Speculation: Will Calgary win the Cup this year?

[Fig]

Saw some article last night that mentioned Peters has never cracked 90 points as a coach and that really put a damper on things. I'd be happy if they made the playoffs, surprised if they made the second round. No chance they win the Cup.

Blames goalies!

Seriously though

Ward/Khudobin
Ward/Lack x 2
Ward/Darling

and no offensive fire power while sitting in the Metro division... That's a hard place to be.

 

[Anglesmith]

Saw some article last night that mentioned Peters has never cracked 90 points as a coach and that really put a damper on things. I'd be happy if they made the playoffs, surprised if they made the second round. No chance they win the Cup.

But has he elevated the teams he's coached is more of a question. Many people like his work with Carolina, and believe they would have been significantly better if not for the worst goaltending in the league during his tenure. And he was highly regarded as a coach prior to that hire, too.

Not every coach is going to be in a situation to win a lot of games with their roster, just like not every player, no matter how good, will get to hoist the Stanley Cup. Any individual can only do so much in hockey.

 

[Baxterman]

It wouldn't be a miracle but it certainly would be the biggest surprise SC winner in a long time.

People can say that they were surprised by Washington last year but that was more because of how many times they failed than because of them having a weak roster.

The Flames would require everything going right for them AND things going wrong for other teams to win. The roster is better than it has been in probably 10 years but it still is not a SC contending roster.

 

[Volica]

It wouldn't be a miracle but it certainly would be the biggest surprise SC winner in a long time.

People can say that they were surprised by Washington last year but that was more because of how many times they failed than because of them having a weak roster.

The Flames would require everything going right for them AND things going wrong for other teams to win. The roster is better than it has been in probably 10 years but it still is not a SC contending roster.

Outside of missing an elite centre, it has all the other ingredients. Easier said than done; but hey.

 

[Anglesmith]

It wouldn't be a miracle but it certainly would be the biggest surprise SC winner in a long time.

People can say that they were surprised by Washington last year but that was more because of how many times they failed than because of them having a weak roster.

The Flames would require everything going right for them AND things going wrong for other teams to win. The roster is better than it has been in probably 10 years but it still is not a SC contending roster.

Is it significantly worse on paper than the Nashville team that took Pittsburgh 6 games in the SCF (without Johansen and others)? I would argue that it is not worse, let alone significantly. I think our defence is as good, and our forwards are better. It's just a matter of team cohesion and how well and consistently they can execute their gameplan.

I would stand by the fact that any team winning the Cup requires everything going right and things going wrong for others. It's just a damn hard trophy to win.

 

[Volica]

Is it significantly worse on paper than the Nashville team that took Pittsburgh 6 games in the SCF (without Johansen and others)? I would argue that it is not worse, let alone significantly. I think our defence is as good, and our forwards are better. It's just a matter of team cohesion and how well and consistently they can execute their gameplan.

I would stand by the fact that any team winning the Cup requires everything going right and things going wrong for others. It's just a damn hard trophy to win.

Might be the hardest in sports.
The likelihood of picking a cup champ is a lot lower than picking an NBA, MLB or NFL champ. The other leagues you can pick 4-5 teams that'll do it. In hockey, it's hard.

 

[Baxterman]

Is it significantly worse on paper than the Nashville team that took Pittsburgh 6 games in the SCF (without Johansen and others)? I would argue that it is not worse, let alone significantly. I think our defence is as good, and our forwards are better. It's just a matter of team cohesion and how well and consistently they can execute their gameplan.

I would stand by the fact that any team winning the Cup requires everything going right and things going wrong for others. It's just a damn hard trophy to win.

I don’t know about significantly worse but I do think it is a step below.

For defense I think Josi is better than Gio, Subban better than Brodie, Haminic and Ekholm equal and Ellis is better than Hanafin. I think Calgary defense is good, while Nashville’s was elite.

Up front they did have Johanssen to get them to the finals and with him and Forsberg I think that matches Gaudresu and Monahan. I like our top 6 wingers better than theirs but prefer Turris to Backlund. I also prefer their bottom 6 to ours.

I think Rinne is much better than Smith.

And Laviolette a gigantic improvement over Peters.

 

[Volica]

I don’t know about significantly worse but I do think it is a step below.

For defense I think Josi is better than Gio, Subban better than Brodie, Haminic and Ekholm equal and Ellis is better than Hanafin. I think Calgary defense is good, while Nashville’s was elite.

Up front they did have Johanssen to get them to the finals and with him and Forsberg I think that matches Gaudresu and Monahan. I like our top 6 wingers better than theirs but prefer Turris to Backlund. I also prefer their bottom 6 to ours.

I think Rinne is much better than Smith.

And Laviolette a gigantic improvement over Peters.

Josi and Gio to me are pretty close. I actually like Gio more on the defensive end.

We have nothing close to PK. But the remaining 5 guys to me are interchangeable in terms of top 8’s. Hanifin has the highest ceiling if anyone in the discussion though.

Their forward group is pretty similar. Gaudreau is the most talented player, and the rest are pure preference. I actually really, really like Calgary’s middle 6 now. Having two ~40 point guys on your third line is pretty decent.

Czarnik is a huge wild card, Janko and Benny could be too.

A healthy Smith is less of a wild card than Rinne who seems to fall apart at the worst times. But Saros is miles ahead of anything we have.

Calgary is a Preds/Knights hybrid.

As for coaching, let’s see Peters actually get a game in yyc before we cast out judgements on him. We have Gully two years to flub around until we turned on him.

 

[DFF]

Yes we will, along with 20 others teams

 

[Dack]

1989 = 30 years ago

2004 = 15 years after 1989 and 15 years before 2019.

The math checks out.

 

[Lunatik]

1989 = 30 years ago

2004 = 15 years after 1989 and 15 years before 2019.

The math checks out.

what about the season lost to lockout?

 

[Dack]

what about the season lost to lockout?

No seasons just years. Though you're right it's only been 29 seasons.

 

[Rubi]

They definitely have the horses to make the playoffs and once in the playoffs anything can happen when you're playing best of 7 series.
Look what happened in 2004 after they finished 3rd in their division and 6th in the conference.
The Flames won the cup. Yeah, I know, the record book says different, but the goal was in!

 

[CraigsList]

I come in peace.

I admire a lot of the Flames' offseason moves. I think they are pretty significant.

Do you think Calgary can have a good year or perhaps win a cup?

They seem to have all the ingredients now. Do you think they need to add more to the team?

Curious...

We’ve gotta make the playoffs first. I could see us winning a round or two because of how weak the Pacific Division is. However, I am reluctant and a tad hesitant to say that we could beat the Preds, Jets or Blues in a series.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

We’ve gotta make the playoffs first. I could see us winning a round or two because of how weak the Pacific Division is. However, I am reluctant and a tad hesitant to say that we could beat the Preds, Jets or Blues in a series.

It’s honestly gonna depend. For the last 3 years this team has had 1 scoring line if we’re being honest. Then we’ve had a really good shutdown line, the rest has been garbage. When Bennett and Janks played good last year this team looked like it could play with anyone. We also need Brodie to play like a #2 again that isn’t coughing the puck up all the time and we need Hanifin to take a step and Smith to repeat what he did last year and to stay healthy.

If we can get these things, we should win the division.