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It's going to be a up and down ride this year, should come down to late in the season as to whether they make it or not. Big question is where and how will they add. At or before the deadline giving away prospects and picks or with their prospects. I really hope they give the kids a chance before spending prospects and picks on rentals.

One thing for sure is they're all-in until they can't be anymore. Treliving hasn't gotten a contract extension so this is likely his last shot. Do you let a lame duck go into a deadline desperate to keep his job?
 
Yeah, I'm not too excited for the Flames chances this year. I still feel they can make the playoffs, if Sutter plays Vladar more often, and Markstrom can bounce back. also if we can get Kylington back. But even if we do, I just don't get the sense this team is strong enough to compete against some of the other heavies like Colorado or Vegas. I don't think they could beat Dallas or Winnipeg in a series either.

We'll see how the season rolls out, but it's already feeling like it might be time to starting discussing the re-build strategy.
 
One thing for sure is they're all-in until they can't be anymore. Treliving hasn't gotten a contract extension so this is likely his last shot. Do you let a lame duck go into a deadline desperate to keep his job?
Lame duck? After getting Huby, Kadri and Weegar when Johnny and Chucky wanted out, Treliving is GM of the year right now. Sutter is the question mark IMO, he can't get these guys to perform.

We need to score more goals, so I wonder if we package Kylington with a 3rd line forward and try to get Boeser out of Vancouver...
 
Lame duck? After getting Huby, Kadri and Weegar when Johnny and Chucky wanted out, Treliving is GM of the year right now. Sutter is the question mark IMO, he can't get these guys to perform.

We need to score more goals, so I wonder if we package Kylington with a 3rd line forward and try to get Boeser out of Vancouver...
He does not have a contract, so that would make him a lame duck, to this point at least... He recovered well from a poor position but he put himself in that situation not having them under long term contracts or traded before his back was against the wall. That is hindsight, but he gets paid a lot and the people around him get paid a lot to think about things like that.

Huby and Kadri have been fine, but they're paid to be more than fine. Huby is a good player you can see the hockey sense but sometimes he's too clever by half. Kadri seems to have lost a bit of what he had early in the year. And Sutter is a problem, but he's also not going to take the fall for this team, sure he could put an AHLer in the lineup but Phillips isn't saving this flames season. The roster is on the GM and I think he'll lose his job because of it.
 
There's 57 games of hockey left in the Flame's season, that's a ton of time. Also, they're effectively 1 win away from third in the division. The thing I've noticed is that the Flames don't have a generational talent like McDavid or Matthews, we have to make up for in it offensive depth to compete with top teams. Our defense is phenomenal, we have one of the best goalie pairings in the league (when markstrom isn't in his head). But this team is begging for offensive production.

Here's my moves:
  • Acquire a top line right winger by any means necessary, sell high on Wolf, use picks, move Coleman for cap space, I don't care.
  • Start Vladar for the foreseeable future, Markstrom literally said "I suck at hockey". However, he's a top goalie and will earn his spot back, in time.
  • Kylington will come back, but you want him focused when he does. Give him time.
The lines later in the season would be:

Huberdeau - Lindholm - _________
Dube - Kadri - Toffoli
Ruzicka - Backlund - Mangiapane
Lucic - Lewis - Rooney

Hanifin - Andersson
Weegar - Tanev
Zadorov - Kylington

Vladar / Markstrom

Assuming you get a legitimate top line winger, that is a Stanley Cup team, aside from that 4th line. Lucic and Rooney actively make the team worse. Call up Phillips, trade Lucic to a young team for cap space, and find a monster of a 4th line left winger to protect Phillips.

They're a good team, and they're going to play a lot of not good teams, for a lot of games. They'll certainly figure it out, and they'll make a cup run if you point the guns in the right direction.
 
A great example of Sutter mismanaging his players is last game where Ruzicka played less then 13 minutes.
It's hard to question Sutter's decisions given his history as a coach, but sometimes I do. One thing that I've disagreed with is his stubbornness to stick with the veteran players regardless of how they're playing, while generally keeping a leash on the younger guys, regardless of how they're playing. Ruzicka is one of the few people that seems to have been able to capitalize on opportunities.
 
