neal
Sam Bennett - Mark Jankowski - Michael Frolik
Spencer Foo - Derek Ryan - Austin Czarnik
Curtis Lazar

Mark Giordano - T.J. Brodie
Noah Hanifin - Travis Hamonic
Brett Kulak - Michael Stone

Mike Smith
David Rittich

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by savardandjokinen

Gaudreau Monahan Neal
Tkachuk Lindholm Ryan
Bennett Backlund Frolik
Mangiapane/Foo Jankowski Czarnik
2 of Lazar/Hathaway/Mangipane/Foo/Free agent

Giordano Brodie
Hanifin Hamonic
Andersson Stone
Kulak

Smith
Rittich

I like the forward lines, but both 3rd pairing D are from the right side, so you need to substitute in Kulak or Valimaki for one of them.

I'm happy with Kulak-Andersson (much more likely), or Valimaki-Stone if Juuso blows everyone away in training camp.

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by The Boy Wonder

Gaudreau - Monahan - Neal
Thachuk - Backlund - Bennett
Lindholm - Ryan - Czarnik
Mangiapane - Jankowski - Frolik

To me Lindholm bennett Tkachuk and Neal can all be rotated between the wing spots on the top three lines

Gio Brodie
Hanifin Hamonic
Kulak Andersson / Stone

By all accounts, that's exactly what Peters will do, so I'm sure he's salivating at the almost endless possible combinations, all of which look really good.

[savardandjokinen]

Originally Posted by Macindoc

I like the forward lines, but both 3rd pairing D are from the right side, so you need to substitute in Kulak or Valimaki for one of them.

I'm happy with Kulak-Andersson (much more likely), or Valimaki-Stone if Juuso blows everyone away in training camp.

I'd probably do Kulak-Stone or trade Stone as I think he's much better than an extra, probably even an average #4 on an average team, but I'd much rather see Andersson in the lineup. But yeah thanks for pointing that out, I don't pay attention to D handedness which I probably should as we saw last year playing on your off side can lead to a bad season (Brodie)

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by savardandjokinen

I'd probably do Kulak-Stone or trade Stone as I think he's much better than an extra, probably even an average #4 on an average team, but I'd much rather see Andersson in the lineup. But yeah thanks for pointing that out, I don't pay attention to D handedness which I probably should as we saw last year playing on your off side can lead to a bad season (Brodie)

Actually, Brodie is a bit of a special case, as he played much better on his off hand side (he actually shoots left but played right D when paired with Gio), probably due to his speed and vision. Being on your off hand side opens up many more offensive possibilities, and is quite useful to highly mobile players. For slower players, it's a liability, however, because it becomes much harder to take passes off the rim and hold the line.

[Heavy Jack]

I know it wouldn’t happen and he’s most likely calling it quits as well but at 34 Rick Nash is somewhat tempting on a 1 year contract like we did with Jagr. That would be an absolutely stacked roster up front.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Lindholm
Tkachuk - Backlund - Neal
Bennett - Jankowski - Nash
Frolik - Ryan - Czarnik

Hathaway, Lazar, Mangiapane, Foo

What Ferland put up this year Nash has basically put up the same production in 6 of the last 7 years with the other season being a monster one like from his earlier days; plus it would give the power play yet another weapon with Nash being at least a 20 goal guy in 13 of his 15 seasons.

An intriguing addition when you think about it.. using some of the money freed up from Brouwer after we extend Hanifin towards a 1 year contract of Rick Nash seems like a really low risk high reward type move to me with roughly 7.5 mill available.

Hanifin 5 x 4.85 or 7 x 5.15
Nash 1 x 1.5 + 500k potential bonuses

If we end up losing a guy like Lazar or Hathaway on waivers when it gets a little crowded so be it.. that would be a killer line up.

[BigErnSalute_16]

Originally Posted by R2theJ

Gaudreau - Monahan - Neal ... IMO Neal was signed to play on the top line

Bennett - Lindholm - Tkachuk ... Solid second gritty scoring line

Ryan/Janko - Backlund - Frolik ... checking line that can chip in on the scoresheet

Lazar/Hathaway/Janko/Ryan - Czarnik/Foo ... younger more speed 4th line (pick'em based on performance and opponent)



Gio - Brodie ... goes without saying

Hanifin - Hamonic ... this will be a good second pairing

Kulak - Stone/Andersson ... not sold that Stone is still here come the season - depends on how Rasmus & Valimaki show

Prout/Valimaki ...Prout will draw in for muscle once in a while



Smith

Gillies ... he wins the training camp battle

Rittich

Yes! this is what I'm thinking too. That Frolik - Backlund - Ryan line will be a legit shutdown line and chip in offensively plus the team will really benefit from Backlund and Ryan each taking strong side faceoffs in critical moments.

Plus that second line could really thrive with easy matchups and the blend of attributes it will have. Tkachuck's over all play, Bennett's wall play and Lindholm's vision could work really well together.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

My guess is that the "bottom five" get rotated regularly. Lazar, Hathaway, Ryan, Czarnik, Manginess and or who ever should split the time on the ice according to ability.

OK, we all know what autocorrupt is capable of, but man, that's harsh. Manginess? Oy.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Gaudreau - Monahan - Neal
Tkachuk - Jankowski - Lindholm
Bennett - Backlund - Frolik
Hathaway - Ryan - Czarnik
Lazar

Brodano
Hanifin-Hamonic
Kulak-Stone
Veteran Training Camp PTO TBD

Smith
Rittich

Stockton still needs some blue liners. Not convinced Prout is the seventh defence man in the NHL.