Post-Game Talk: Trade Deadline Week (Actual TDL is Feb 24)

[Jihadi Flames Fan]

I don't mind the depth acquisitions, but our seemingly never ending search for a right handed shooting top-6 forward continues.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

If you know that Brodie and Hamonic are going to leave and not stay, you trade them for what ever you can get. We traded very good assets for Hamonic and it was all a waste.

This team has no identity, no direction.

We have a direction - UP!!

Sam Bennett is back at center and has competent wingers in Lucic and Dube. We've got half of our Toews.

Michael Backlund is back at center and his line is back to ripping the league apart. We've got the other half of our Toews between him and Matthew Tkachuk is quite an offensive player. We've essentially got a Patrick Sharp in him too.

Gaudreau and Lindholm should be able to carry even the most mediocre center, and while Monahan is very much that, he's a great shooter. Somewhere on that line it's safe to say we've got our Kane and our Hossa.

TJ Brodie is one of the most stifling and smoothskating defensemen in the league who can play huge minutes. We've got our Keith.

Mark Giordano is one of the most dependable defensemen in the league who can play huge minutes. We've got our Seabrook. I think he's a bit better in some areas than Seabrook though, so I would add in a bit of that Cambell smoothness.

Oliver Kylington is another Keith, although he's a bit younger and also a better skater. Maybe his time is in the future. At least he's still a Flame today along with Juuso Valimaki. Eventually these two may replace Giordano and Brodie.

Rasmus Andersson is a highly dependable 200 foot defenseman with a bomb of a point shot, and a right hand shot too. We've got the rest of our Seabrook.

Noah Hanifin is a pretty decent skater. He's inconsistent but when he's on his game he can log big minutes. We've got our Oduya.

Derek Forbort, and when healthy Travis Hamonic, are two shutdown defensemen who can lock down a big game with shot blocking, and generally steady Dzone play. We've got our Hjalmarssons.

Erik Gustafsson is a potent offensive player who can provide instant offense when the team is on a lull.

Derek Ryan and Mark Jankowski are the perfect shutdown 4th line. We've got our Frolik/Kruger line.

This team has some details it needs to clean up in the next twenty games. If Ward can do it we can absolutely build an identity and direction. You don't need to play 82 great games. You need to make the playoffs and then win 16!

On paper we:

- improved our penalty kill (this is a strength of Forbort)
- improved our powerplay (this is a strength of Gustafsson)
- improved defensively (this is a strength of Forbort)
- improved our 5v5 play (by moving Sam Bennett back to center)
- improved our depth (we're net +1 defenseman) on the blueline
- still have all our major young assets (2020 1st round pick, Bennett, Kylington, Valimaki, Andersson, Dube, Mangiapane)
- still have plenty of forward depth (among black aces, we still have Czarnik, Phillips, Quine, Gawdin, Ruzicka, Robinson. And our depth has been there for a while now, guys like Jankowski and Lucic are starting to heat up a little)

Compared to this same time last year we're:

- a "meaner" team with Lucic, Rinaldo, and Forbort
- better at 2RW (Andrew Mangiapane is a huge upgrade on Michael Frolik)
- not a team with a defensive liability in James Neal. Lucic has shown backchecking effort and ability that has stood out. This kind of play is infectious and should help other forwards understand what it takes to elevate their game.
- a worse possession team with mostly the same skaters. This suggests that we can still clean things up in terms of structure and shifting players around a little (and the blueline acquisions could help)
- a team with better goaltending (Does no one remember how bad Smith was all last year?)
- a team with a better Lindholm (last year's Lindholm faded down the stretch, this year's Lindholm seems to be more consistent)
- a team that, according to Sean Monahan, is the "tightest" in his time here. Maybe there's something to that.
- a team that has actually had some injuries. I'm always saying this and getting laughed at but good teams need injuries to learn about their roster.

