Noah Hanifin

[rooster]

Holy cow this guy has potential. I think this guy could be the best defenceman in the league if he would grab the bull by the horns. The year Al Macinnis got injured Gary Suter stepped up big time and showed how good of a player he really was because it was expected of him. With Hanifin, Valimaki, Anderson and Kylington the defense is looking good for a long time.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by rooster

Holy cow this guy has potential. I think this guy could be the best defenceman in the league if he would grab the bull by the horns. The year Al Macinnis got injured Gary Suter stepped up big time and showed how good of a player he really was because it was expected of him. With Hanifin, Valimaki, Anderson and Kylington the defense is looking good for a long time.

Well, not to be a Debbie Downer here but one of those guys is certainly being lost to Seattle.

[cannon7]

He needs a better defensive partner to reach his full potential. Just sayin'.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

Well, not to be a Debbie Downer here but one of those guys is certainly being lost to Seattle.

That’s a very, very big assumption.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by cannon7

He needs a better defensive partner to reach his full potential. Just sayin'.

You don’t think much of Andersson?

[devo22]

the thing is, it's super-easy to forget how young Noah still is. Because he went straight to the NHL at 18, it feels he's been around forever ... but he's actually younger than Andersson. Crazy stuff.

Loads of potential of course. If developed correctly, Hanifin-Andersson will be the cornerstone pairing of this team for a very long time.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

Well, not to be a Debbie Downer here but one of those guys is certainly being lost to Seattle.

You're not fooling anyone. Just own it, Debbie.

[btimbit]

I'm a Hanifan.

I'd like to see how he would look paired with Rasmus for a stretch

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by cannon7

He needs a better defensive partner to reach his full potential. Just sayin'.

Better than Hamonic? Absolutely. I think we saw shades of this last night with the Hanifin / Andersson pairing, and they were fantastic.

I sure didn't think much of the Giordano / Hamonic pair. Overall, I much prefer Kylington in the lineup to Stone, and I hope he gets back in soon.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

Well, not to be a Debbie Downer here but one of those guys is certainly being lost to Seattle.

One of the most obvious protection slots is certain to be left exposed?

[SeanCharles]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

Well, not to be a Debbie Downer here but one of those guys is certainly being lost to Seattle.

Protect:

Gaudreau
Monahan
Lindholm
Tkachuk

Andersson
Valimaki
Hanifin
Kylington

Rittich

Not likely we see this but it's still a possibility.

Will depend on how well Bennett, Mangiapane, Dube and Kylington develop before then.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Better than Hamonic? Absolutely. I think we saw shades of this last night with the Hanifin / Andersson pairing, and they were fantastic.

I sure didn't think much of the Giordano / Hamonic pair. Overall, I much prefer Kylington in the lineup to Stone, and I hope he gets back in soon.

I thought Hamonic looked far more engaged playing with Gio. I think the pairing change has changed his mindset considerably. He doesn’t have to babysit Hanifin when playing with Gio. It’s early but I think that the pairing changes could end up getting us way more out of both Hamonic and Hanifin.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Better than Hamonic? Absolutely. I think we saw shades of this last night with the Hanifin / Andersson pairing, and they were fantastic.

I sure didn't think much of the Giordano / Hamonic pair. Overall, I much prefer Kylington in the lineup to Stone, and I hope he gets back in soon.

I don't get the Hamonic love, I really don't. He's a max-20 point guy. Allegedly he brings physical presence, but he hasn't had 100 hits in a season in five years, and has averaged less than one hit a game the last two seasons. Last year he had 44 hits. Barely once every two games.

Comparatively, Engelland had seasons of 135, 105 and 135 hits As a Flame. And Engelland has Hamonic dead to rights when it comes to fights against the Canucks.

I'm sure he's a good guy. He and Curtis Lazar may well be canonized when it's all said and done. But I don't think he should be brought back. He doesn't actually hit people, his defensive prowess is over stated, and if my choice is Stone @$700K or Hamonic at $3.85, the choice is clear.

Hanifin needs Brodie's powerplay time.

[SuperMatt18]

Yeah I agree that Hamonic hasn’t been great as a Flame.

Didn’t have a good first season, thought he was better with Hanifin last year, but has been poor to start this season IMO.

He does fill a need on the PK and is okay defensively but he’s not really a elite shutdown dman. I have no issues if the Flames don’t bring him back or look to move him.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by SeanCharles

Protect:

Gaudreau
Monahan
Lindholm
Tkachuk

Andersson
Valimaki
Hanifin
Kylington

Rittich

Not likely we see this but it's still a possibility.

Will depend on how well Bennett, Mangiapane, Dube and Kylington develop before then.

No way they leave Gio unprotected.

IMO, losing Backlund is the only way the Flames don't lose a defenseman. On the bright side, they can only lose one guy, and Tre does seem to be good at drafting D.

[Flash Walken]

IMO you're better off keeping Brodie for a run in the playoffs because of his chemistry than you are keeping Hamonic even with his compete factor.

Ideally you move both guys for a return rather than let either walking, but I don't know if it's defensible to let both walk in the same year, not after the price of acquisition for Hamonic was so freakin' steep.

IMO you basically have to get something for Hamonic for that deal not to be a disaster, and that's coming from someone who liked the acquisition at the time.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by SeanCharles

Protect:

Gaudreau
Monahan
Lindholm
Tkachuk

Andersson
Valimaki
Hanifin
Kylington

Rittich

Not likely we see this but it's still a possibility.

Will depend on how well Bennett, Mangiapane, Dube and Kylington develop before then.

It's still two years away. Any talk about the expansion draft right now is utterly meaningless.

[cannon7]

I sooner move Hamonic than Brodie at the deadline to be honest. That may seem counter-intuitive since you need Hamonic types if you're playoff bound, but Hamonic didn't move the needle much in the series against the Avs. If anything, his pairing was the worst in the series. Will see if Treliving sees the Hamonic acquisition the same way.

[GranteedEV]

Giordano-Brodie
Hanifin-Andersson
Valimaki-Kylington
Davidson-Stone

This has some real potential when healthy

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

No way they leave Gio unprotected.

IMO, losing Backlund is the only way the Flames don't lose a defenseman. On the bright side, they can only lose one guy, and Tre does seem to be good at drafting D.

I'm of the opposite opinion. I don't see them protecting a 38 year old Gio. And I don't see Seattle taking him either.