I know he was first overall guy, just making a point
- Flamin_Irishmin

Fair enough....your other examples were better.

It has nothing to do with being a rookie. He was an average player in the AHL last year. He's also not a young stud prospect like the players you named. He put up the same numbers as Klimchuk, and no one's even suggesting Klimchuk for the 4th line next year.

If that's the best option the Flames have for their top line RW, they're in trouble.

Here's an idea, maybe stick with the guy who's had success playing in the spot and has gotten better and more consistent every year he's been in the league.
- Hunkulese

you're not giving him enough credit. He's way better than average AHLer. He's one of Calgary's better prospects and looking at his second half, he's trending in the right direction. With his speed, he's got a decent chance to make the team next season.

Foo was a very average player in the AHL last year, and now you want him on the top line?
- Hunkulese

He wasn't by the end of the season, he just had a brutal start.
Do you think he looked out of place in the NHL at the end of the season?

Foo was a very average player in the AHL last year, and now you want him on the top line?
- Hunkulese

If you read the entire post that was what I indicated to be the weakest part, and any upgrade on RW would move Foo to the 4th line and Lazar to the press box.

Peters talked a few times about "pairs" (Johnny/Monny and Gio/Hamilton) so I assume he's gonna stick chemistry players together and move from there. I wouldn't mind seeing 19-11 with Foo and 93-77 with Frolik. Get a top-6 forward and run Ferland on a 3b line with Shore and a rookie (Mang, Kimmer, etc.) or Brouwer ( ) and the forwards look good

Peters talked a few times about "pairs" (Johnny/Monny and Gio/Hamilton) so I assume he's gonna stick chemistry players together and move from there. I wouldn't mind seeing 19-11 with Foo and 93-77 with Frolik. Get a top-6 forward and run Ferland on a 3b line with Shore and a rookie (Mang, Kimmer, etc.) or Brouwer ( ) and the forwards look good
- LittleBroDougie

If the top three RWs are ???, Foo, and Frolik, the forwards definitely do not look good.

If the top three RWs are ???, Foo, and Frolik, the forwards definitely do not look good.
- Hunkulese

Agreed...this team needs two RW's that can play in the top 9.

Guadreau/Bennett/Foo
Tkachuk/Monahan/Mangiapane
Brouwer/Backlund/Frolic
Ferland/Jankowski/Lazar

- Smells Like Jagr


Foo was a very average player in the AHL last year, and now you want him on the top line?
- Hunkulese

Check his second half stats, once he got comfortable in his first Pro season, he started lighting it up. He's not the second coming of Gaudreau, but in a pairs situation, a guy that moves with that kind of speed and seems to have a nose for the net might be worth a look on the 1st line for a bit anyways.

IMO, Frolik has to go, and I think if Bennett sticks around, he needs to be the 3rd on that line.

Check his second half stats, once he got comfortable in his first Pro season, he started lighting it up. He's not the second coming of Gaudreau, but in a pairs situation, a guy that moves with that kind of speed and seems to have a nose for the net might be worth a look on the 1st line for a bit anyways.

IMO, Frolik has to go, and I think if Bennett sticks around, he needs to be the 3rd on that line.
- rmull905

His second half was better than his first, but it still wasn't that impressive if you're expecting him to be a top six scoring forward on an NHL team next year. If you look only at his stats from 2018, he didn't come close to a point per game average.

Foo is not the answer to the Flames scoring woes.

Absolutely can not rely on growth from within. Tre needs to actively make the team better, and IF there is growth from prospects/roster players that should be looked at as an added bonus. Just need to look north to see what sitting idle can do.

Guys like Foo, Mangiapane, and Rass deserve longer looks for sure. In no way should they be relied upon to step in and be effective though.

No matter how you spin it - the scoring has to be spread out more evenly. We had many highs and lows last year - I cannot understand how the lines were kept so intact when the team was playing poorly. If other team have 3-4 lines that have potential to put the puck in the net, Calgary will continue to have ups and downs depending on how well Backlund shuts down the oppositions top line, and if G&M are lighting it up - we need more balanced attack. I think Peters is correct in looking at pairs, I just think if we have an obvious top three forwards - perhaps that would mean one each on a line, and then Backlund anchors the shut down line...not too sure how to make it work, but what was accomplished last year was nothing to be proud of, and continuing with the same lines is Groundhog Day-esque.
I think Tre needs to be targeting Ottawa and get Stone - but that may mean taking Ryan - if that were the case I think Brouwer would be going the other way along with a D - like Brodie. Challenge would be if other pieces would be needed - Ryan is $7.5M and Stone will likely get $6M+...maybe throw in Bennett and get Ottawa's 1st..liekly 2nd this draft???? Lines would be drastically different and may help Ryan rejuvenate his better years?

