Calgary Flames MEGA THREAD 2017-2018 Edition

[2Legit2Quit]

^ That's the dream.

If he does become available we legit have to go ham for him, pay him. Boudreau went to the Wild because of a better contract offer. The Oilers will probably go after Q as well if the hawks let him go, along with other teams I'm sure but would just suck more if he ends up in Edmonton.

[NissanFanBoy]

I'd like to see a proven coach for once, keep the same players with a few tweaks (ie. Legit RW), and see how it goes next year.... There's ALWAYS next year, unless the team moves of course haha

Side note, Gaudreau needs to work on being a more complete player, his defensive game is atrocious and work on not making stupid giveaways and he won't get to that next level until he does...

I said it before, our best player hands down is Tkachuk and once he figures out how to take less penalties he will be one of the league's biggest impact players.

[asp integra]

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^ That's the dream.

If he does become available we legit have to go ham for him, pay him. Boudreau went to the Wild because of a better contract offer. The Oilers will probably go after Q as well if the hawks let him go, along with other teams I'm sure but would just suck more if he ends up in Edmonton.

Quenneville is the dream. I hope it turns into a reality. Look what he did with Kane and Toews, Johnny and Monny could be the kane/toews 2.0

[dezmarez]

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Side note, Gaudreau needs to work on being a more complete player, his defensive game is atrocious and work on not making stupid giveaways and he won't get to that next level until he does...

What level would you like him to get too? He's a top 15 player in the NHL when it comes to points and has 20%more points than the next closest Flame.
Part of what makes him so special, is the ability to make plays other people can't make. That is going to mean he is going to try higher risk plays, which will lead to a greater chance of a turnover.

I always find it interesting when fans and media go after their top end players, when more often than not, they are no where near the problem.

Obviously there are many reasons why the season was brutal this year, and there is plenty of blame to go around, however, if you are starting with Gaudreau, I think you have it wrong.

[NissanFanBoy]

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What level would you like him to get too? He's a top 15 player in the NHL when it comes to points and has 20%more points than the next closest Flame.
Part of what makes him so special, is the ability to make plays other people can't make. That is going to mean he is going to try higher risk plays, which will lead to a greater chance of a turnover.

I always find it interesting when fans and media go after their top end players, when more often than not, they are no where near the problem.

Obviously there are many reasons why the season was brutal this year, and there is plenty of blame to go around, however, if you are starting with Gaudreau, I think you have it wrong.

Whoa, never said he was the problem just that he needed to step to the next level...Ovi and Crosby both had to work on other facets of their game before hitting their prime. I guess my point is that even our "star players" are still progressing.... People think they're already there and that they have peaked when in reality we are still in a rebuild with players not even close to their prime...

[colinxx235]

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Whoa, never said he was the problem just that he needed to step to the next level...Ovi and Crosby both had to work on other facets of their game before hitting their prime. I guess my point is that even our "star players" are still progressing.... People think they're already there and that they have peaked when in reality we are still in a rebuild with players not even close to their prime...

I first read like you were saying he was the problem as well. I think this season was quite big for him now that guys aren't allowed to lumberjack him every stride he takes down the ice. But ultimately what can you really expect from him defensively? He is the smallest guy in the NHL by a good chunk and already had some small injuries.
The passing is a double edged sword, he mades some genius passes being creative, as a result going to have some ugly turnovers.

Comparing anyone aside from McDavid to Crosby is unfair. Probably the two most polished players in the last 20 years to start off the NHL career.

When I think of the biggest problem I just wonder what it would be like if those two played with a legit 1st line Right winger.

This season our 4th line was absolutely brutal. And aside from a few stretches of Bennett/Jankowski the 3rd line was much the same. It sucks because everytime Bennett seems to try so much harder he just takes awful penalties as a result. He's fast/talented and soso size, the potential is there. Hopefully another offseason for Jankowski + training camp yields good results for both those guys.

I also wish Hamilton knew how to impose his size better on other players, at least he has the scoring down, but at his height guys should get punished entering the zone on him.

[ExtraSlow]

I've always had huge hopes for Bennett. Don't see a reason he can't be a solid second line guy. Even fill in for top line guys in case of injury or something. He's never solidified that though.

As for the third and fourth lines, at some point you need consistency and a little more skill. Playing with heart is nice to see but it can't be your entire plan.

[dezmarez]

Ok ok that makes more sense!

Agree 100% with that.

[speedog]

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Blow it up. Trade em all and fire the entire coaching staff. Flames suck.

You'd trade Johnny?

[NissanFanBoy]

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You'd trade Johnny?

If the price is right why not? He didn't say for what lol

[88CRX]

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You'd trade Johnny?

I'd make significant changes yes. Specifically Johnny, probably not.

