A lot of different ways to look at this Flames team this season, but overall mostly positive and as always I give big credit to our lord and savior Daryl Sutter. Looking around the league and yes GP is skewed as well as the schedule has been interesting with Covid. At half way through the year, some teams like Toronto haven't played a single game vs. teams in their very own division!
Our eye test for the past several years has said that we still (after a 7 goal outburst) lack secondary scoring. Our GF also confirms this in comparison to other top teams (which I think we are, despite GF). While were bashing the Flames for GF, Sportsnet tells us everyday how vaunted and powerful those Oiler stars are at that scoring game, but they have 2 more GF than we do....GA we are incredible and that also passes our eye test. When were on our game, we can shutout or hold even really good teams to 1-2 goals.
Here's the conundrum. Sutter and Tre obviously would both like more scoring from this roster or added to this roster. If this were a Geoff Ward coached team (god forbid) they probably make a trade easier than having Sutter on the bench (but this is a necessary evil). Sutter in my opinion, was likely in charge of moves this past off-season with regards to Pitlick, Lewis, Richardson, Gudbranson etc. To me, this is like a parent going to a grocery store and getting the "needed staples" to keep a family fed for the next little while, before later heading to the specialty butcher, fisherman's wharf etc. for those good things the family enjoys eating. Sutter needs said staples that can play his defensive style. It's irrelevant to him that 'Farm Hand A' can skate faster, score a few more goals because the cost of that player overall is a breakdown in defensive play that will lead to more goals against, far more than he could ever offset offensively.
So, the problem. Unless you can move Monahan for the healthier better mirror image of himself (Centre who can score 25+) Or get someone to take Backlund off this roster, I think Ruzicka could honestly be an 80% version of his shutdown defensive talents with more offensive upside and youth, then your stuck with strictly moving draft picks to likely rent more Blake Coleman types (hoping they can score 20) but that do keep you in the Daryl Sutter defensive mode needed. The way this team plays, they are not the team that could go and bring in a Patrick Laine or a Tarasenko, unless they were going to move out defensive liabilities like (Gaudreau, Looch, etc.) and those moves wouldn't improve the team much if at all, anyway.
