Dream, but as realistic as possible, 2016 Flames lineup?

[Volica]

That is simply not true, and its actually the opposite.

I didn't want to say it; because I feel like I disagree way too much with whatever that guy posts rofl.

Johnny's strength isnt getting into the dirty areas and banging; it's finding that sweet open ice and vision. I'd be very scared for him if his game was getting along the half wall and trying to put people through the class haha.

 

[InfinityIggy]

I'd be more than happy with either of the big two. I don't feel this team can compete for a playoff spot yet; so I'm more in favor of getting that first or second overall honestly; I just don't think we have the talent to compete out West.

As for Dmen; I'm perfectly okay going forward. I'm not worried, and I know this problem will figure itself out. Hell, Edmonton could have figured out their defensive problems, if they were just willing to trade one of their carbon copy finess forwards rather than hold into them like they were going out of style. We never know if one of the prospects develops like crazy, one of the dark horses, if Calgary manages to swindle someone out of their future number 1... We just don't know what will be made available.

The problem is there are too many teams who suck horribly in the East for us to ever finish bottom 2.

 

[Volica]

The problem is there are too many teams who suck horribly in the East for us to ever finish bottom 2.

Yes & No.
There are a ton of bad teams out East, but they're all that same level of bad, where they get to pick up wins against each other, and kind of meddle middle-pack.

On paper;
Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Florida & Buffalo are the only teams I could see nose-diving behind us. Maybe the canes; because they're going with literally the same lineup they've had for two seasons to start the year again.

The Jets were playing good hockey near the end of the year; so maybe they can get back to that?
Ottawa will regress, I feel. Edmonton is trying to do the same thing again; with some new spare parts... maybe their defense is good enough now having signed a couple middle pairing guys.

Florida and Buffalo went crazy this off-season with free agents. We don't know how they'll kind of gel. Both have the absolute possibility of being bottom feeders again (and shame on them if they are). Who knows.

I don't think it's crazy to think Calgary will be in the bottom 5. Even though it kind of sucks already thinking about it during the summer

 

[CraigsList]

^ Personally, I think we'd be picking Kylington. My list of the bottom 5:

1. Sabres
2. Sens
3. Canes
4. Jets
5. Oilers

6. Flames

 

[Hand of Gaudreau]

^ Personally, I think we'd be picking Kylington. My list of the bottom 5:

1. Sabres
2. Sens
3. Canes
4. Jets
5. Oilers

6. Flames

I have a gut feeling that this is the season the Oilers begin to make some progress, and it's about friggin time if they do.

 

[CraigsList]

I have a gut feeling that this is the season the Oilers begin to make some progress, and it's about friggin time if they do.

You know what's funny? They can't seem to catch a break when it comes to drafting. Monahan is the better player than Nurse, and the Oilers were only a spot off of getting their #2 center in Monahan. I think the Hawks won the lottery to pick Kane, and the Oilers were so close to being in that lottery position. They got the 1st OA pick in drafts that weren't as deep as others, so with that given trend, they'll play good this year when the draft is so deep .

 

[Skobel24]

Way too early to trade Sven because of the depth the team has on LW. His value is low right now, and there is no guarantee that guys like Agostino, Klimchuk, and Granlund turn out to be what everyone expects them to.

LW
Gaudreau - Likely a lock for the top 6.
Baertschi - At worst, I see him as a 3rd liner.
Agostino - Bottom 6 guy
Klimchuk - Personally, I want to convert him to the RW. I think he'd be the perfect winger alongside Baertschi.
Hanowski - 4th liner.
Ferland - 4th liner who can chip in a few goals.
Van Brabant - 4th liner.

RW
Poirier - I can see him being a strong 3rd liner/decent 2nd liner.
Smith - I don't see him being much more than a 3rd liner.

As for center, I think the options are clear. Monahan, Bennett, Jankowski, Arnold, Knight. Granlund and Reinhart could stay on the wing, or wind up back at center.