Gaudreau/Monahan/Ryan
Tkachuk/Jankowski/Stone
Mangiapane/Backlund/Frolic
Klimchuk/Shore/Foo

Gio/Hamilton
Hamonic/Anderson
Stone/Valimaki
Kulak

Smith
Parsons

Not too sure if the cap works - my math says that is roughly $70M - so leaves room to work with Tkachuk - but I think that would provide 3 consistent lines that could score with a 4th that has potential - Top 6 could be moved around a little to make the 4th line more dangerous too. Make something happen Tre!!!

His second half was better than his first, but it still wasn't that impressive if you're expecting him to be a top six scoring forward on an NHL team next year. If you look only at his stats from 2018, he didn't come close to a point per game average.

Foo is not the answer to the Flames scoring woes.
- Hunkulese

I am not saying he is - jebus. What is it with people taking a sentence like "might be worth a look" and blowing that out to "answering their scoring woes"? Seriously. Not sure how you took that leap...

In his first seasons as a pro, he struggled early on:

15 pts in 31 games (had 5 in his first 15)
then went on to score
24 in his next 31

If you can't see progression from a first year pro, not sure what else to say.

He played well in his cup of coffee at the NHL level, has speed, scoring touch, went to some hard areas and is not a small guy (though like any young kid, could stand to add 10-15 pounds of muscle). 62 points in his last year in college after starting out somewhat slowly in his prior 2 seasons there as well, he can score. There would be nothing wrong with trying him out on the top unit for a handful of games next year with a fully healthy Mony and JG. He doesn't have to put up 30 because you can spread your scoring out by moving guys up and down the lineup

Yes, undoubtedly a true scoring winger would be best. Flames are already top heavy when it comes to their forwards, so even if they pickup a Kane/JVR type guy, they might ask them to play 2nd/3rd line at times to spread some of the scoring out. That said, where they find the space for that is interesting IMO. $12M in cap space this year $23M for next, but there are a TON of contracts due after next season, including Tkachuk, Bennett and Ferland, who if they all have decent seasons next year, will be getting healthy raises.

Like any team out there, the Flames need to find a way to spread their scoring out. No one thought Ferland was a true 1st line option, and he's not, but he produced with those two at a much better rate than he had elsewhere in the lineup.

Is it unreasonable to think a faster, more skilled player like Foo wouldn't succeed there (to some degree)? If he was able to, and Ferland could find some chemistry with either Backs/Tkachuk or Janko/Benny, you could have a better overall top 6.

To reiterate, I don't think Foo is the answer, but I think he could be part of the solution in spreading out some of the scoring throughout the lineup

No matter how you spin it - the scoring has to be spread out more evenly. We had many highs and lows last year - I cannot understand how the lines were kept so intact when the team was playing poorly. If other team have 3-4 lines that have potential to put the puck in the net, Calgary will continue to have ups and downs depending on how well Backlund shuts down the oppositions top line, and if G&M are lighting it up - we need more balanced attack. I think Peters is correct in looking at pairs, I just think if we have an obvious top three forwards - perhaps that would mean one each on a line, and then Backlund anchors the shut down line...not too sure how to make it work, but what was accomplished last year was nothing to be proud of, and continuing with the same lines is Groundhog Day-esque.
I think Tre needs to be targeting Ottawa and get Stone - but that may mean taking Ryan - if that were the case I think Brouwer would be going the other way along with a D - like Brodie. Challenge would be if other pieces would be needed - Ryan is $7.5M and Stone will likely get $6M+...maybe throw in Bennett and get Ottawa's 1st..liekly 2nd this draft???? Lines would be drastically different and may help Ryan rejuvenate his better years?

