May 1, 2025 • 48 mins
Reviewing the Flames Roller Coaster – Flames Unfiltered – Episode 240
Hosts- Brad Burud @BradBurud and Kyle Lewis @vanlewis14
--- EPISODE 240 ---
In depth review of each Flames Player
2025 Season Questions
FLAMES NEWS- Worlds and Stanley Cup Playoffs
Website: Flames Unfiltered
Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts
Watch: YouTUBE
Social Media – X - @FlameUnfiltered |FACEBOOK – Flames Unfiltered |INSTAGRAM – Flames Unfiltered | TikTok – flames.unfiltered
NHL #HockeyX #TalkinHockey #HockeyPodcast #Flames #cofred #nhlflames #calgaryflames #YYC #FireItUp
*Produced by Inside Edge Hockey News Media Group
Hosts- Brad Burud @BradBurud and Kyle Lewis @vanlewis14
--- EPISODE 240 ---
In depth review of each Flames Player
2025 Season Questions
FLAMES NEWS- Worlds and Stanley Cup Playoffs
Website: Flames Unfiltered
Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts
Watch: YouTUBE
Social Media – X - @FlameUnfiltered |FACEBOOK – Flames Unfiltered |INSTAGRAM – Flames Unfiltered | TikTok – flames.unfiltered
NHL #HockeyX #TalkinHockey #HockeyPodcast #Flames #cofred #nhlflames #calgaryflames #YYC #FireItUp
*Produced by Inside Edge Hockey News Media Group
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Welcome to Flames on Field are hosted by Brad Rude,
Kyle Lewis Talk and Plain Talckey every single week. Kyle,
good afternoon.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Yeah, it's just weird. ID like blackout my office. This
is actually lad outside. Usually it's super late.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
It's rare for us. It's rare for us to be
doing this in the after now what we're doing.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yeah, and before we get into anything, I want to
point somebody that's really kind of funny to me. So
it's May first that we're recording. So I flipped over
my Flames calendar to May. You'll never guess who the
Flames player is for the month of May.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Hubert though.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Wrong, Kevin Rooney.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Oh is that like if fair?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Kevin Rooney made it onto I don't know, but Kevin
Rooney made it onto an NHL calendar. Good for that guy.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Yeah, you're such a Rooney fan. I'm I'm shocked that
you did not notice that sooner.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
I Hey, listen, I want to like him, I really do.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
I do too, you know, And honestly, he was far
from he was far from the biggest problem this year.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Oh yeah, absolutely. I just think it's a really obscure
thing to have him on a Flames calendar, so I
just want to point that out, so happy by everybody.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Yeah, it does. It's it's crazy that it's already me
we're it's it's hard to believe, Kyle, Like, I'm watching
the playoffs now and it's it's hard to believe that
the season's over for the Flames. Like it's been ten
days now since since the last game, and it's been
a little bit of an adjustment this year. I don't
know why.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Well, because we were so close. It also feels like
a lot more than ten days for me, anyway.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
It does. I believe it's ten days, ten or eleven.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
That's it's weird. And now we've got some uh, we
could have more after we record this. We've already got
some eliminations. The the Lightning are gone, the Canadians are gone,
the Devils are gone. That's all the East.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Should we talks down the Cup playoffs before we talk Flames?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Oh yeah, why not? I mean, yeah, there's there's lots
going on, so let's dive into that.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Sure, Let's let's talk about the three series that are
done out East, and that's Tampa is done, Florida knock
them out. Last night, and I'm gonna be honest with you,
did not watch a ton of this series. It was
decent when I did watch it, but I just I
it was you know, you know how every playoffs for
(03:00):
the first rounds, there's series that you become invested in
and there's series that you don't. This just Fino falls
into my not invested in the series.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
It probably would have been dead last for me had
it not been, you know, for the fact that the
Panthers have some former Flames had won the Cup last year.
But I didn't pay a lot of potential. I was surprised.