After that, we still have guys like Backlund, Bouma, Colborne, Glencross, Raymond, Stajan. Ideally, I'd like to see something along the lines of... christ, I've spent like 30 minutes trying to put this together now, and every time, I wind up leaving someone out who could very well be in the mix. I've tried to create a strong balance. Unfortunately, it meant Granlund isn't in the lineup. Honestly though, just about any prospect could be left out of this, and it could still be plausible. I left Colborne on the top line, because I really think he can be a strong 20g/30a guy, and can continue to develop that chemistry. The 2nd line could be a huge offensive threat, and as I said before, I think Baertschi and Klimchuk would be awesome together. Third and 4th lines have a strong mix of skill, grit, and a two way game. I kept Engelland on the bottom pairing, as Burkliving will want a tough guy with Bollig and McGrattan gone.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Colborne
Baertschi - Bennett - Klimchuk
Reinhart - Backlund - Poirier
Bouma - Stajan - Ferland
Arnold, Knight

Giordano - Brodie
Wotherspoon - Sieloff
Engelland - Kulak
Ramage

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

I could totally see Klimchuk being moved to the RW as well. I know he's a LH, but IMO he's so smart and adaptable and I think the could pick that up without missing a beat.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

^ Personally, I think we'd be picking Kylington. My list of the bottom 5:

1. Sabres
2. Sens
3. Canes
4. Jets
5. Oilers

6. Flames

I see no reason any of the teams in bold would finish in the bottom five - I can't see how they've gotten worse over the off-season. Sure they're dumpster fires, but so is Edmonton (have to think that they'll put it together eventually) and to a lesser extent Florida.

Calgary's certainly no better off than they are. Barring a miracle, of course.

Anyway...

A potential 2016/17 Calgary Flames roster, developed from within

Gaudreau - Monahan - Bennett
Baertschi - Backlund - Poirier
Raymond - Stajan - Arnold
Bouma - Knight - Bollig*
x - Klimchuk, Granlund, Agostino

Brodie - Wotherspoon
Wideman* - Sieloff
Engelland* - Smid*
x - Kanzig

Ortio, Gillies

*denotes player currently under contract through the start of the 2016 season.

Left out potential 2015 draft picks.

 

[Rangediddy]

You know what's funny? They can't seem to catch a break when it comes to drafting. Monahan is the better player than Nurse, and the Oilers were only a spot off of getting their #2 center in Monahan. I think the Hawks won the lottery to pick Kane, and the Oilers were so close to being in that lottery position. They got the 1st OA pick in drafts that weren't as deep as others, so with that given trend, they'll play good this year when the draft is so deep .

If I remember correctly, it was down to Calgary and Colorado for the last playoff spot on the last game of the year. We needed to win against Edmonton or Colorado had to lose against whoever. Calgary was up 2-0 in the first when they announced to the Saddledome crowd (I was there) that Colorado had lost their game and Calgary secured the final spot.

The dome went nuts and apparently the Flames all went home because Edmonton went on to score like 3 or 4 unanswered goals to beat us and move up one spot in the standings... giving Chicago the pick that won the Patrick Kane lottery!

Couldn't have written it better myself!

 

[Lunatik]

I could totally see Klimchuk being moved to the RW as well. I know he's a LH, but IMO he's so smart and adaptable and I think the could pick that up without missing a beat.

I think Agostino could be moved to RW too, I seem to recall in the 2013 NCAA championship game he played RW a little.

 

[CraigsList]

I think Agostino could be moved to RW too, I seem to recall in the 2013 NCAA championship game he played RW a little.

Yeah, Klimchuk and Aggy can move to the RW.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

How long have people been saying "this is the year the Oilers make progress?" Nilsson, Cogliano, and Gagner are gonna kill it this year.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

I'd be more than happy with either of the big two. I don't feel this team can compete for a playoff spot yet; so I'm more in favor of getting that first or second overall honestly; I just don't think we have the talent to compete out West.

As for Dmen; I'm perfectly okay going forward. I'm not worried, and I know this problem will figure itself out. Hell, Edmonton could have figured out their defensive problems, if they were just willing to trade one of their carbon copy finess forwards rather than hold into them like they were going out of style. We never know if one of the prospects develops like crazy, one of the dark horses, if Calgary manages to swindle someone out of their future number 1... We just don't know what will be made available.

But by not making a move for a Dman, we are basically doing the same thing as the Oilers - holding on to our assets. No way we get a sure fire future #1 unless we really pay for it. This is why I really believe we should be looking into a move to pick up a top prospect D that would be ready to make our team by next year.

We all know Dmen take longer to mature, we are going to want a Dman to be entering that prime right around the same time as our top prospects at forward - regardless of who we draft next year. I think with that missing piece we'd be playoff bound in 3 years.

I'm not saying we need to make a move now, but at some point this year. By just sitting back and saying we can just draft Dmen, we are going to be in the same mess.

 

[Anglesmith]

But by not making a move for a Dman, we are basically doing the same thing as the Oilers - holding on to our assets. No way we get a sure fire future #1 unless we really pay for it. This is why I really believe we should be looking into a move to pick up a top prospect D that would be ready to make our team by next year.