Gaudreau/Monahan/Ryan
Tkachuk/Jankowski/Stone
Mangiapane/Backlund/Frolic
Klimchuk/Shore/Foo

Gio/Hamilton
Hamonic/Anderson
Stone/Valimaki
Kulak

Smith
Parsons

Not too sure if the cap works - my math says that is roughly $70M - so leaves room to work with Tkachuk - but I think that would provide 3 consistent lines that could score with a 4th that has potential - Top 6 could be moved around a little to make the 4th line more dangerous too. Make something happen Tre!!!
- Smells Like Jagr

Ryan is garbage. 5 more years a 7.25 per with a modified ntc. arguably the worst contract in the league.

Ryan is garbage. 5 more years a 7.25 per with a modified ntc. arguably the worst contract in the league.
- johnnybanana

So is Brouwer - likely a very close second if Ryan is deemed the worst contract. Trading one crappy contract for another, depending on the pieces maybe Ottawa retains some Ryan salary as well. I think Ryan showed last year in the playoffs he still has game - I think Ottawa's tire fire may well be further deteriorating his play, but not sure - being optimistic. I think a guy that has Ryan's pedigree, on a line with G&M could really kill it...

So is Brouwer - likely a very close second if Ryan is deemed the worst contract. Trading one crappy contract for another, depending on the pieces maybe Ottawa retains some Ryan salary as well. I think Ryan showed last year in the playoffs he still has game - I think Ottawa's tire fire may well be further deteriorating his play, but not sure - being optimistic. I think a guy that has Ryan's pedigree, on a line with G&M could really kill it...
- Smells Like Jagr

Brouwer's contract is nowhere close to as bad as Ryan's. Brouwer is at least useful to his team when he's not scoring. Ryan is a one-dimensional player who isn't doing much when he doesn't score, and he doesn't score. He was paid 7.5 million to score 11 goals last year and 13 the year before that when they were actually a decent team.
If Brouwer was fed top six minutes like Ryan was, there's a very good chance he would have at least matched Ryan's point totals.

As the cap continues to rise, Brouwer's contract becomes less and less of an issue and will be gone in two years. Ryan still has 4 more years at the ridiculous cap hit.

The only way it would ever make sense to bring in Ryan is if they want nothing back and they're throwing in Karlsson.

I also don't get why everyone is so insistent on getting Ferland off the top line. It was one of the best lines in the league for the majority of the season.

If the Flames can figure out how to get Bennett going and get consistent goaltending for an entire season, they'll be in the hunt to win the division next year without making any changes.

Brouwer's contract is nowhere close to as bad as Ryan's. Brouwer is at least useful to his team when he's not scoring. Ryan is a one-dimensional player who isn't doing much when he doesn't score, and he doesn't score. He was paid 7.5 million to score 11 goals last year and 13 the year before that when they were actually a decent team.
If Brouwer was fed top six minutes like Ryan was, there's a very good chance he would have at least matched Ryan's point totals.

As the cap continues to rise, Brouwer's contract becomes less and less of an issue and will be gone in two years. Ryan still has 4 more years at the ridiculous cap hit.

The only way it would ever make sense to bring in Ryan is if they want nothing back and they're throwing in Karlsson.

I also don't get why everyone is so insistent on getting Ferland off the top line. It was one of the best lines in the league for the majority of the season.

If the Flames can figure out how to get Bennett going and get consistent goaltending for an entire season, they'll be in the hunt to win the division next year without making any changes.
- Hunkulese

Holy poop... I actually agree with everything you said (here). And all done with a slight optimistic tone.

I think the risk is cap management. If we see the cap not increase or if it stays relatively as is, we could see potential cap issues. Tkachuk is getting a raise soon and we have a few contracts needing attention and not enough coming off the books...

Brouwer's contract is nowhere close to as bad as Ryan's. Brouwer is at least useful to his team when he's not scoring. Ryan is a one-dimensional player who isn't doing much when he doesn't score, and he doesn't score. He was paid 7.5 million to score 11 goals last year and 13 the year before that when they were actually a decent team.
If Brouwer was fed top six minutes like Ryan was, there's a very good chance he would have at least matched Ryan's point totals.

As the cap continues to rise, Brouwer's contract becomes less and less of an issue and will be gone in two years. Ryan still has 4 more years at the ridiculous cap hit.

The only way it would ever make sense to bring in Ryan is if they want nothing back and they're throwing in Karlsson.

Brouwer was fed top six minutes and was on the top PP unit for most of the year - with very crappy results. We missed the playoffs, virtually rolled the exact same lines all season long, and now propose to do the same thing next year but expect different results - isn't that the definition of insanity?

I also don't get why everyone is so insistent on getting Ferland off the top line. It was one of the best lines in the league for the majority of the season.

