2022-2023 Season: High Hopes Low Reality

[Pokecheque]

Bad game for ol’ Naz. Two giveaways on one shift lead to one goal and he coughs it up in the neutral zone for another.

I’ll be shocked if Sutter ain’t heading back to the farm this summer and staying there.

[harmfuljays]

Bad game for ol’ Naz. Two giveaways on one shift lead to one goal and he coughs it up in the neutral zone for another.

I’ll be shocked if Sutter ain’t heading back to the farm this summer and staying there.

Justified by his continued icing of Lewis and Lucic alone.

He has got no chance of coming back next year if 17.5 Million dollars worth of salary doesn't like him and it can't be repaired.

As much as I've maligned Francis over the years he is the only one realistically getting after this team at times. He made a comment last night about Naz's Give a crap level needs to be raised...........indeed!

Kadri can either be a positive or a poison....there's not a lot of in between with that dude it seems.

Barring a miracle the offseason fallout should be interesting.

[Pokecheque]

To be fair, Naz has always been a not-great puck manager. Bad turnovers are nothing new, it just so happened that he put it all together perfectly at the best possible time to earn himself a Stanley Cup championship AND a big payday.

I just...don't think this team is good enough. With better goaltending they'd be playoff-worthy for sure, but even then it wouldn't even be close to being a true contender.

[harmfuljays]

Yep...that level of play from him is no surprise to me but his 7 Million dollar price tag equal's higher expectations. Perhaps the joke is on the Flames organization for overpaying on a known commodity. That could also be said of Huberdeau but we would have to yet again turn back to Brad's dice roll in the offseason. That it all didn't mesh with Sutter and resulted in a potential train wreck I doubt he will own completely (nor do I think he needs to). From a GMs perspective he provided what looked like the best chance at success.

The fallout will be interesting...but I doubt we'll see any significant change in personnel on the ice.

[harmfuljays]

Is it cruel fate to take it to the end or a real chance? Who knows?

The Flames stay alive and take 1 from the Jets. A lot of puck luck in this one as the Jets couldn't seem to find the net on SEVERAL breakaways.

Game started off with Baby Huey and Lucic marching to the box but ended up with Sutter vindication and his grinders providing the win along with a good when he had to be Markstrom.

They can't lose again ....its that simple. Vancouver, Nashville and San Jose await.

This Walker Duehr fellow sounds like he needs his own brand of Scotch.

[harmfuljays]

Canucks play spoiler! I am sure that makes the Nucks fans happy! Seriously...I turned this game on saw it was 2-0 and went and watched Star Trek TNG. I heard Kelly almost cried.

Fitting that this turd swirls the bowl refusing to be flushed......

Comes down to Monday vs the Preds. Ironically, I would like this teams chances against the Knights......

[harmfuljays]

With a regulation loss...or OTL the Flames can be eliminated this evening.

Where's that fat lady?

[harmfuljays]

Well that's that. After a lackluster start as usual from the Flames the game turned out to be pretty entertaining. But the giant turd finally gets flushed in the shootout against the Preds. You can't take this team seriously when Sutter is trotting out Nick Ritchie in the shootout. Should be amusing during the off season in Calgary!

[harmfuljays]

WOW.....too little too late....Coronato and Wolf tonight............... If there is a positive here its that DS didn't get enough time to ruin these two like
Valamaki.

At least it gives me a reason to watch the 1st period or 2 before passing out.

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Quite honestly this offseason is a perfect time to start the rebuild and let go of BT and DS. They have young kids to build around once this rebuild begins. Just need to make 100% sure DS is gone before they hit the ice for next season. I appreciate his contribution to the game but its a different era and modern day players don't respond the same way.

[harmfuljays]

So...on that note let's dive in.

I am not going to rehash that turd of a season....losing 30 1 goal games.....the inability of either goalie to stop the puck.....Huberdeau and Kadri not liking Daryll....the absolute almost brazen refusal to give kids chances over the likes of Lucic and Lewis.......its over now and ownership would be stupid not to see the opportunity of rebuilding around Huberdeau, Kadri and some kids with new guidance.

I don't expect to see Milan, Ritchie or Lewis back. That's about 6 Million off the books right there and pays for Huberdeau. Flames have the kids to plug those spots proper.

