Expectations: What are they?

[Pirate King Luffy]

We still haven't even played the California teams yet and a couple of the central division teams like the Avs and Wild, not that too worried about the Avs. If the still had Statsny then yeah. That is 15-20 games right there.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

This is kinda what the purpose of this thread serves to address; why only a slim chance? That would have to be considered as being rooted in expectation, would it not? In other words, on what basis would you expect this team to have a slim chance to make the playoffs, versus being legitimate cup contenders if their play thus far is the only evidence (statistical, or otherwise) we have to base our expectations on? I guess I'm just interested in what tells a fanbase not to get too hopeful when their team is in tank/rebuild mode, and what tells them to temper expectations when they are well-exceeded by the quarter-season mark.

Personally, I think I expected something similar to last season, where we battled hard despite often being outmatched, combined with a bit of poor luck with key injuries, which coincided with a mid-season scoring drought, also factoring in how many games went to extra time (that we found ourselves on the wrong end of), all to arrive at the end result of being just outside the playoff picture and drafting high once again. We have been battling hard again so far this year, but despite an early round of key injuries, have been getting great goaltending (Edit: can't forget Gio and Brodie have been lights out as well) and have downright looked like a team possessed out there some nights.

I'm not going to allow what my expectations of this team were prior to the season dictate my level of disappointment/satisfaction with the end result, because my expectations have changed. To me, this is a team that can, and should make the playoffs, and possibly even steal a round. If that fails to happen, I certainly won't be using the default expectations of a rebuilding team as an excuse not to be disappointed as some might.

I expect at some point the inexperience of this team will show. I expect teams all around the NHL will take notice of what we are doing here and be better prepared when they play the Flames in the future. I expect the injuries at some point will take it's toll.

Those expectations are what my head is telling me. My heart (the fan in me), is just enjoying the hell out this right now and hope that this doesn't end, or doesn't slow to a point where playoffs fall off the map. With each passing game and win, our boys are starting to make a believer out of me though. And I fully admit my expectations of this team before the season started until now have changed quite a bit. In September, I thought McDavid was a much more realistic expectation than playoffs, now it is the opposite. I do now believe we will be battling for a playoff spot, but I am trying to keep my expectations grounded.

Hartley has exceeded all expectations though, I don't think there is any other coach that could be getting more from this team than Hartley is currently.

 

[CraigsList]

For the amount of injuries we've dealt with in the past week or so, our team has been playing great hockey regardless. That's what I like about us, we play our hearts out every single game no matter who is playing.

It'll be very exciting at how well we can do when a couple of more players are healthy and ready to go.

 

[Anglesmith]

We still haven't even played the California teams yet and a couple of the central division teams like the Avs, wild. That is 15-20 games right there.

Very true. Really hard to judge how good we are if we are only playing middling teams.

That said, though, I'm not terribly afraid of LA or Colorado. The Wild scare me, the Ducks scare me and the Sharks scare me a little bit. I don't think we'll get run over by those teams, but I don't expect a winning record.

 

[MonahanTheMan]

I just wanted to point out that months ago I thought shoring up the goaltending situation and getting another big year out of our top pairing might carry us into a wild card spot for the playoffs.

Too bad I'm always wrong

 

[DCDM]

Very true. Really hard to judge how good we are if we are only playing middling teams.

That said, though, I'm not terribly afraid of LA or Colorado. The Wild scare me, the Ducks scare me and the Sharks scare me a little bit. I don't think we'll get run over by those teams, but I don't expect a winning record.

I'm not worried about the Sharks. We always play them pretty well and I wouldn't say their roster has gotten better since last year.

The Wild look ferocious this year though, and they appear to have turned the tide against us since we traded Iginla. And we never beat the Ducks so those are pretty much a guaranteed loss, lol.

 

[Wheels of Poirier]

I expect at some point the inexperience of this team will show. I expect teams all around the NHL will take notice of what we are doing here and be better prepared when they play the Flames in the future. I expect the injuries at some point will take it's toll.

Those expectations are what my head is telling me. My heart (the fan in me), is just enjoying the hell out this right now and hope that this doesn't end, or doesn't slow to a point where playoffs fall off the map. With each passing game and win, our boys are starting to make a believer out of me though. And I fully admit my expectations of this team before the season started until now have changed quite a bit. In September, I thought McDavid was a much more realistic expectation than playoffs, now it is the opposite. I do now believe we will be battling for a playoff spot, but I am trying to keep my expectations grounded.

