Gaudreau for Ekblad would be one of the stupider things this team could do because I don’t know if people have noticed but the reason for our failures has been an inability to score in the playoffs. Team needs to focus on generating offence in the playoffs and that means moving Gaudreau and or Monahan for people that are willing to drive the net and go to the dirty areas but still have some talent.
Easier said that done but that should be the goal because that’s how you get out of round 1. With this offence this team is not getting out of round 1... that simple. Look at 5v5 last two playoff rounds. We don’t need a 3rd year to confirm what we already know. So even if you downgrade a bit on talent by moving Gaudreau yet acquire someone who is not afraid of dirty areas you may want to consider it. Ekblad doesn’t solve any problems.
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Gaudreau for Ekblad would be one of the stupider things this team could do because I don’t know if people have noticed but the reason for our failures has been an inability to score in the playoffs. Team needs to focus on generating offence in the playoffs and that means moving Gaudreau and or Monahan for people that are willing to drive the net and go to the dirty areas but still have some talent.
Easier said that done but that should be the goal because that’s how you get out of round 1. With this offence this team is not getting out of round 1... that simple. Look at 5v5 last two playoff rounds. We don’t need a 3rd year to confirm what we already know. So even if you downgrade a bit on talent by moving Gaudreau yet acquire someone who is not afraid of dirty areas you may want to consider it. Ekblad doesn’t solve any problems.
Trade Hanifin to fix those problems.
Keeping the guy with 2EV Pts in his last 19 playoff games doesn’t likely help anyways...
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I have always thought Benny had great vision when given the opportunity to play with elite players; this goal has always had me wonder why he hasn’t been given a long look with a guy like Johnny or just time in the top 6 in general.
That's really similar to a goal he set James Neal up for the next season.
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Mango a pane-Monahan-Tkachuk
Gaudreau-Bennett-Lindholm
Lucid-Backlund-Dubé
Lol Autocorrect. Better balance up and down IMO.
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The distribution of ice-time needs for this team mess up this entire idea; it might work only if the team started 100% in the offensive zone. Backlund needs to be on the ice more than any other forward because of how important he is in the defensive zone. Because of this, he can't be saddled with a guy like Lucic on his wing all the time, and Bennett is simply not capable of replacing what Backlund can do.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
I have always thought Benny had great vision when given the opportunity to play with elite players; this goal has always had me wonder why he hasn’t been given a long look with a guy like Johnny or just time in the top 6 in general.
Bennett has a bit of offensive talent. But it’s not to the level of Monahan, Lindholm, Backlund or Tkachuk. I’m not even confident Bennett is a better offensive player than Mangiapane at this point.
More to the point, Bennett’s defining flaw is awful penalties 180 feet from his own net. Specifically when he gets his quarterly game with Gaudreau. By the mid point of the 3rd period, you can guarantee Bennett will have committed some ridiculous stick infraction that nobody else on the roster would ever dream of.
Then he gets busted back down to the 4th line. It’s all self-inflicted, and you can’t have that from a top line forward.
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Stamkos never made it to UFA. People were more surprised that Tavares re-signed in New York at all, certainly no one was surprised to see him reach UFA. Pietrangelo, fair enough.
Stamkos made it to the courting period where the entire league could make pitches to him. Remember the famous Toronto pitch where cameras followed his every movement? He basically tested the market but obviously it’s hard to beat every thing Tampa has to offer including no state tax.
Say what you want about any name I throw out there, but more and more players like the idea of seeing what’s out there. Even this free agency period was one of the best we’ve seen. Certainly on the goaltending front where this team did very well as they landed the belle of the ball.
Peitrangelo wanted to go back to St. Louis, chose Vegas when that was available.
How many of the premium UFA’s who might be available have dreamed of playing in Calgary?
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Answered the Stamkos one above already, he tested the market and found that the Tampa offer was still the best. Didn’t help that Toronto reporters stalked his every move like a creepy ex.
Markstrom, Tanev, Neal, Brouwer have all chose the Flames in recent years. Cap space will be tight for a lot of teams 2 years from now, so those who will have the space will have a shot.
I don’t see it this way at all. Gaudreau is extremely competitive. He’s not going to get any Selke votes ever, but how many elite scoring wingers are known for their good defensive play. Heck Kucherov spends half of his defensive zone shifts cherry picking out at center ice.
Also, Gaudreau may be small, but he’s also extremely elusive and always has head up. There’s a reason he’s so durable and has only been injured on a dirty slash to his finger. A guy like Taylor Hall on the other hand is the exact opposite, he’s just as talented and even though he’s bigger, he plays recklessly and is extremely injury prone.