If the Flames can figure out how to get Bennett going and get consistent goaltending for an entire season, they'll be in the hunt to win the division next year without making any changes.
- Hunkulese

[quote=Smells Like Jagr]
Brouwer was fed top six minutes and played on the top PP unit for most of the season. So we leave things the way they have been, and expect different results...isn't that the definition of insanity?
It's a blog site - I am merely throwing ideas out - because we need change...leaving it the way it is will not result in a different outcome.

[quote=Smells Like Jagr]

He only averaged like 13 minutes a game or something....let's not get carried away.

Brouwer was fed top six minutes and played on the top PP unit for most of the season. So we leave things the way they have been, and expect different results...isn't that the definition of insanity?
It's a blog site - I am merely throwing ideas out - because we need change...leaving it the way it is will not result in a different outcome.
- Smells Like Jagr

That's just straight up false. I can't remember him playing on the top line once this year, but I'm sure it must have happened a shift or two. He was only ever on the second line because of the injuries to Frolik and Tkachuk.

He played on the top PP for maybe half the year, and it's hard to pin its lack of success on him since they were statistically worse when they took him off.

They also don't need a change. If there's a smart move to be made, of course they should make it, but they shouldn't be rushing into anything just to make a change. They're a young team, and quite often, young teams do get better without changing much. Look at Winnipeg. They didn't do much after missing the playoffs again last year. They got fantastic goaltending this year, and some young players took some steps forward, now they're Cup contenders.

If Bennett and Jankowski can get to that 20 goal, 40-50 point range next year, which isn't that crazy, and the goaltending is consistent all year, they'll be as good as anyone in the Pacific. They were that close this year.

That's just straight up false. I can't remember him playing on the top line once this year, but I'm sure it must have happened a shift or two. He was only ever on the second line because of the injuries to Frolik and Tkachuk.

He played on the top PP for maybe half the year, and it's hard to pin its lack of success on him since they were statistically worse when they took him off.

They also don't need a change. If there's a smart move to be made, of course they should make it, but they shouldn't be rushing into anything just to make a change. They're a young team, and quite often, young teams do get better without changing much. Look at Winnipeg. They didn't do much after missing the playoffs again last year. They got fantastic goaltending this year, and some young players took some steps forward, now they're Cup contenders.

If Bennett and Jankowski can get to that 20 goal, 40-50 point range next year, which isn't that crazy, and the goaltending is consistent all year, they'll be as good as anyone in the Pacific. They were that close this year.
- Hunkulese

frozenpool.dobbersports.com tracks player usage, pretty cool tool (assuming accuracy here)

30% of his ice time was on the Backlund line (5v5). That's a healthy chunk, and like you said, due to injury, but even still, that speaks to how bad our depth at fwd is.

Saw almost nothing on the first line Pretty much bang on there.

Agreed...this team needs two RW's that can play in the top 9.
- The-O-G

I'd say just a top line RW is all they need. Foo, Frolik, and Ferland can all serve as 2nd-4th line RWs

Brouwer's contract is nowhere close to as bad as Ryan's. Brouwer is at least useful to his team when he's not scoring. Ryan is a one-dimensional player who isn't doing much when he doesn't score, and he doesn't score. He was paid 7.5 million to score 11 goals last year and 13 the year before that when they were actually a decent team.
If Brouwer was fed top six minutes like Ryan was, there's a very good chance he would have at least matched Ryan's point totals.

As the cap continues to rise, Brouwer's contract becomes less and less of an issue and will be gone in two years. Ryan still has 4 more years at the ridiculous cap hit.

The only way it would ever make sense to bring in Ryan is if they want nothing back and they're throwing in Karlsson.

I also don't get why everyone is so insistent on getting Ferland off the top line. It was one of the best lines in the league for the majority of the season.

If the Flames can figure out how to get Bennett going and get consistent goaltending for an entire season, they'll be in the hunt to win the division next year without making any changes.
- Hunkulese

That's the problem - that's a big IF. He hasn't proven it yet and his advanced stats don't really suggest he'll improve all that much

I’m wondering if the leafs need of d and flames need of o is going make us see another trade between the two....we need to win a trade with the leafs some day

I’m wondering if the leafs need of d and flames need of o is going make us see another trade between the two....we need to win a trade with the leafs some day
- numbear

Thought Kapanan looked good.