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My Thoughts On Series Game 4 vs Canucks

Created by: Ledge_And_Dairy
Team: 2020-21 Calgary Flames
Initial Creation Date: Feb. 18, 2021
Published: Feb. 18, 2021
Salary Cap Mode: Basic
Description
Well first things first Holtby had a really good game so kudos to him

Right, so that was a rough one. IMO most of the team didn't exactly play poorly. However there were some standouts:
1. SIMON IS AWFUL - You would think after the first 7 failures on the Gaudreau - Monahan line Ward would have learned right? But no, apparently Ward likes putting us at essentially a 4v5 with our top offensive players on the ice. That first goal against was 80% Simon's fault and 20% Wards fault for putting him in the line up. At this point I just want Tre to place him on waivers so someone other team can take him just to avoid seeing him stuck back on our top line for no reason. Gaudreau literally avoids passing him the puck on purpose if he can (which I find hilarious).
2. Bennett at 3C - Bennett was moved back to 3C with Dube and Lucic either at the beginning of the 2nd or end of the 1st, and that was honestly the best line tonight. They were also very good last game too, no idea why Ward separated them again. I get that Backlund was back but I think it's pretty clear that the bruiser line from the playoffs is still very strong together.
3. Ritchie - Brett actually looked decent out there, I actually liked his play throughout the game. Since he is trying to earn a roster spot he plays with more drive to his game, I would not be against seeing him back in again
4. Gio - Oof that was a not a good game for the captain, a lot of poor breakout plays and bad giveaways. How do we solve this regression? Maybe its time to separate Tanev and Hanifin, put Tanev with Gio and Hanifin back with Ras? I would like some more thoughts on that.
5. Valimaki - 5v5 he has looked solid overall, however I don't think he is ready for #1 PP time yet. IMO give Hanifin a shot on the 1st unit, he is still leading the team in Corsi For chances with almost zero PP time this season. Run Valimaki on the 2nd unit and limit Gio's minutes more.
6. Line Blender - Holy Christ Ward, can you not shuffle the lines every 2nd shift of every damn game? Do not touch the Bennett line, it actually works well. The main issue after that is what to do with Backlund? He's not very good on the wing. IMO as much as I have enjoyed having Lindholm at 1C this year it might be time to try moving him back to the wing and putting Backlund back with Tkachuk, after that put either Lindy or Mange with the Monahan line, IDC which one but that might be the best way to get some traction again.
7. Markstrom - yeah this wasn't his best game but he's started 14/16 games this season so far and been a difference maker in 13 of them now. This game isn't on him.