He does not have a contract, so that would make him a lame duck, to this point at least... He recovered well from a poor position but he put himself in that situation not having them under long term contracts or traded before his back was against the wall. That is hindsight, but he gets paid a lot and the people around him get paid a lot to think about things like that.

Huby and Kadri have been fine, but they're paid to be more than fine. Huby is a good player you can see the hockey sense but sometimes he's too clever by half. Kadri seems to have lost a bit of what he had early in the year. And Sutter is a problem, but he's also not going to take the fall for this team, sure he could put an AHLer in the lineup but Phillips isn't saving this flames season. The roster is on the GM and I think he'll lose his job because of it.
The Flames have one of the best, deepest lineups in the league! I think you're being far too skeptical here. Treliving will be GM for the Flames for as long as he wants, there's no way management wouldn't sign him. If he leaves this organization, it's because he wanted to leave. If he did want to try his luck elsewhere, he would be hired immediately, his stock is very high right now. He tried to resign Gaudreau for over a year, Johnny leaving wasn't Tre's fault. Chucky wanted to play in the US, again, not Tre's fault.

Kadri had 3 points last night, and Huberdeau looks like he's getting more comfortable, also getting 2 points last night. Weegar is a beast on defense, him and Tanev are probably one of the top shut down pairs in the league. None of this is on the GM. We aren't blowing up the team to try and land Bedard, look at Edmonton, they have maybe the best player ever, and are no better than we are!
 
A great example of Sutter mismanaging his players is last game where Ruzicka played less then 13 minutes.
Ruzicka is a 3rd line player, he plays 3rd line minutes. The top line is starting to roll, the second line is very solid and needs to stay intact, Ruzicka will stay on the 3rd line for a while. The Flames can roll 3 lines right now, that's not insignificant.
 
Ruzicka is a 3rd line player, he plays 3rd line minutes. The top line is starting to roll, the second line is very solid and needs to stay intact, Ruzicka will stay on the 3rd line for a while. The Flames can roll 3 lines right now, that's not insignificant.
As long as the top line continues to roll, it's been kind of quiet for a while. One thing about Ruzicka, is he has been able to put the puck in the net, and set up goals averaging almost a point a game with limited minutes. I could see a case being made for putting Ruzicka in Dube's spot.
 
The Flames have one of the best, deepest lineups in the league! I think you're being far too skeptical here. Treliving will be GM for the Flames for as long as he wants, there's no way management wouldn't sign him. If he leaves this organization, it's because he wanted to leave. If he did want to try his luck elsewhere, he would be hired immediately, his stock is very high right now. He tried to resign Gaudreau for over a year, Johnny leaving wasn't Tre's fault. Chucky wanted to play in the US, again, not Tre's fault.

Kadri had 3 points last night, and Huberdeau looks like he's getting more comfortable, also getting 2 points last night. Weegar is a beast on defense, him and Tanev are probably one of the top shut down pairs in the league. None of this is on the GM. We aren't blowing up the team to try and land Bedard, look at Edmonton, they have maybe the best player ever, and are no better than we are!
If they wanted to sign him, wouldn't they have done it already. They're doing the prudent thing and seeing how his roster looks on the ice and not on paper. There are only 32 GM jobs in the NHL, those spots are reserved for people who get results, what has Tre won? Sure he "won the offseason" but that was result of landing on his feet after poor asset management. As a fan I/we look at the trees, as a GM you have to look at the trees and the forest. The change to this team should've come in the 2021 offseason. With Gaudreau you would've gotten more than nothing and we all knew Tkachuk had eyes to play in the US, so send him there. Tre did well with what he got for Tkachuk but who's to say he wouldn't have done well in the summer of 2021, teams would've wanted him. They waited a year too long.

I want the flames to be successful, I'm not hoping for them to get Bedard (they're nowhere near that bad). I disagree that they're 'one of the best, deepest lineups in the league'. They have to play a very specific way to be successful this season, I doubt they will be able to consistently do that to do damage in or get to the playoffs.

I don't think they actually played that well last night, but you play the schedule you're given, and I know not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
 

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