[Quizzes]

Johnny would fetch a boatload of picks, but it'll set us back another few more years waiting for that offensive talent to come around. The problem with trading people like Brodie or Bennett is their value is at an all time low right now, so the return would be very underwhelming.

The coaching staff is all but guaranteed to be gone, so hoping the new regime can utilize these players to their full potential.

[ExtraSlow]

Trade the entire "leadership group" maybe. Keep johnny.

[Kavy]

Knee jerk trades are never a good idea.

For reference just look at Chicago and how their knee jerk trade worked out.

My opinion:
I agree there needs to be some change and it should come from trading a D or D prospects (Brodie and Anderson or similar) for a RW in the under 28 range that can play the top line.

I don’t mind the 4th line as their only job is to not get scored on and provide a rest for the other lines. They did that very well this year. 3rd line didn’t show up which hurts but the second line was more of a disappointment when it came to offensive production.

[D'z Nutz]

Sometimes I wish teams would do knee jerk reactions that fans often propose for the laughs. Nobody would ever get anywhere.

Miss the playoffs? Blow it up!
Get blown out of a game? Trade everyone the next day!
Big name acquisition doesn't score in his first game? Flip him for picks!
Coach didn't call a time out at a key point in the game? Fire him!

Players would be living in suitcases cause they wouldn't stay in the same place for more than a week.

[88CRX]

Here what I think they should do.

- Trade Brodie for a top 6 winger or some draft picks.
- If you move Brodie for picks then you must sign a free agent top 6 winger.
- Buyout Brouwer.
- Do not resign Stajan, Versteeg, Bartowski.
- Rasmus Anderson and/or Kylington makes the team.
- Pray that Mangiapane, Klimchuck, Dube, Foo, ???? or someone steps up and makes the big club (doesn't seem likely) so that Hathaway doesn't have to dress every night.
- Show the entire coaching staff the door, all of them.

Gaudreau - Monahan - ???
Tkachuk - Backlund - Bennett
Ferland - Jankowski - Frolik
Lazar - Shore - ???

Gio - Hamilton
Anderson or Kylington - Hamonic
Kulak - Stone

Smith
Gilles

For the top line winger you target Evander Kane, Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, James Neal.... someone with some grit would be ideal.

I think you also explore swapping Bennett for some sort or other reclamation project if the right deal comes up.

And if Anderson and Kylington both step up then you explore moving Stone perhaps.

[rage2]

I'm a Kane fan, and really wish we went for him at the deadline (not that we had much to offer). Stings even more that he scored a billion goals on us since the signing.

Sharks been on a tear since the Kane signing, sometimes it's just a small piece of the puzzle that's missing that tips all those close losses into wins.

[colinxx235]

It had been a while since I look up all the stats of the guys but yah the 4th line is much better than I had thought in my head in term of +-.
Hell Stajan is +3 which I had no clue.

When you glance some of the things that stand out would be
3M line - Back -20, Frolik -15 (yes they play the top line which is tough to keep that number up, but still they need to win that battle). Back - 13 G 28A, Frolik 10G 13A.
1st line - 40 points from your right winger versus 82 from your left. yes JG is the main ppg guy etc, but and 82 to 64 to 40 drop off is steep on one line
3rd line - Bennett -17, 11G 15A Jank -9 13G 8A, no consistent winger with them to compare
4th line - troy + stajan + garnet + lazar + kris + scraps = 17 goals for an entire season

Then on D,
Brodie, Hamonic and Stone at -16, -7, -10 isn't great considering what the expectations were for them as a D core.

But who knows what will happen in the offseason. Stajan/Kris are your only major roster UFAs. Jankowski/Kulak are the RFAs you care about
Projected current cap hit is $63.2 mil. If it goes up to $78-82 like the rumors you have that to compete with while I'm assuming flames management with what is going on doesn't want to spend that high.
Your Stockton talent pool looks like maybe Foo, Klimchuk or Mangiapane might have a shot of cracking the roster to cut savings.

Some very good RFAs coming up, but those are tough to snipe. Tavares sweepstakes too rich for them.
In terms of RW UFAs, do I think the flames can get Neal or Perron, probably not. Vanek is almost 35. Grabner is a great player but right now it worries me which UFA's Calgary can attract without overpaying seriously.

I also don't know what the current arena situation/possibility of team maybe moving in 2 seasons will do to prospective FAs as well.

[rage2]

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Projected current cap hit is $63.2 mil. If it goes up to $78-82 like the rumors you have that to compete with while I'm assuming flames management with what is going on doesn't want to spend that high.

With us missing even a single round of playoff revenue, if the cap does break $80m, next year might be the first year where we don't spend to the cap unless ownership wants to lose money.

[bigbadboss101]

I like Wayne Smmonds. Wasn't there rumours years ago that we could have received for Iggy both Simmonds and B Schenn?