There's room for improvement. A ton of it. Getting Sam Bennett on the powerplay and Penalty Kill. Having Rittich playing better individually than he has lately. Getting Monahan playing competently at ES and on the PP. This team doesn't need to peak yet, it only needs to get in. It needs to peak in April.

 

[thaman8765678]

We have a direction - UP!!

Sam Bennett is back at center and has competent wingers in Lucic and Dube. We've got half of our Toews.

Michael Backlund is back at center and his line is back to ripping the league apart. We've got the other half of our Toews between him and Matthew Tkachuk is quite an offensive player. We've essentially got a Patrick Sharp in him too.

Gaudreau and Lindholm should be able to carry even the most mediocre center, and while Monahan is very much that, he's a great shooter. Somewhere on that line it's safe to say we've got our Kane and our Hossa.

TJ Brodie is one of the most stifling and smoothskating defensemen in the league who can play huge minutes. We've got our Keith.

Mark Giordano is one of the most dependable defensemen in the league who can play huge minutes. We've got our Seabrook. I think he's a bit better in some areas than Seabrook though, so I would add in a bit of that Cambell smoothness.

Oliver Kylington is another Keith, although he's a bit younger and also a better skater. Maybe his time is in the future. At least he's still a Flame today along with Juuso Valimaki. Eventually these two may replace Giordano and Brodie.

Rasmus Andersson is a highly dependable 200 foot defenseman with a bomb of a point shot, and a right hand shot too. We've got the rest of our Seabrook.

Noah Hanifin is a pretty decent skater. He's inconsistent but when he's on his game he can log big minutes. We've got our Oduya.

Derek Forbort, and when healthy Travis Hamonic, are two shutdown defensemen who can lock down a big game with shot blocking, and generally steady Dzone play. We've got our Hjalmarssons.

Erik Gustafsson is a potent offensive player who can provide instant offense when the team is on a lull.

Derek Ryan and Mark Jankowski are the perfect shutdown 4th line. We've got our Frolik/Kruger line.

This team has some details it needs to clean up in the next twenty games. If Ward can do it we can absolutely build an identity and direction. You don't need to play 82 great games. You need to make the playoffs and then win 16!

On paper we:

- improved our penalty kill (this is a strength of Forbort)
- improved our powerplay (this is a strength of Gustafsson)
- improved defensively (this is a strength of Forbort)
- improved our 5v5 play (by moving Sam Bennett back to center)
- improved our depth (we're net +1 defenseman) on the blueline
- still have all our major young assets (2020 1st round pick, Bennett, Kylington, Valimaki, Andersson, Dube, Mangiapane)
- still have plenty of forward depth (among black aces, we still have Czarnik, Phillips, Quine, Gawdin, Ruzicka, Robinson. And our depth has been there for a while now, guys like Jankowski and Lucic are starting to heat up a little)

Compared to this same time last year we're:

- a "meaner" team with Lucic, Rinaldo, and Forbort
- better at 2RW (Andrew Mangiapane is a huge upgrade on Michael Frolik)
- not a team with a defensive liability in James Neal. Lucic has shown backchecking effort and ability that has stood out. This kind of play is infectious and should help other forwards understand what it takes to elevate their game.
- a worse possession team with mostly the same skaters. This suggests that we can still clean things up in terms of structure and shifting players around a little (and the blueline acquisions could help)
- a team with better goaltending (Does no one remember how bad Smith was all last year?)
- a team with a better Lindholm (last year's Lindholm faded down the stretch, this year's Lindholm seems to be more consistent)
- a team that, according to Sean Monahan, is the "tightest" in his time here. Maybe there's something to that.
- a team that has actually had some injuries. I'm always saying this and getting laughed at but good teams need injuries to learn about their roster.

There's room for improvement. A ton of it. Getting Sam Bennett on the powerplay and Penalty Kill. Having Rittich playing better individually than he has lately. Getting Monahan playing competently at ES and on the PP. This team doesn't need to peak yet, it only needs to get in. It needs to peak in April.

I like the optimism as alot of us can be very negative. But do you honestly believe we can go on a playoff run with the team we currently have?