Hartley has exceeded all expectations though, I don't think there is any other coach that could be getting more from this team than Hartley is currently.

Great post.

I think of the factors you listed, the bolded is the one that we'll be most significantly impacted by. Our success right now could in large part be due to other teams' being taken by surprise. RaginSajan made a good point too in than we still have not faced some of the tougher teams, so maybe the question of what is considered a large enough sample size to take the Flames seriously as a contender is related to this.

 

[Calculon]

I expect a lottery win.

Okay not really. On the positive side, Kylington seems to be falling down the rankings a bit (well, at least one ranking). They might be able to nab him somewhere around the upper half of the top ten in the draft.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

I expect a lottery win.

Okay not really. On the positive side, Kylington seems to be falling down the rankings a bit (well, at least one ranking). They might be able to nab him somewhere around the upper half of the top in the draft.

Man would I be pumped if we ended up with him.

 

[CraigsList]

The prospects I want us to get (Kylington/Sprong/Roy are the top 3 I am high on) keep dropping... Is this is a sign with what our record will be ?

Kylington was ranked 8th, Sprong was 17th, and I think Roy was 27th last time I checked.

 

[Calculon]

Man would I be pumped if we ended up with him.

Yeah, drafting him and trading for another defensemen like Gormley or Larsson would pretty much set the defense for the next decade.

 

[Anglesmith]

The prospects I want us to get (Kylington/Sprong/Roy are the top 3 I am high on) keep dropping... Is this is a sign with what our record will be ?

Kylington was ranked 8th, Sprong was 17th, and I think Roy was 27th last time I checked.

It's weird that you don't want McDavid.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

Yeah, drafting him and trading for another defensemen like Gormley or Larsson would pretty much set the defense for the next decade.

Absolutely, then throw in Wotherspoon and Sieloff on our bottom pairing, that would look amazing!

 

[Pizza the Hutt]

For me, my expectations hang on this game against Tampa tonight. We can definitely beat the three teams that come after them, so I think if we can pull off a win tonight it will solidify my confidence that this group of Flames can make the playoffs.

Tonight spells the difference between a team that can pull of some upsets and surprise a lot of people, and a team that can pull off an 8 game win streak.

 

[Orfieus]

If you guys are worried about not getting a high draft pick, i wouldn't worry. No offence.

Look at how Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas and LA are struggling now. You probably won't get the 1st rounder but getting 4-5th pick is still in your future.

I also think Colorado is going to make a late push as well.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

If you guys are worried about not getting a high draft pick, i wouldn't worry. No offence.

Look at how Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas and LA are struggling now. You probably won't get the 1st rounder but getting 4-5th pick is still in your future.

I also think Colorado is going to make a late push as well.

We're not worried, but thanks.

 

[MonahanTheMan]

If you guys are worried about not getting a high draft pick, i wouldn't worry. No offence.

Look at how Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas and LA are struggling now. You probably won't get the 1st rounder but getting 4-5th pick is still in your future.

I also think Colorado is going to make a late push as well.

Has everyone forgotten that we're literally like 15 games into the season? It's not a late push, it's a slow start. At the same time, Calgary is off to a fast start, something that's probably unsustainable.

Y'all need to think about context before you post.

 

[InfinityIggy]

If you guys are worried about not getting a high draft pick, i wouldn't worry. No offence.

Look at how Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas and LA are struggling now. You probably won't get the 1st rounder but getting 4-5th pick is still in your future.

I also think Colorado is going to make a late push as well.

We aren't Buffalo or Edmonton. We don't worry about such things.

 

[Volica]

I expect at some point the inexperience of this team will show. I expect teams all around the NHL will take notice of what we are doing here and be better prepared when they play the Flames in the future. I expect the injuries at some point will take it's toll.

Those expectations are what my head is telling me. My heart (the fan in me), is just enjoying the hell out this right now and hope that this doesn't end, or doesn't slow to a point where playoffs fall off the map. With each passing game and win, our boys are starting to make a believer out of me though. And I fully admit my expectations of this team before the season started until now have changed quite a bit. In September, I thought McDavid was a much more realistic expectation than playoffs, now it is the opposite. I do now believe we will be battling for a playoff spot, but I am trying to keep my expectations grounded.

Hartley has exceeded all expectations though, I don't think there is any other coach that could be getting more from this team than Hartley is currently.

I feel similar to this. On the flip side, I don't think this team is close to being a playoff team. Not because they don't play well, because they certainly do, and not because they don't give it their all, which they always do... but because the West is too damn hard.