Stetcher needs to be brought back and so does Scotch Walker Duehr.....hell, send Hannafin packing this offseason for all I care.

So this offseason, besides the front office shit show, its pretty light...however....what's looming in 24-25 is nothing short of a GM nightmare. See below:

I'll give a quick take on that but I will use analytics later on over the summer to dive deeper. For now its a surface dive. MangePunani (tradeable) IMO has been disappointing....just say no to his 6 Million. Backlund (tradeable) is a nice 3rd line center.....if he will sign for close to the same great...if not...see ya (good trade value for a contender). Lindholm (keeper)...he's no gamebreaker but he's steady eddy and worth a raise to 6 Million. Toffoli (tradeable/keeper)....depends..he could be a captain...he has been a good deal for his salary and worth seeing where it goes. Will he want to stay when DS gets shown the door?

A lot of these RFA signings will depend on next year but for now. Dillon Dube (RFA) I think he's a keeper at 24. Pelletier...(RFA) from what I've seen he's a keeper but he may not want to. Adam Ruzicka (RFA) another guy DS got his hands on...I'd like to keep him.

Hannafin...(tradeable)...I think he's overrated for a 1/2 and he's going to want way too much. Tanev (Tradeable) but another potential captain...I'd like to see him with more youth next year. Zad-ORR-ov...(tradeable) had his best seasons in Calgary under Daryll...if he's looking for a huge raise...see ya...if not could hang around as a 4/5. Gilbert....(tradeable) yeah..and they let Vallimaki go. Kylington (tradeable/keeper) where the fuck is this guy? I hope he's ok. I'd like to see him back on the ice next year and see what he can do. Good luck to him with whatever he has going on.

Goalies.....neither goalie is up anytime soon....so they are stuck with a tandem that needs to improve GREATLY next year....that being said if they stumble out of the gate once more I would hope someone has the balls/tits to give Wolf a long look and send these two packing if possible.

So what would the VP of OPs harmfuljays do? For one I would get a younger player manager...not a coach. I would set the bar low next year and use it as a litmus test for the young guys and see how far I could push the rebuilding with my new GM. I would test the goaltending immediately and be ready with a large offer/package/dump with another team come TD 2024.

My 3 Stars of the season are as follows:
#1 Toffoli...effort when it was sorely lacking on the team. A fantastic year for him.
#2 Andersson.....he was great back there. No more scooters!
#3 Lindholm.....quiet, effective producer, and the guy had a shit ton going on in his life...Bravo

I am not going to waste cycles talking about an underperforming eliminated team during the playoffs any longer. I hope they enjoy their summer and I will see them next year!

[Pokecheque]

Do we still have no idea why Kylington took the entire season off?

[harmfuljays]

Do we still have no idea why Kylington took the entire season off?

A well kept secret...not even disclosed on other more Calgarycentric boards. At least not that I could find. Whatever it is I wish the guy the best of luck in the cards life has dealt him.

[Pokecheque]

Peter Berce of NHL radio said he believes, based on his "insider" sources, that Sutter will be back.

[harmfuljays]

Peter Berce of NHL radio said he believes, based on his "insider" sources, that Sutter will be back.

Let's hope that dude just had too many beers or he took one too many rippers off his bong.

Queue the trade requests! The player exit interviews today were extremely telling! Ownership is making a huge mistake backing DS if that's the case.

Me personally...I would have been standing in the tunnel, waiting to hand him his pink slip the moment he stepped off the bench after that Ritchie shootout move. I've always liked DS and I appreciate his career but enough is enough.

Sign Lucic, Lewis and Ritchie!

[Pokecheque]

Silver lining time: Dustin Wolf wins AHL MVP honors. Sure seems like he's the real deal. The biggest challenge for Treliving's successor will be what exactly to do with the goaltending situation. Four more years at $6 million per for Markstrom, and Dan Vladar's $2 million/2 year extension kicks in after this season. If they're willing to retain a little I'd see if maybe a team like New Jersey would be willing to take on Markstrom's deal and just try and go with a Wolf/Vladar tandem next season.

[harmfuljays]

Markstrom has a full NMC as far as I know which leaves Vladar the odd man out. But he's got to go for Wolf to get in there. I don't care who goes and I don't care if they both go....but its time for Wolf!

Bob makes 10 Million a year and got replaced by a dude making 750k.