I am happy with my prediction as well. Tkachuk bouncing back, Johnny having a big year, if Markstrom is a top 5 goalie this is a top 2 team in the pacific.
I had a lot of if’s in my prediction but I believed that the team was better than last season. I wasn’t/couldn’t be so bold to predict the Flames would be viewed as a legit top cup contender this year.
The pandemic was hard on this team and this fanbase. There were many on this board who were convinced and adamant that this team was not good enough and anyone who thought otherwise was a blind homer. Tkachuk wasn’t going to be worth his $9M QO, Johnny was not an elite talent, this team was going nowhere. A lot of fans with Will Nault style opinions.
I personally was not happy with the offseason. Gio, Ryan, Leivo, Nordstrom, Simon, Nesterov replaced by Zadorov, Coleman, Lewis, Richardson, Gudbransen. Many of these moves turned out to be solid additions to the team. Adding Toffoli and Jarnkrok mid season really bolstered the forward group.
Year 4 since the Flames-Hurricanes blockbuster Lindholm is a 39 goal 78pt selke candidate first line center. Hanifin is a 45pt all situations top pairing Dman. Such a transformative deal. The 2 high profile Canuck free agent signings of Markstrom and Tanev have proven to be unbelievable pickups for the team.
When our top players are league wide top players this team looks deep and elite (see this year and 2019) but when those guys are average this team is on the bubble at best (see 2020-2021). Trelviing took a lot of heat in the last year but right now he deserves a lot of praise for sticking with the group and adding some key pieces with none more integral than Daryl Sutter.
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