We have looked better lately but remember 2 of the wins were against the lowly Ducks and another against an AHL level Red Wings squad. We have also gotten destroyed by the Oilers, Kings and Blackhawks during this stretch.

The only team I see us beating is maybe Vancouver. I think Blues, Avs, Golden Knights or Stars beat us in 5 or less. Oilers probably beat us in 6 or 7 after their pickups today.

I don't mean to rain on the parade, I just don't think we are a very good team at all.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

I like the optimism as alot of us can be very negative. But do you honestly believe we can go on a playoff run with the team we currently have?

Over the last 15 games, this team is 54.13% xGF 5v5. Their underlying numbers are slowly improving.
Since Ward took over they've averaged 3.21 goals for and 3.07 goals against. And the additions today should improve both those differentials, as will the return of one Mark Giordano.

We have looked better lately but remember 2 of the wins were against the lowly Ducks and another against an AHL level Red Wings squad. We have also gotten destroyed by the Oilers, Kings and Blackhawks during this stretch.

First of all the Oilers game is a writeoff. We already won that season series and no one bothered to show up, while the Oilers treated it like game 7 of the WCF because Zack Kassian got hit a bunch and Rittich flipped a stick.

The Kings are another team who treated it like game 7 of the Finals. They hate Tkachuk. And the Kings are a strong possession team so they're not the typical bottom feeder. That just leaves the Blackhawks and we got our ass handed to us. It was a bad game. A horrible one. I don't put any more stock into it than I do into beating up on the Ducks. That's why the above goals for / against are using Ward's entire tenure, it's the body of work on a whole.

The only team I see us beating is maybe Vancouver. I think Blues, Avs, Golden Knights or Stars beat us in 5 or less. Oilers probably beat us in 6 or 7 after their pickups today.

Yes we can beat the Blues, Avs, Golden Knights, Stars, Oilers, Canucks. It's hockey. You need bounces, goaltending, structure. None of these teams are guarunteed to get all of those things. They still have some building to do in the final twenty games in terms of structure and goaltending. They will need bounces. There's no shortage of skill either defensively or offensively on this team. The key word there though is team and they need to start playing cohesively like a team. There is absolutely time for that and the personnel for that.

You talk about the Oilers' picksup but who are they really? AA? What tells you he will be able to function alongside Connor McDavid considering there's only one puck. A 34 year old Mike Green? He couldn't even get the job done in his absolute prime, his President's Trophy team got upset by Jaroslav Halak. Or Tyler Ennis? We could match that acquisition just by calling up Austin Czarnik from the minors. And you think a 38 year old Mike Smith will hold up over a 7 playoff games in 13 nights??

 

[Mobiandi]

I feel like we're going to make a splash in the summer.

Something like trading our 1st and a Dman at the draft for Levin Labanc and trading for the rights to negotiate with Taylor Hall who'll receive an insane contract

 

[Bounces R Way]

None of it will mean spit if Gaudreau doesn't up his level.

He's been coming around lately but man this is still not the same player as last year. So many halfboard turns into getting double teamed, giveaways at the blue lines, and not nearly enough net drive. Poor passes and hardly ever tries to beat guys 1 on 1 anymore. Least he's been shooting more and the backchecking has really improved since Ward was promoted.

For me he is the no doubt most talented player this team has. He has got to play like it. I'm as big a Johnny fan as there is but these next couple months will show me a lot about the player he wants to be in his career. Last year after the All Star break you could just see him and the team had blown early. They geared down just when they should have been gearing up. I'm a believer, I really do think the kid is a winner, but show me.

 

[thaman8765678]

Over the last 15 games, this team is 54.13% xGF 5v5. Their underlying numbers are slowly improving.
Since Ward took over they've averaged 3.21 goals for and 3.07 goals against. And the additions today should improve both those differentials, as will the return of one Mark Giordano.



First of all the Oilers game is a writeoff. We already won that season series and no one bothered to show up, while the Oilers treated it like game 7 of the WCF because Zack Kassian got hit a bunch and Rittich flipped a stick.