Below I put the lines I would like to see us try out (again). Yeah I know its what we did last year but I thought they were really effective in the playoffs until Tkachuk got hurt.
Trades
CGY
    To the Moon
    Buyouts
    DraftRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5Round 6Round 7
    2021
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the EDM
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    2022
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    2023
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    Logo of the CGY
    ROSTER SIZESALARY CAPCAP HITOVERAGES TooltipBONUSESCAP SPACE
    22$81,500,000$66,951,666$0$457,500$14,548,334
    Left WingCentreRight Wing
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $6,750,000$6,750,000
    LW
    UFA - 2
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $6,375,000$6,375,000
    C, LW, RW
    M-NTC
    UFA - 3
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $4,850,000$4,850,000
    C, RW
    UFA - 4
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $7,000,000$7,000,000
    RW
    UFA - 2
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $5,350,000$5,350,000
    C
    NTC
    UFA - 4
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $2,425,000$2,425,000
    RW, LW
    UFA - 2
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $5,250,000$5,250,000
    LW, RW
    NMC
    UFA - 3
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $2,550,000$2,550,000
    C
    UFA - 1
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $778,333$778,333 (Performance Bonus$32,500$32K)
    LW, RW, C
    RFA - 1
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $700,000$700,000
    LW, RW
    UFA - 1
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $725,000$725,000
    C
    UFA - 2
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $875,000$875,000
    RW, LW
    UFA - 1
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $700,000$700,000
    C, RW
    UFA - 1
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $700,000$700,000
    RW
    UFA - 1
    Left DefenseRight DefenseGoaltender
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $1,237,500$1,237,500
    LD
    UFA - 4
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $4,550,000$4,550,000
    RD
    UFA - 6
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $6,000,000$6,000,000
    G
    NMC
    UFA - 6
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $3,375,000$3,375,000
    LD
    M-NTC
    UFA - 2
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $1,125,000$1,125,000
    RD
    M-NTC
    UFA - 4
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $1,375,000$1,375,000
    G
    UFA - 1
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $700,000$700,000
    LD
    UFA - 1
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $894,166$894,166 (Performance Bonus$425,000$425K)
    LD
    RFA - 1
    ScratchesInjured Reserve (IR)Long Term IR (LTIR)
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $3,125,000$3,125,000
    C, RW
    UFA - 1
    Taxi Squad
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $787,500$787,500 ($0$0$0$0)
    LD/RD
    UFA - 1
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $925,000$925,000 ($0$0$0$0) (Performance Bonus$425,000$425K)
    LD
    UFA - 1
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $700,000$700,000 ($0$0$0$0)
    RW
    UFA - 1
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $700,000$700,000 ($0$0$0$0)
    G
    UFA - 1
    Logo of the Calgary Flames
    $700,000$700,000 ($0$0$0$0)
    LW
    UFA - 1

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    Feb. 18, 2021 at 1:51 a.m.
    #1
    CGY
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    Joined: Dec. 2015
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    It would be nice if there wasn’t musical chairs in terms of lines every other shift. It’s a quarter of the way through the season and the lines look like what you’d expect to see in training camp.

    Part of that is on coaching, but it’s also on the players as well.

    This team has issues
    Feb. 18, 2021 at 1:51 a.m.
    #2
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    Joined: Feb. 2018
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    Simon definitely needs to stop being put in the lineup. He's ineffective on the 4th line let alone with johnny and mony. This team is not good and is far away from beimg an elite team and a true contender. The leadership is out of wack. The coaching is all over the place. The upcoming 5 games against ottawa is going to be huge for this team. I know ottawa is playing better as of late but those are games they need to win and losing 2 or 3 of those games will be devastating and points that could make the difference between 4th and 5th...
    Ledge_And_Dairy liked this.
    Feb. 18, 2021 at 3:51 a.m.
    #3
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    Fully agree with points 1, 2, 3 (really hope Ward doesn't follow the usual thought process of "edmonton mean, rinaldo mean, play rinaldo," ritchie can do that, is much bigger to the point of being in the Nurse/Kassian size and weight class, and actually looked good out there today), 6, and 7. I agree with point 5 right now but I don't like it, I'd much prefer Andersson just work lol. It's probably for the best in the short term to take Gio off the PP and give both Valimaki and Hanifin opportunities there though. For the D in general idk how to fix it and am not against your idea in point 4 in theory, but in practice I don't think splitting up Hanifin-Tanev is the right idea, them and Markstrom have been the only consistently positive parts of this team this year. Really disappointed in Andersson, I keep waiting for him to take that next step and become a true top pair RD (at least a consistent #2 if not a #1) but he still has some serious flaws. If the D is gonna be meh anyway I'm not against giving Mackey more reps and/or try a Valimaki-Andersson pair for a while because that is the future. It's really sad to see Gio regressing, I first noticed some uncharacteristic plays during the playoffs but he's gone from reliable #1 to just a step too slow super quickly and very noticeably. I really like your idea of going back to last year's lines, hopefully some old chemistry rekindles and wakes them up. I'd keep Leivo scratched though, Ritchie earned at least another game and I can't think of a single time Leivo's looked good this year. And more than 1 line change per game when there's no mid-game injury should be unacceptable honestly, it just completely messes up any rhythm. I have some more thoughts that I'll expand on in a thread tomorrow (seems like a good point for an initial mid-season analysis...) but yeah I think you pretty much nailed it here.
    Ledge_And_Dairy liked this.
    Feb. 18, 2021 at 4:39 a.m.
    #4
    Thread Starter
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    Quoting: Alfie11
    Fully agree with points 1, 2, 3 (really hope Ward doesn't follow the usual thought process of "edmonton mean, rinaldo mean, play rinaldo," ritchie can do that, is much bigger to the point of being in the Nurse/Kassian size and weight class, and actually looked good out there today), 6, and 7. I agree with point 5 right now but I don't like it, I'd much prefer Andersson just work lol. It's probably for the best in the short term to take Gio off the PP and give both Valimaki and Hanifin opportunities there though. For the D in general idk how to fix it and am not against your idea in point 4 in theory, but in practice I don't think splitting up Hanifin-Tanev is the right idea, them and Markstrom have been the only consistently positive parts of this team this year. Really disappointed in Andersson, I keep waiting for him to take that next step and become a true top pair RD (at least a consistent #2 if not a #1) but he still has some serious flaws. If the D is gonna be meh anyway I'm not against giving Mackey more reps and/or try a Valimaki-Andersson pair for a while because that is the future. It's really sad to see Gio regressing, I first noticed some uncharacteristic plays during the playoffs but he's gone from reliable #1 to just a step too slow super quickly and very noticeably. I really like your idea of going back to last year's lines, hopefully some old chemistry rekindles and wakes them up. I'd keep Leivo scratched though, Ritchie earned at least another game and I can't think of a single time Leivo's looked good this year. And more than 1 line change per game when there's no mid-game injury should be unacceptable honestly, it just completely messes up any rhythm. I have some more thoughts that I'll expand on in a thread tomorrow (seems like a good point for an initial mid-season analysis...) but yeah I think you pretty much nailed it here.


