What ails the Flames?

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by codynw

Oh well playoffs are a pipedream now anyways, might as well get him there and then offer him a job of some sort in the off season.

Why stop there? President, GM, and coach. Keys to the city. Because he’s such a super guy and does nondescript charity stuff.

That’s what’s important for a hockey team, as everyone knows.

[Table 5]

They changed up the malts at the Dome. All downhill from there.

[Bourque's Twin]

It's a very competitive league now and the disparity amongst teams is much lower than it used to be. That's why I think mental preparation, commitment, and work ethic are that much more important. The Flames simply don't stand out in these categories.

[Dion]

The team as a whole lacks confidence in themselves and seems to crater when there is any kind of adversity. From blown leads to epic collapses in the last minute a shrink is definatley needed for this team.

[topfiverecords]

#1. Slow reactions to puck movement and late to loose pucks. Easily outmatched when battling.
#2. Late to the correct spots on the ice. Poor gap control when defending.
#3. Shortage of elite shooters.

#4. Gulutzan, Brodie & Cameron (until late)
#5. Bennett trying to spend his career in the box for many games and now trying to end Gaudreau's career.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by 81MC

My glasses must be seriously rose coloured, because I don’t see the Stajan everyone else does.

I don't either, at least not lately. I mean earlier in the year he couldn't stay on his skates but he's been playing quite well lately and you can see the focus and effort.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by bigrangy

Only one actual good offensive player, and the 2nd and 3rd most talented guys are stuck playing defense all game.

The defense that the team is incredibly invested in is not being deployed/utilized properly either.

Couple that with failing to develop any impact players from outside the top 6 draft slots in the last 7 (!) years and you're going to struggle to win games, even with Vezina level play from your goalie and Hart level play from your best forward, and continual dominance from your top pairing. Now that the Smith is injured and Johnny is cold, it gets really easy to see how reliant the team is on them.

I made fun of the grease for being a 2 man team last year but the Flames have been arguably more top heavy than they were.

lol

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Table 5

They changed up the malts at the Dome. All downhill from there.

Forget them relocating, we should be running them out of town for such an injustice!

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Table 5

They changed up the malts at the Dome. All downhill from there.

They did? No reason to ever go to a game again now.

[The Cobra]

The margins are slim in the NHL, and most teams need decent goaltending to make the playoffs.

When the Flames were getting that, they were in the mix; they no longer are, and are no longer in the mix.

Randomness is also more important than ever when teams are so closely matched, and the Flames aren’t getting much luck.


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[Badgers Nose]

What ails this team?

The Fans/City

That’s the only thing that hasn’t changed over the years. It’s obvious really. We suck, and therefore the Flames suck.

[Corral]

It bothers me this season that they lost to bottom feeders at home - most recently yesterday. It bothered me more how many posters on CP shrugged those losses off in January as nothing to worry about .... lots of games left ... blah blah blah ... and it bothers me to think that the Flames thought likewise.

Do something to change this mentality.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

A deeply rooted culture of mediocrity.

I came to post the exact same thing.

This culture of mediocrity permeates so much of this franchise. From our President and CEO, to some of the most pathetic General Managers putting a boring product on the ice, to the long list of middling coaches to the extensive list of players on the ice, to an almost 25 year run of awful drafting. Just so much about this team is average or just plain bad.

This hockey club has been spinning its wheels for over 20 years. They have won their division ONCE since 1995. I imagine many of the posters here weren't even born then! But this USED to be a proud hockey franchise that was committed to winning and had a winning culture, this team had hall of famers, was stacked top to bottom, won divisions and consistently made the playoffs. Flash forward and all of sudden being subjected to the Young Guns era which said that being a losing team was OK if you were a Calgary Flame and basically ushered in two decades of an extremely mediocre product, truly a sad situation for a once proud franchise.

Celebrating the signing of Mikael Backlund is emblematic of just so much that is wrong with this team. Nothing against Backlund, he's a pretty good player and he would be an absolute stud of a third line centre on a team with actual Stanley Cup aspirations, yet here we are staring at six more years of what is a very average two way centre who likely won't even score 20 goals this season. Do we honestly see Mikael Backlund as an indispensable piece on a team that will likely not even make the playoffs? Can we not expect more as a fanbase? We need to stop thinking that these extremely average NHLers are core pieces, from top to bottom of this type of thinking has to change.