I had Tampa kind of as a pick to take
out Florida just because you know, they had, you know that,
(03:32):
like the Stanley Cup hangover, and Tampa's a deep, experienced
team who's been there before kind of thing. And I
mean Tampa's got a lot of changes too. But I,
at the very least I thought the series is going
to go longer. I expected six or seven games, and
I was dead wrong on this one.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I I did too. I I I think I I
I can't remember my predictions, even though bad as that
I had. I think I had Florida win in in
six but I did. I thought i'd go six. I
and you know what, vast less. He just wasn't to
his normal standards. And I'm not knock and I'm just
saying like he just wasn't as sharp as he usually is.
(04:05):
And that's not probably the reason they lost the series,
but had a tough couple of tough audience and.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
That's us give a few years ago there was a
good chance that he would have done that. But yeah,
I thought the series was likely going to be seven.
But uh Panthers move on. So and it's interesting to
me that all the Eastern you know, or should say
most of the eastern uh quarters have been determined and
it could be another one tonight. But I didn't watch
(04:33):
a lot of this one either to the Lightning Panthers,
but I enjoyed what little I watched. I just don't
have enough invested in either team to you know, really
pay a lot of attention to it.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Now a series that I hardly can comment on because
I watched literally under five minutes, because I don't really
care at all in the series, Carolina, New Jersey, Does
anybody care about this series? Like, do you know one
hockey fan that's like I can't wait to get home
tonight to watch a Carolina game. I I'm not. I
don't know. I think Carolina.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Don't know if that's a geography thing.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
No, I don't think it's either. It just to me,
it's just I don't know. Maybe I'm so old fashioned Kyle,
But like since the Broader Devil days, I always think
that New Jersey's just boring as hell to watch. That's
twenty something. Shoot, that's thirty some years ago. I still
feel the same way. Does anybody get excited to watch
the Devils? I don't. I think so.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
I would have been more inclined if Jack Hughes had
to be able to play, But yeah, it's just I do.
I do think that he could have made a big
enough difference in that series that it could have gone
the distance as well. But Jersey had a lot of
a lot of injury problems. Mark Strom was not great,
uh and Carolina is a deep team, so I kind
of expected that series is gonna be relatively quick.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Let's pull this one back to Calgary a little bit.
You know, Mark's from leaves last year into trade just
in the off season, and I thought Markstrom was decent
when he was in Calgary, but it seemed like later
on in his career in Calgary, he seemed like he
was angry. And I feel like I still see an
angry Jacob Marx from in New Jersey, and like when
(06:12):
they lost out in that game, like he looked like
he was gonna chop someone's head off with his stick,
and the net took the brunt of it. But like, what, why,
why all of a sudden are we seeing like an
angry Jacob marks from I never saw that in Vancouver,
and I never saw the first year and a half
in Calgary.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
I have no idea. Maybe he was getting older and
his chanceer is getting more limited. I mean, and I don't.
I've said this before.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
His reputation is like an elite goaltender. I'd never fully
understood it because I didn't see you know, three straight
seasons of forty wins or you know, uh, just all
these highlight reel saves like it's good. Don't get me wrong,
I just I never really understood why he was so coveted.
And yeah, I don't know. I well should have answer that,
(07:00):
to be honest.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Washington, Montreal, that one's done now too, is Washington wins
that one four to one. I got a question for you.
So last was it Friday night or Saturday night? They
have the fight where Anderson and Wilson end up in
the bench throwing blows. They get two intens and a
(07:23):
five thousand dollars fine, And I'm sitting here thinking they
were fighting at the end of the period on the
bench and got two intents. That's it? Yeah? Is that
not Oddumn, I'm missing something here that seems.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I don't know if you're missing anything. I mean, it's
really it's the same old and that the officiating what
you might expect, is extremely inconsistent. I'm not entirely sure
how I would it call that necessarily, So I don't
want to be too heavy handed about it, but it
was a suspendable thing in the regular season. That was
scene is intense and fun in the playoffs because there's
(08:03):
a huge double standard and disparity between the two and
then that there's no better example of it than that.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Right. Oh, so Tom Wilson hit on and Kent Carrier?
Did you think it was legal?