In our own division, after such a hot start... we might still end up in 5th spot with an LA and SJ win alone. You then factor in Central being incredibly slow at starting this year... and it's going to be tough snagging that Wildcard as we progress... There's no way the Hawks only end up being a 94 point team (their current projection). You then look at our Schedule this year, and honestly, we've only played real competitors 4 times now (Blues, Hawks and TB x2) which our record is 1-2-1, but could easily be 0-3-1 with that pounding we took in Chi-Town.

I think the wake-up call in Calgary always comes when we head down to California + the Desert Dogs, where we generally figure out what a real cup contender looks like.

I love what we've done so far, I love this team of underdog hard workers... But I definitely understand their limitations... my only expectation from this team is that they give us a show every night; outside of that, I see us placing into no-mans-land come end-of-year... not bad enough for a major rebuilding piece in the top 4, and not good enough to be in the playoffs, somewhere between 19th and 25th in the league; not where we want to be.

 

[Flames Fanatic]

Wouldn't it be nice if even if we don't make the playoffs we won the lottery? Luck working in our favor for our all hard work?

 

[Anglesmith]

Wouldn't it be nice if even if we don't make the playoffs we won the lottery? Luck working in our favor for our all hard work?

There was never any hope. Only a fool's hope.

 

[Yung Rotini]

I expect us to play hockey.

 

[Volica]

Wouldn't it be nice if even if we don't make the playoffs we won the lottery? Luck working in our favor for our all hard work?

This was my hope last year.
We were the 4th worst team in the league, however the bottom 3 couldn't even hold a candle to our production or effort.

I feel it'll be really hard winning the lotto with a sub 5% chance of doing it.

 

[1989]

This was my hope last year.
We were the 4th worst team in the league, however the bottom 3 couldn't even hold a candle to our production or effort.

I feel it'll be really hard winning the lotto with a sub 5% chance of doing it.

That's... kind of what winning the lottery is all about.

 

[wretched34]

I expect at some point the inexperience of this team will show. I expect teams all around the NHL will take notice of what we are doing here and be better prepared when they play the Flames in the future. I expect the injuries at some point will take it's toll.

Those expectations are what my head is telling me. My heart (the fan in me), is just enjoying the hell out this right now and hope that this doesn't end, or doesn't slow to a point where playoffs fall off the map. With each passing game and win, our boys are starting to make a believer out of me though. And I fully admit my expectations of this team before the season started until now have changed quite a bit. In September, I thought McDavid was a much more realistic expectation than playoffs, now it is the opposite. I do now believe we will be battling for a playoff spot, but I am trying to keep my expectations grounded.

Hartley has exceeded all expectations though, I don't think there is any other coach that could be getting more from this team than Hartley is currently.

Honestly, I think the bolded part of your statement is one of the most illogical reasons the Flames will drop off. The other teams around the league already know the Flames are a hard working, never say die team. They built that reputation last year, and the second half of last season, they were playing playoff quality hockey, it was the beginning of the year, and inexperienced gaoltending that killed us. The goaltending has been far better so far this year, and our youth movement is paying off in strides.
I don't believe for a second, that teams are taking us lightly, and sitting back when they play us, like they may have at the beginning of the 2014 calendar year. If you listen to any of the pre-game interviews with opponent players, or coaches, you don't hear the generic "we're going to go out, and play our game tonight, and should come away with a win" like you do when teams play the Oilers or Sabres, or other generally bad teams. All the interviews are always "The Flames are a hard working team, who have been great defensively, and their goaltending has been really good, and they have enough skill up front to be dangerous. We're going to have to out work them, and capitalize on chances in order to beat them."
This is the NHL, teams don't just show up at the rink a few hours before the game, look at their opponents line-up card and go "oh, this will be an easy night" Management, Coaches and scouting staff spend time reviewing video, or scouting games to get a feel for what they are up against, and then run practices accordingly. It's no surprise when they step out on the ice and have to work their a$$es off when they play the Flames. Plus, this season is not like last year, where the Flames were near the bottom of the standings when they showed up to play, they are currently 7th in league standings, 3 points behind 1st, opponents are aware of this, and we didn't get there because our opponents took the night off when they played us.

This is a solid young team, by no means a contender on paper, but with their attitudes and style of play, they are certainly not a team to be taken lightly, and could easily push for a playoff spot if our big pieces stay healthy.