Flames 2018 Preseason / Training Camp Thread (All Encompassing)

[super6646]

Keeping Prout over Kulak brings up memories of Bollig for Byron... but what can you do?

So does this mean Andersson eats popcorn. Or is Stone? Sometimes our management overthinks things I think.

Good for Valimaki though he’s a beast.

Could also mean Andersson is playing and him or Stone is on his offside. Either way, both have higher upside than Kulak, so I'm not that upset.

 

[Calculon]

So, unless they want to keep a waiver exempt player like Mangiapane or Andersson in the press box (which would be a mistake), they'll have 22 rosters players, assuming all of Kulak, Lazar and Peluso are actually sent down.

Maybe they're claiming someone off waivers.

 

[Sparky93]

Or trading

 

[Lunatik]

When do NHL rosters need to be set?

 

[SKRusty]

When do NHL rosters need to be set?

To my knowledge noon on the day of their first game EDT.

 

[Lunatik]

To my knowledge noon on the day of their first game EDT.

I thought it was the day prior, but regardless, that still gives them time to claim someone and waive Prout

 

[Lunatik]

it has been confirmed by caley that rosters need to be set Tuesday

 

[DFF]

Every team has a Kulak. I would be mildly shock if he is claimed....

His only advantage is he had some NHL experience.

Same with Lazar....who the hell wants to claim and waste an NHL spot on him? He is nothing more than a bad cheerleader at this point.
He needs to go to the AHL and learn how to play hockey.

There is no need to comment on Peluso

 

[Lunatik]

I'd like to point out the difference between this particular tweet by the Flames and the one where they waived Klimchuk & Co. When they tweeted the latter it was "waived with the intention to send Stockton", this time it is just a waiver announcement, with no mention of intent.

Waiving guys today or tomorrow will allow flexibility on Tuesday if someone they like better goes on waivers.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

I think we will claim a goalie

 

[Lunatik]

I think we will claim a goalie

Unlikely. No goalies going on waivers are a clear upgrade and would force a 3 headed monster somewhere in the organization

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

I think we will claim a goalie

Do you think the Leafs waive Sparks?

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Do you think the Leafs waive Sparks?

Even McBackup or Pickard are upgrades imo. But Sparks is who I would prefer

 

[SKRusty]

I think we will claim a goalie

Tre has eluded to giving the existing group a go to start the season. I don't think much has changed during the preseason other than Gillies maybe passing Rittich. Everyone questions the goaltending here in Calgary but from what I have seen defensively the Flames are stronger on the back end. As far as the Fowards go Calgary has improved not just the top 2 lines but across the entire top 12. This team should spend far more time in the oppositions zone which in itself should make the goalies lives easier.

Rittich and Gillies have a season of experience where neither was horrible. Maybe not stellar but it is experience none-the-less. Both should improve with a season under their belt. It is my hope that one or the other takes the bull by the horns and challenges Smith for the starter role.

The following article explains things well in regards to the complications picking up a goalie causes.

Adding another goalie is more complicated than it seems

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

Even McBackup or Pickard are upgrades imo. But Sparks is who I would prefer

I have no interest in McBackup, and I think Pickard is a downgrade.

Sparks would be very interesting though. He just threw up a top five U25 AHL season of the post-lockout era last year and then added a Calder Trophy. There's always a grain of salt with this stuff but if we were going to take a gamble on anyone, he makes sense.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

I have no interest in McBackup, and I think Pickard is a downgrade.

Sparks would be very interesting though. He just threw up a top five U25 AHL season of the post-lockout era last year and then added a Calder Trophy. There's always a grain of salt with this stuff but if we were going to take a gamble on anyone, he makes sense.

Pickard has a .913 career save percentage and he played on Colorado for almost all of it. It’s a pretty big sample size too

 

[Mobiandi]

If we're claiming a goalie, Rittich is getting waived and traded since I don't think Parsons is headed back to the ECHL. Treliving has until tomorrow to waive him if he prefers one of the Leafs goalies

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

Pickard has a .913 career save percentage and he played on Colorado for almost all of it. It’s a pretty big sample size too

A .913 in Colorado doesn't mean a lot to me. They gave up a lot of shots and goalies thrive in those situations. Smith's the same for us, great if he's facing 35+ shots but pretty much useless if he's facing 25 or fewer. I'm more interested in whether a goalie can perform with a light load because that's how our team is constructed to play.

 

[tmurfin]

I’d have a REALLY hard time picking up another goalie. Honestly at some point you just have to ride with our guys and hope they step up to the plate. Bringing in a new goalie every single year obviously hasn’t worked out for us. Obviously unless there’s a clear, proven upgrade available out there, which there isn’t atm

 

[DFF]

If they claim a goalie, it's probably a proven vet

No need to get Sparks, he is just as questionable as Rittich or Gilles

 

[Mobiandi]

This was posted by Bingo on CP with regards to goaltending performances in pre-season. I'm sure both Smith and Rittich will rebound and Gillies will improve in Stockton

Spoiler

Starting goaltenders with rough preseason save percentages

Bobrovsky .819
Graubauer .825
Holtby .839
Smith .848
Jones .849
Price .862
Lundqvist .863
Luongo .873
Rinne .877
Quick .880
Varlamov .882
Reimer .887
Dubnyk .888
Hellybucyk .893
Mrazek .896
Elliott .897

 

[Baxterman]

Sparks is a guy that if we had all three I would likely go with him but he isn't so much better or proven that it makes sense to add him and then have too many goalies to deal with.

The only one that kind of interests me is Pickard because he has more NHL experience and I feel more comfortable with him if Smith is down for a long stretch.

But I don't think there is that much of an improvement that if we just stay with Rittich and Gillies that it matters that much.

 

[Turning Mangiapanese]

Kulak is a full time NHLer with a joke of a caphit, I would be a bit surprised if nobody picks him up. There are some teams with real putrid D-corps out there. But won't lose sleep over him either way, this is not a Byron situation.

 

[Rubi]

I'm not surprised at all that Kulak has been waived. I've stated multiple times that I figured that Prout would end up being the Flames designated D-man popcorn eater. It was the logical and intelligent thing to do.
Not surprised either that Lazar was waived too. This should have happened back in 2014-2015. Hope he does well down in Stockton and can get his career back on track.
I doubt anyone's surprised about Peluso.

One more D-man, forward, and goalie to go.

So what we have left are:

Defensemen 1 Andersson, Rasmus 2 Brodie, TJ 3 Giordano, Mark 4 Hamonic, Travis 5 Hanifin, Noah 6 Prout, Dalton 7 Stone, Michael 8 Valikmaki, Juuso Forwards 1 Backlund, Mikael 2 Bennett, Sam 3 Czarnik, Austin 4 Dube, Dillon 5 Frolik, Michael 6 Gaudreau, Johnny 7 Hathaway, Garnet 8 Jankowski, Mark 9 Lindholm, Elias 10 Mangiapane, Andrew 11 Monahan, Sean 12 Neal, James 13 Ryan, Derek 14 Tkachuk, Matthew Goalies 1 Gillies, Jon 2 Rittich, David 3 Smith, Mike [TBODY] [/TBODY]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Bosnian Beast]

Kulak is a 6-7 D-man who has had a mediocre pre-season. He isn't a bonafide NHLer.