Speaker 2 (08:15):
I thought it was late.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Yeah, I know, I'm I don't I'm not a Tom
Wilson fan, but I actually did not think it was
that bad. His shoulders were down, he never left the ice, like,
was it Yeah, I didn't.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah it wasn't. Yeah, it wasn't that bad. I mean
the bigger, the bigger issue, whether they wanted to better
or not, at least from my eyes, is that the
Habs just didn't have an answer for that type of
play at all.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
No, they don't, they don't. But you know what, I
think the Habs of really are probably in there rebuild
well whatever you want to call it, or probably on
track pretty well.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Oh they're they're you know, I was hoping they would
have got more out of that series. I mean, they're
a young, fan asked, very skilled team, but it is
obviously fantastic experience for them. I think Dobish played well,
so they've got two pretty solid goaltenders net uh and
just you know, a lot of things look forward to.
I don't, I don't. I can't think of any Habs
fans are disappointed with, you know, the way their season went.
I think they're all pretty happy. I would I could
(09:17):
argue that much like Calgary, they're probably a little bit
ahead who people thought they'd be. But it just sucks,
you know, I wanted to see more home games in Montreal,
like from that crowd, because there's there's just nothing like it. Man,
They're so it can be a Saturday afternoon game, which
I've attended there, right, and it's just they're always up
for hockey. It's it's good for hockey. Montreal does well.
So this is a big step in the right direction
(09:38):
for them.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I agree. Toronto Ottawa three games so two Tonight's six.
Oh man, I know you're into this series. I know
you're into this one.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah, this one's been fun. This one's been really, really
really fun. Now this could age terribly, you know, if
we if we were to release and the least pull
it off in Outawa. But I love watching Lee's fans
sweat because they get so arrogant, so cocky, you know,
and for what I don't know. They haven't a cup
in forever, and they do have a good team, to
(10:11):
get me wrong, but they are. The Senators are giving
them all like a handle and then some right now.
And I hope it goes seven games. I really really
hope it goes seven games. I would love that.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
I am with you completely in the last way.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
You love Ottawa.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
You say it all the time. I I somebody asked
me the other day if you would if I would
change trade the Flames complete roster for the Ottawa Senators
complete roster, and I jumped up and down and was like, yes, yes,
can we do it? Because I I love the direction
of Ottawa. I do. I I really do. I do too.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
I'm the big fan.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Uh out West three two three two three two and
three two? Can you get any better? Vegas Minnesota? I
watched quite a bit of this series. It just seems
really really really back and forth, and it's been fun.
It's been physical, but it's been good hockey.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, I feel that Minnesota is kind of underrated go
into that series, and perhaps because they stumbled a bit
down the stretch, they didn't look like a particularly strong team.
But I mean they've played very well against Vegas and
mashed up very well against and I'm starting to believe
that series is going to be seventh in a coin toss, right,
what are you? What are your feelings on that one
so far?
Speaker 1 (11:26):
That one's going to be seven? I think I really
do think that one will be seven. Dallas, Colorado, I
don't think that one's gonna go seven. I think Dallas
closes that one out, and I'm just I've had a
struggle watching this one. Why these are two good teams,
too fun teams to watch? Why am I struggling? I
am I just I find myself venturing away. And I
think a lot of that is because it's been a
(11:48):
lot of times in the same nights as the Edmonton
LA and that, to me is just bonkers of a series.
Just I laugh every time I watch That's this series
because it's been such a roller coaster. Being a Flames guy,
you know, we none of us wanted Edmonton to do well.
And the way the series started, I thought, oh, this
is great, this is perfect. Big David looked like you
(12:10):
wanted to get on a ship right out of Edmonton,
and I'm just like, oh, we get any better. And
then it's been a stumble for LA and they just
keep allowing Edmonton to hang on in games and come
back and it's painful as hell to watch. Painful. Yep.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah, well there's two things there. I guess you touched
on Dallas Colorado. I also have had a bit of
a hard time with that for the same reason you
just mentioned. But I don't find it's had the storylines
and the intrigue other than Landscot coming back is a
big story, But I just I don't find it as
compelling of a series for whatever reason. Not noble teams
are fantastic and either one who comes out of that
is certainly a Cup contender, but yeah, it doesn't. It
(12:51):
just doesn't really seem to do anything for me. Now,
Edmonton LA always has some investment there. I've said all
along that I thought LA was a deeper team and
a better overall team perhaps, but I can give credit
where it's due and monked and Native Calvin Pickard has
really saved the Oilers a net since taken over. I
didn't expect that, honestly, I really, but you know, that's
(13:13):
what happens the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Man.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
You never know who's going to emerge as a potential
hero when Pickarck's doing his part. So that's another series
that I'm not really sure what to make it at
this point. But it's looking good Forripingtons as we record
here today.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Winnipeg, they were up to zero, they lose to to
Saint Louis and last night figure out a way to
win a big game. Last night, Shifley's out he's out
for Game six too. This has been a fun series
to watch, and I feel like a lot of people
I know well, and I live close to Winnipeg, but
(13:46):
a lot of people are really are really cheering and
watching for Winnipeg here.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yeah, and this this series has the storylines that you know,
I just alluded to. I mean, especially now between the
head coaches getting into it over the injury to Shifley.