    I was thinking about that too, right now Hanifin - Tanev can basically be (by definition) the 1st pair, they've earned it. I am also open to giving Valimaki that 2nd pair role next to Andersson, then putting Gio with Nesterov of the 3rd pair. I really think Gio's special teams minutes should be reduced to just PK at this point. I'm ok with keeping Andersson on the 1st unit but I really do think Hanifin has earned a shot at it, his offensive (and 200 foot for that matter) prowess has really taken quite a few leaps forward this season. Reminds me a lot of a young Duncan Keith (style wise, I'm not saying Hanifin is suddenly HoF caliber) with Tanev acting as the Brent Seabrook/Nick Hjalmarsson for him.
    Alfie11 liked this.
    Feb. 18, 2021 at 11:26 a.m.
    #5
    Flames22
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    I agree with much of what you have said here. Two points to add: First, I'm with Alfie on keeping the Tanev-Hanifin pairing together. I think they have too much chemistry together to try and break up, and while it would be nice to spread out the wealth a bit more, you can't teach chemistry. If we break them up, we risk going from 1 really good and 2 meh-to-weak pairings, to 3 meh pairings. Personally, I would leave Tanev-Hanifin together, and as suggested, try Valimaki-Andersson as a second pairing.

    My other point is about the forwards. I completely agree with you that we need to stop putting the lines in a blender every two seconds, and I also agree with you that last year's lines could be very effective. That being said, just as a thought, I'd be curious what would happen if we switched Lucic and Tkachuk in what you have suggested. I have really liked the Lucic-Backlund-Mangiapane line so far this year, and I think Tkachuk and Bennett could be great compliments for one another (have we ever seen the two of them together?). I think a Tkachuk-Bennett-Dube line would forecheck super well and tire out opponents, while a Lucic-Backlund-Mangiapane line is defensively sound and difficult to matchup against. That leaves plenty of room and favourable matchups for the Johnny-Mony-Lindholm line. Just food for thought. And thank you for summarizing a lot of my sentiments these last few games with this post!
    Mar. 1, 2021 at 3:42 a.m.
    #6
    Phenchod
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    Joined: Jul. 2019
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    Skrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttt what's up man
     
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