Gaudreau has always been a perimeter player. But he’s one of the best perimeter players in the game, so he can get away with it. It’s usually the lesser talented guys who generally have to play in the muck. But that doesn’t mean he can’t still be effective. Geoff Ward’s style is all about puck pursuit and forechecking for your chances, maybe Gaudreau just needs to start playing with players who are harder and faster on pucks.
This was the Gulutzan offensive game plan too. I just don't believe it's a truly effective or sustainable way to play to win. How many times were CGY shut out and lost 2-0 or 2-1?
You give up the puck to the opponent in hopes that they will make a mistake and you will be in position to capitalize. You aren't really creating chances yourself, you're hoping the other team gives them to you.
I can't believe how many Gulutzan coached games I watched where CGY took so many low quality outside shots and just generated nothing. It looks good in CF% but CGY would lose so many games because they just got nothing going.
The strategy is really check to a standstill 5v5 on maybe you win on the PP.
Gross
Carry the puck in, hold on to it and make some plays. That's how you win. Sure you can use dump and chase occasionally but not as the way you play not as your identity, not as a strategy or concept.
Last edited by Jeff Lebowski; 10-17-2020 at 01:24 PM.
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Did anyone expect Stamkos, Tavares or Pietrangelo to test the UFA market? Heck, Johnny Gaudreau has been one of the most prolific scorers in Calgary Flames history yet he’s practically getting run out of town with the absurd number of posts and threads trying to trade him.
It's an interesting observation of Flames fan actually. You're absolutely right that there's a pretty solid group of people who are eager to ship one of Calgary's best scorers in Gaudreau out and if you're paying attention, it happens a lot with very good hockey players on the Flames. Iginla is celebrated by fans from all markets but many, many fans here were just as eager to get rid of him back when he was here. Even today, when talking about Iginla's successes, people feel obligated to bring up his shortcomings. It's almost as if Flames fans hate great players.
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This was the Gulutzan offensive game plan too. I just don't believe it's a truly effective or sustainable way to play to win. How many times were CGY shut out and lost 2-0 or 2-1?
You give up the puck to the opponent in hopes that they will make a mistake and you will be in position to capitalize. You aren't really creating chances yourself, you're hoping the other team gives them to you.
I can't believe how many Gulutzan coached games I watched where CGY took so many low quality outside shots and just generated nothing. It looks good in CF% but CGY would lose so many games because they just got nothing going.
The strategy is really check to a standstill 5v5 on maybe you win on the PP.
Gross
Carry the puck in, hold on to it and make some plays. That's how you win. Sure you can use dump and chase occasionally but not as the way you play not as your identity, not as a strategy or concept.
Tampa Bay plays dump and chase.
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Mango a pane-Monahan-Tkachuk
Gaudreau-Bennett-Lindholm
Lucid-Backlund-Dubé
Lol Autocorrect. Better balance up and down IMO.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
The distribution of ice-time needs for this team mess up this entire idea; it might work only if the team started 100% in the offensive zone. Backlund needs to be on the ice more than any other forward because of how important he is in the defensive zone. Because of this, he can't be saddled with a guy like Lucic on his wing all the time, and Bennett is simply not capable of replacing what Backlund can do.
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I get what you're saying, so you could flip Bennett and Backlund to resolve that. BUT, if Bennett does show progression/results this season, it may be ideal to go with that kind of lineup anyway.
The roster actually has a surplus in centres; which is a good thing since it's the most important skaters position. They just lack that all-star first liner that can drive the line themselves. But it does give Tre/Ward some options on how to go about making this team perform better next season, whether they do trade players within the top 6 or not.
There's certain dynamics that can come from whether you trade Gaudreau or Monahan. Move Gaudreau ideally brings in a top 6 winger, but the centres stay in their same respective lines. If you trade Monahan, it may also be for a top 6 winger, but the centre depth isn't hurt since you could move Lindholm to centre, and Backlund and Bennett will be centres for their own lines.
But if neither of them is moved, there still may be away to rejuvenate the offense by shuffling the top 9 to get combinations that have good chemistry. The suggestion above is one of a few where each player brings something that can elevate the play of the line as a whole together. But Ward and the coaching staff have to be willing to be flexible, and commit to letting combinations that have promise gel, rather than simply reverting back to the lineup they've had for the past couple of seasons after a period/game of no instant success.
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It's an interesting observation of Flames fan actually. You're absolutely right that there's a pretty solid group of people who are eager to ship one of Calgary's best scorers in Gaudreau out and if you're paying attention, it happens a lot with very good hockey players on the Flames. Iginla is celebrated by fans from all markets but many, many fans here were just as eager to get rid of him back when he was here. Even today, when talking about Iginla's successes, people feel obligated to bring up his shortcomings. It's almost as if Flames fans hate great players.
The concept of trading iginla was to get some reasonable return for the asset.
Which didn’t happen
Nothing to do with hating players
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