We all know Dmen take longer to mature, we are going to want a Dman to be entering that prime right around the same time as our top prospects at forward - regardless of who we draft next year. I think with that missing piece we'd be playoff bound in 3 years.

I'm not saying we need to make a move now, but at some point this year. By just sitting back and saying we can just draft Dmen, we are going to be in the same mess.

Not exactly the same mess, because Edmonton really had a dearth of top d-men, whereas we have a top pairing currently in place who will be at or near their prime for the next few years. We can, at this point, afford to draft our top defenceman, because we won't need a new top defenceman until at least as long as that new guy would take to develop.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

Not exactly the same mess, because Edmonton really had a dearth of top d-men, whereas we have a top pairing currently in place who will be at or near their prime for the next few years. We can, at this point, afford to draft our top defenceman, because we won't need a new top defenceman until at least as long as that new guy would take to develop.

We don't know if Gio will still be around, or if he will still be at a top level. Brodie should be hitting peak right around that time - hopefully we still have him. After that though I'm not really sold on our guys being in that top 4. That is the guy we should be hunting for now.

 

[marbsarebad]

Personally, I'd prefer to just move Bennett to the wing, and have Eichel play center. That said, we need a dman! I guess we could move Sven to fill that need if we draft top 2 though.

A Bennett-Eichel-Poirier

Gaudreau-Monahan-Colborne/Baertschi

Would be the best offense in the league, by far. Too bad our D will be atrocious by the time we get there (assuming Gio leaves or declines in skill)

 

[CraigsList]

After the 2015 draft, I think that's when we start needing to address our positional needs (D, RW) by moving picks/prospects that we are strong in (C/LW).

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

But by not making a move for a Dman, we are basically doing the same thing as the Oilers - holding on to our assets. No way we get a sure fire future #1 unless we really pay for it. This is why I really believe we should be looking into a move to pick up a top prospect D that would be ready to make our team by next year.

We all know Dmen take longer to mature, we are going to want a Dman to be entering that prime right around the same time as our top prospects at forward - regardless of who we draft next year. I think with that missing piece we'd be playoff bound in 3 years.

I'm not saying we need to make a move now, but at some point this year. By just sitting back and saying we can just draft Dmen, we are going to be in the same mess.

I don't disagree with you at all, what's tricky though is timing and the risk factor. First of all, you need to identify your targets, then draw conclusions about who and what your willing to move. Then, you need to best hypothesize what your giving up down the road vs what your getting down the road. What's tricky is, how do you weigh that and how sure are you of the conclusions you made. Obviously management has a better idea as they are around these kids and know who fits their culture, but you don't want to trade a guy like JVR and get back Luke Schenn, obviously those circumstances are not the totally the same as this but I'm just trying to illustrate a point.

I'm on board with getting a dman, but the Flames better damn well know what they are getting if they trade a Sven. Personally I'd move Granlund and Culkin, and try and get a Despres type player.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

Absolutely agree.

 

[marbsarebad]

I see us coming out of this rebuild looking like the Blues. Up front there's good two-way forwards and the back-end is all-defense (not a lot of blue-line scoring). Excellent PK, mediocre powerplay, solid goaltending. We won't have a lot of high-scoring games, but we won't allow many goals. I can get behind that.

 

[tyflames]

I see us coming out of this rebuild looking like the Blues. Up front there's good two-way forwards and the back-end is all-defense (not a lot of blue-line scoring). Excellent PK, mediocre powerplay, solid goaltending. We won't have a lot of high-scoring games, but we won't allow many goals. I can get behind that.

We have no real defensive prospects to build a defense. They had Petriangelo and Shattenkirk.

 

[Anglesmith]

We have no real defensive prospects to build a defense. They had Petriangelo and Shattenkirk.

Shattenkirk was traded to them by the Avs.

 

[Volica]

We have no real defensive prospects to build a defense. They had Petriangelo and Shattenkirk.

They traded for him.
They had guys like Jackman & Cole.

So, for example, the people who are so worried about our defence... they drafted a couple okay pieces and one #1 defender; then traded to fill in their top 4. Tada. Let's not trade all our prospect for D for once

 

[Lunatik]

Shattenkirk was traded to them by the Avs.

True, but they also had E. Johnson.


But otherwise their great blueline were vets and trade acquisitions. Why can't Brodie and Wotherspoon develop into our lesser versions of Pietrangelo & Shattenkirk/Johnson? Giordano would be our vet that is better than Jackman. A couple of our lesser known defensive prospects could grow to be our Polak & Cole and then other guys could be acquired via trade. It's not nearly as dire as people like to make it out to be.