We went from having an elite winger with no real elite centre with the Iginla teams to having an elite winger with no real elite centre with Gaudreau. You need an elite centre to win a stanley cup, full stop. This team doesn't have one, and until they get one we are going to see the same mediocre results.

We also need a top coach, it's no surprise that the Calgary Flames are usually the last NHL stop for our list of terrible coaches: Jim Playfair, the rotting husk of Mike Keenan, Brent Sutter, Bob Hartley and the soon to be gone Glen Gulutzan, they get their shot in Calgary, and no one else wants to touch them because it's so blatantly obvious they are not NHL-level coaches. In the last few years Barry Trotz, Bruce Boudreau, Randy Carlyle, Peter Laviolette and Alain Vigneault have been available, yes I realize it takes two to tango and there needs to be mutual interest but in my opinion the Flames should have been offering big money to these guys and done whatever it takes to get them. If by some miracle Quenville becomes available this summer, which I don't think he will, the Flames should be all in on him.

The drafting has improved slightly and there are promising pieces in Fox and Valimaki but the fact that Sam Bennett looks to be a total bust really really hurts. I am not sure how many more times I can watch Bennett lose a battle, fall on the ice, miss the net by 5 feet shooting from the slot, or turn the puck over. It sucks because we needed him to be a stud and he's not.

So in summary, we need an elite centre, improve drafting and coaching dramatically which likely means big change from the very top all the way down.

[Timbo]

Originally Posted by Corral

It bothers me this season that they lost to bottom feeders at home - most recently yesterday. It bothered me more how many posters on CP shrugged those losses off in January as nothing to worry about .... lots of games left ... blah blah blah ... and it bothers me to think that the Flames thought likewise.

Do something to change this mentality.

I think that so many of our main stream media are so sycophantic to the Flame management spin that many follow into its vortex of rationale.
More media needs to grow a set and quit tossing softballs and present hard line questions that require reasonable accountability by the team.
I’m not saying we need Toronto or god forbid Montreal media mania but we need people not afraid of hard opinion and yet not contrarian just for being needlessly
contrarian.
Will that make the team better? Who knows but it can’t hurt but buck the malaise of mediocrity the organization has been wallowing in.

Will it affect CP?
Who knows but I see many posters just towing the Flames management spin as if it is the complete voice of reason.

[bigrangy]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

lol

What's inaccurate?

[JohnnyB]

The biggest problem is they're boring to watch. Reason for that is coaching.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

The biggest problem is they're boring to watch. Reason for that is coaching.

Boring teams are sometimes SC worthy. See the Devils.

[troutman]

What ails the Flames in the big picture is there are 31 teams. Very hard to become a final 4 team in these circumstances.

[Manhattanboy]

Originally Posted by Hammertime

A mentally weak, young team struggling to manage the pressure of big games and a tight playoff race.

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A mentally and physically weak, exceptionally poorly coached young team that failed to manage the pressure of big games and a tight playoff race.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by bigrangy

What's inaccurate?

Originally Posted by bigrangy

Only one actual good offensive player, and the 2nd and 3rd most talented guys are stuck playing defense all game.

Only one actual good offensive player. Assuming you mean Gaudreau. Tkachuk is already in the conversation to be considered as valuable as Gaudreau. Monahan has 29 and Ferland has 20. Jankowksi has 11 as a rookie. Sure we’re not Tampa but saying only one good offensive player is a stretch. Look at what kind of offensive production Backlund provided last year.

Originally Posted by bigrangy

Couple that with failing to develop any impact players from outside the top 6 draft slots in the last 7 (!) years

Setting the goal posts right at the line after Gaudreau, Ferland, Kulak, and Jankowski were drafted and before we see what we truly have in Kylington, Andersson, Fox, Valimaki, Dube, Mangiapane, Gillies, and Parsons.