The Kings are another team who treated it like game 7 of the Finals. They hate Tkachuk. And the Kings are a strong possession team so they're not the typical bottom feeder. That just leaves the Blackhawks and we got our ass handed to us. It was a bad game. A horrible one. I don't put any more stock into it than I do into beating up on the Ducks. That's why the above goals for / against are using Ward's entire tenure, it's the body of work on a whole.



Yes we can beat the Blues, Avs, Golden Knights, Stars, Oilers, Canucks. It's hockey. You need bounces, goaltending, structure. None of these teams are guarunteed to get all of those things. They still have some building to do in the final twenty games in terms of structure and goaltending. They will need bounces. There's no shortage of skill either defensively or offensively on this team. The key word there though is team and they need to start playing cohesively like a team. There is absolutely time for that and the personnel for that.

You talk about the Oilers' picksup but who are they really? AA? What tells you he will be able to function alongside Connor McDavid considering there's only one puck. A 34 year old Mike Green? He couldn't even get the job done in his absolute prime, his President's Trophy team got upset by Jaroslav Halak. Or Tyler Ennis? We could match that acquisition just by calling up Austin Czarnik from the minors. And you think a 38 year old Mike Smith will hold up over a 7 playoff games in 13 nights??

I would hope we have a good corsi considering the last 15 games we have played only 2 or 3 playoff teams. You also can't just write off games where we don't show up because this team has been known to disappear in most big games over the year.

We cannot and will not beat the Blues, Avs or Golden Knights in a 7 game series. Did you watch us in the playoffs last year?

You're completely delusional if you think we are anything but an average team (at best).

 

[viper0220]

You do if you aren't in the playoffs, yes.

We are a bubble team.

 

[Anglesmith]

We are a bubble team.

Sure, in a conference completely full of them. Spin the verbiage however you like, we're one of the 8 most likely teams to make the playoffs in the West right now. Trading away the top minute-eating defenceman from such a team when they are already depleted would be a fireable offence. You'd be telling your team that you don't care about winning, and that you don't care about the players who are on the team right now.

At the end of the day, Treliving did exactly what should be done with a team in the Flames' position. He didn't push in any significant assets because the team hasn't justified that level of faith. He did provide some help to show that he has the team's back. The team has the ability to navigate this off-season and come out ahead, no doubt.

 

[2023FriendshipTour]

BT, gave the team a sign of faith by not dumping Brodie, so we'll see how they respond down the stretch. The D situation with injuries really screwed us, but glad we didn't give up major assets for the mediocre talent that was available this year.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

We are a bubble team.

So same as 2015 when we won a round with scrubs like Joe Colborne, David Jones, Kris Russell, Deryk Engelland, and Dennis Wideman playing big minutes (plus an 18 year old rookie with no NHL experience, Matt Stajan, and a rookie Ferland with no finish)?

Same as 2016 when the Sharks went to the SCF? (fun fact, they had one of the League's best road records and League's worst home records. Sound familiar?)

Same as 2017 when the Preds went to the SCF and the Sens were in Game 7 OT of the ECF?

Same as 2019 when the Blues won the Stanley Cup having been DFL in January, the Blue Jackets upset and swept the unbeatable Lightning, the Avalanche upset the #1 seed Flames, and the Hurricanes made the ECF?

The players haven't played their best hockey because they don't care about the regular season. They won the west and it got them nothing but heartbreak. They are doing what it takes to get in, and then they will go 100%.

 

[tmurfin]

Avs were a bubble team last year who everyone thought would get torn to shreds by the Flames. We all know what happened.. Playoffs are a different beast, I won’t count this team out of anything if they make it, if they have any ounce of resilience they’ll remember last year and step the f*** up when it counts.

 

[Mobiandi]

No contender wanted Jumbo. Feel for him

 

[super6646]

No contender wanted Jumbo. Feel for him

Didn’t Dallas want him?