All Right, man, I've said it a million times. I
love the Jets, I love the city Winnipeg. I think
this team is, you know, the wind of opportunities. Now,
I just I don't know. Saint Louis is give us
(14:13):
a you know, get him fits and the big test
is gonna be that game in Saint Louis, obvious because
Hella Buck's been terrible on the road and he's gotta
he's gonna pull together. Man of the series is over,
especially Sliphey out. The good news for the Jets obviously
the game vlarities back and that's a huge, huge, huge
plus for them. But now they're missing Schifley, They're already
missing Elers. You know, those are two top six fours
and any team in the NHL, and I I don't know.
(14:35):
I gotta I got a bad feeling about that one.
If I'm being honest with you and with myself.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
I know it is scary. I hope they can battle
through in game six and and maybe get Schifley back
and in game seven, but we'll see. I felt a
little bit more comfortable with hella Buck in game five.
I feel bad for him, and I guess his his
statistics lea the criticism after the first or after game
(15:03):
three and four, But yeah, I don't know that. I mean,
he is a top end goal in this league, and
I can't see that this is going to be a
problem that continues in the playoffs. I guess maybe maybe
I'm wrong, but I sure hope not. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Same here, and I think it's, uh, it's this is
the series that it's going to define it because I mean,
he had a really rough event against Collar out of
the playoffs last year. And you know, even if things
go poorly for them around two, if they get that fire,
just being able to squeeze out this series missing you know,
two top six forwards like they are, go a long
ways towards seventing Hellabuck is something more than just a
regular season performer.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Right, absolutely, all right, let's talk flames. It's been what
did we say, a little over ten days now since
we accepted the fact that we are not into the
Stanley Cup playoffs.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Well, hang on, we haven't accepted the fact we're just
stuck with the reality.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Were with it. Yes, we have no choice but to
live with it. So it's given us time to like
take a step back. I don't want to say calm down,
because like there's really I wasn't all that fired up
last episode. You were a little more than me, Kannie
is what it is. But like now I feel like
(16:18):
we can talk about the players and their season and
I don't know, kind of put a ball on it,
you know, and and next episode will we'll look forward
into what comes. But I want to kind of just
roll through some of the players. I don't know if
we'll hit on everybody, but we can. We can, I guess,
because some of them, there's not going to be a
(16:38):
whole lot to say, well, just you can name a guy,
I'll name a guy, and we'll we'll rattle through them
and kind of give our synopsis on on what we
thought of them this season. And I don't know, let's
heart at the top and a positive and that's uh.
Jonathan Hubert, Oh, I felt like he was I don't
know what. I guess he's back, right, twenty eight goals
this year versus twelve the year before. Six two points.
(17:01):
You know, it's not what we signed up for, but
it's a hell of a lot better than what we had, right.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Yeah, if I was gonna put a lot of grade
on him, i'd i'd go like B plus a minus area.
