Give me hope for next year

[FBI]

I'm struggling to find hope/care about our crap team and I've been a diehard fan for 30+ years.. I'm now more interested in the Panthers..

Are you guys holding on to any signs that things might turn around and be fun next year? I'm wracking my brain but can't come up with much..

1. our guys can't possibly be any worse next year?
2. Darryl Sutter at the helm for an entire year, no way we miss the playoffs?
3. Since Bennett is actually good, our other players are probably actually good too?
4. profit?

sigh

[Jiri Hrdina]

Can't be worse.
I'm excited about the off-season to see what happens. I expect at least one big trade with a core player gone, a more exciting draft and other neat stuff!

(I'm not particularly excited about Sutter to be honest)

[Geeoff]

Maybe a new GM and some interesting trades?

[Jordan!]

Flames fan in seattle who is following the Panthers.. makes alot of sense

[Flashpoint]

We get to play LA, Ana, and SJ.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Matthew Tkachuk is the kind of player who is energized by the fans (Conroy says it), and so will be back to normal. Johnny too.

That’s all I’ve got

You live in Seattle, OP? See who they draft and jump ship, cheer for the Kraken

[troutman]

Next year? A proper rebuild could take 3-5 years?

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Good news. Instead of watching a crummy team on TV, I'll be back to paying a bunch of money to watch them in person.......wait, am I doing this right?

[GranteedEV]

If we're bad enough, we can dream about Shane Wright:

One scout described it as, "If Bedard is like McDavid, then Wright is like Crosby."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.si....ething-special

[rogermexico]

I think that the off-season will be interesting.
I also think we'll see one core player moved and I think that has the potential to change some things.
Full year of Sutter.
I think that getting back to the normal season / division alignment will be good.
Hopefully we have fans back in stands.

It was a pretty lousy year for a lot of reasons. I'm mainly just excited about it being over.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Can't be worse.

You've been following this organization for a long time, Jiri. You know that's a lie.

[Scary Eloranta]

I really don't see anything exciting for this team for the next few years at least. I don't think we've hit rock bottom yet. I can't even imagine how Sabres fans feel.

[bubbsy]

The exciting part for me is that one way or another there HAS to be change. Contract decisions on gaudreau, tkachuk, Giordano make it inevitable.

I also feel that treliving's tenure will be coming to an end in the next week or two.

[Jordan!]

At least The Flames have a long term arena solution in place...

[1qqaaz]

I think there's a strong possibility that the Flames will rebound quite a bit next year.
Rather, the problem is that the Flames will inevitably return to mediocrity after that.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

You've been following this organization for a long time, Jiri. You know that's a lie.

Getting worse would be a not bad thing given the high end talent available at the top of the next 2 drafts.
If there's a time to hope, in the back of one's mind, for this team to bottom out - it is for the next 2 years.

[N-E-B]

We’d have made the playoffs using the normal divisions? We missed this year but had more wins than the Habs who made it?

We have a great goaltender and solid defense. I think removing Monahan from Johnny has been good and should have happened months earlier. If we can get the offence going to even a somewhat competent level again then I think they could rebound.

It was a weird season to begin with.

[TheScorpion]

Two words:

Connor Zary.

[SeanCharles]

I expect some changes in the offseason so that is exciting.

I have also been impressed with Tkachuk-Lindholm-Gaudreau line and think they can form a consistently deadly trio if they all return.

I fully expect continued growth from Andersson, Valimaki, Mackey, Dube and Mangiapane while Pelletier and Zary are legitimate prospects to be excited about.

Our forward depth was trash and needs to be addressed but in general I like our young defence group and think Markstrom is an above average starting goalie.

When 5 of your regular forwards are the likes of Lucic, Ritchie, Nordstrom, Leivo, and Ryan (Simon, Robinson, Froese, Rinaldo) you are in trouble.

I like some of these guys but in general I would classify them as 4th line calibre. Throw in the youthful struggles of Dube and an injured Monahan and you essentially have only 1/3 of your forwards who can consistently produce offence.

Now, whether we can address this lack of scoring upfront is up for debate but with the expansion draft looming after another disappointing year I expect some fireworks.

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Two words:

Connor Zary.

I really like him, but I see him starting next season in the Ahl.