He's very, very good at a key moments too. I
mean the sixty two points is admirable for a lot
of you know, for most players, it's a significant amount
of points, but uh, not superstar level. But I feel
that he really came up in big moments. So a
couple of games down the stretch where I felt he
really should have stepped up more and didn't. But overall, yeah,
(17:32):
he was the comeback story with waiting three years for
right for two years, I suppose, Yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Think he he was not let's focus this He was
not the focus of criticism this year, right, And that's
a positive, not at all, far from it. In fact,
Nasen Kadrey.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
I got a lot of flak not that long ago
on X for talking about Cadre and not giving him
like a perfect grade because he he he came up
him and Dustin Wolf for the two like standouts on
the nights they needed to be right. Yeah, but I'm
saying yeah. My only a grievance with Kadrey was some
you know, gregious giveaways and those typs. I think they're
(18:11):
really bad moments. But overall, I thought it seems fantastic
and he and he was worth the money we paid him,
which I don't think a lot of people necessarily expected
that this fired too.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
His contract thirty five goals, sixty seven points. I thought
he was great. He had some moments where I was
very frustrated with him. I took some heat also on
X because I was a proponent of moving him at
the deadline, because I felt like with him having the
season that he was having, that we could get ourselves
out but from underneath that aging contract, because I'm going
(18:43):
to make a prediction here that twelve months from now
we're going to be sitting here trying to figure out
how to get rid of that contract, and maybe I'll
be wrong, and I hope I'm wrong, but I still
think that an opportunity was maybe missed a deadline. Although
that if you asked me right now who is the
(19:04):
most dynamic player, I would probably say Nasam Kadri and
he had to hit a real good year.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Yeah, then has a career high thirty five goals too,
we should point out, and still I highlight real machine
when it comes to some of those goals. So that
great season, and I don't I think it's as the
contract ages, it gets a little bit easier and move
them because there's less years left the course. But the
production eventually is going to start to decline. Hopefully not
as soon as next season, but it's certainly the case
(19:29):
that could happen given his age. Let me throw a
couple at you. We'll stick with the forwards, just to
keep it consistent for now. Sharon Govic, let's go to
the other end of the well.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
I mean, I think he's probably if I said, you know,
what were your three disappointments this year, he'd probably be
in the three. Just seventeen goals, fifteen assists. I think
we probably pegged him as a thirty goal scorer for
this team, and I would have been ecstatic with that.
(20:04):
He was not the Sharon Golvich that we expected up
until probably sadly and scarily the last six games.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Yeah, yeah, he really fell off a cliff, and hopefully
with those last few games where he's kind of started
to find his game, but that's what we get next year.
I think he's going to rebound. But now the question
is is he really is he that thirty goal guy
or is he more like that fifteen to twenty goal
guy that Jersey generally had and the one that we
had this past season. So I'm really curious to see
how that all plays out.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
We'll know next year at this time, because this season
is going to be a I don't want to say
a do or die for his career, but quite possibly
a do or die for his career.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah, we'll see. I mean, he'll always obviously got a
long term contract. But what he's going to be is
the question, right especially with the other guys emerging, one
of whom let's switch to a positive here in terms
of emergence, Matthew Coronado.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
He did it all this year, twenty four goals in
seventy seven games, forty seven points, saying this guy's this
guy's going to be an elite scorer in this league.
Will it, man, I was a slight I don't want.
I can't say a heavy critic of him at the
(21:21):
end of last season, but I did. I did at
my concerns about his skating, and I don't think there
was an improvement on the team more visible than that.
This year. His skating was much improved versus last year.
And the kid can shoot the hockey puck. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
My personal highlight from the games I attended this year
was him scoring that overtime winner in Montreal, like just
a beautiful, beautiful shot, and man, he had a pile
of me. He is by far the pure sniper on
the team, which previously I would have thought would be
maybe Sharon Govich. But that's Cornado's title in his alone.
So he's going to score thirty to forty next year,
bearing injury guaranteed, guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
I'm with you, man, I'm excited. I'm excited for the
future for this guy.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Michael Blackland, that's a tough one, possibly the toughest one
to accurately try and grade. Very up and down kind
of year. Overall decent, but I would have expected more.
But then after find buy how many injuries he was
dealing with and the nagging type of injuries he was
playing through. You know, he was the Michael Backland we've
(22:27):
come to no one love, just you know, take it
down a few notches buy what he was dealing with.
So I'm very curious to see how he does next year,
especially at his age, as contract status, all those those factors.
But we'll see what we're what we're feelings on Backs.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I think he brought to the team what we needed
him to bring to the team as far as leadership
goes and things like that. In all his totals numbers
were off, his impact was off. But yeah, he summed
it up perfectly. But he was dealing with a lot
of stuff. And I'm not making excuse for him, but
(23:02):
I guess pencil him is are In is our third
line center next year, and I have zero worries about that,
if I guess that's a positive.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Yeah, I'd like to see him transition to the fourth
line role over time, because I think he'd excel at that.
But I also don't to take too much away from
him because he is, when healthy as of now, at
least still an ideal third line center. I'd like to
see him, to be honest, he's not dynamic enough to
continue with the power play experiment, even on the second unit.
I'm kind of over that. I'll give you. Yeah, given
(23:33):
the lack of options in the past, I understand it.
But I mean, as a penalty killer, key face off guy,
you know, there's still lost likable backs game. I just
think they really the offense I think is gone. If
we get thirty to forty points at him next year.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
I'm happy.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
How about Blake Coleman, Well, I said all along, and
I think anybody with a brain between the earths has
said the same thing. He was never going to score
thirty goals again, it just wasn't in the cards. Ram
but he was again exceptional at both ends of the ice.
Like he is such a valuable player to this team.
He's another one we talked about as a a very
(24:11):
attractive trade candidate, and obviously that didn't happen. But I
that contract, by the time it's done or by the
time he's traded, one of the best ones of Flames
I've ever signed.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
In my opinion, agree, I don't want to even trade him.
I just think this is a guy that's perfect. No,
he's perfect for the a retool right, Like he is
such a he's such a calming factor, I think, and
I think he's much more of a leader than we
probably see on the outside. I mean, I knew he
wasn't going to score thirty again, and I never at
(24:41):
this point this season was there any games you're just like, oh, man,
we need something from Coleman here. I mean, I know
he had a little quiet stretch there in the latter
part of the season, but I don't know, I rarely
found myself disappointed in his play.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
I don't know that I ever was really disappointed. I mean,
I certainly wish he had maybe potted of more goals.
But and for his stake.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
He's the most unlucky player in the league. I'll tell
you that, Oh most certainly.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
And I feel badly because he was perhaps the loudest
advocate to get you know, Goudrou to stay and you know,
back in twenty twenty two. Because and I think part
of that is the fact that he could have been
a part of a competitive team for years and Coleman
didn't sign here to not make the playoffs, right, He
(25:27):
came here to help put the team over the top.
And if he doesn't do it here, he's gonna do
it somewhere else because he's just that effective. And you know,
if you had a if you had your third and
fourth line all players like Blake Coleman, you'd be a
very very dangerous playoff team. So he's great.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Okay, you hit me with a couple more forwards.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
I want to because this one's curious to me because
I really liked this game myself in the last little
bit of the season. Adam Klapka, what are your thoughts
on him?
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Man? I think I said it on the show too
two times this year that I thought I just said
Adam Klapka is not an NHL player, and I think
I might be wrong. Yeah, I think that having him
up on the first line is straight bonkers. And I
think that having him anywhere other than the right wing
on the fourth line is straight bonkers. But I think
(26:21):
this guy has carved out a spot and if I
was putting our lines together right now for next year,
he is my right wing on the fourth line and
he will be awesome.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Yeah, I agree, And I like him as an f
frond presence too. In the power play, Like on the
second you guys really think there's a spot for him
there and he has decent hands for a man that big,
like surprisingly good hands. So it's hard because he didn't
play a full season with the big club, but you
could tell the last ten to twelve games usually starting
to figure it out. So he could be a really
(26:51):
important piece going forward. So moving on from him, if
I was gonna hit you with somebody else from the
forward group, there's a few different ones to choose from here.
What did you think about Ryan Lomberg?
Speaker 1 (27:07):
I knew you were gonna say that. You know, this
is a tough one apparently, because like he's our fourth
line left winger, and I'm fine having him be our
fourth line left winger next year. But I don't think
he should play eighty two games, and I surely don't
(27:28):
think we should have given him two million dollars. He
brings zero to the table offensively complete zero. He was
much more of a presence physically early in the season
than he was later in the season. I'm not sure why, Yeah,
but as a whole I I I beg anybody to
(27:52):
give me a reason that I can't find a guy
that'll do the same job for a million dollars that
doesn't have fancy hair.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Well, I don't know that. Well, I don't know that
there's players that can bring more enthusiasm to a game
than Ryan Longberg.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
And that's no. I agree with you there. I know
I agree with you there.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
And but some of some of that cheerleading can be
done in the dressing room and not necessarily on the
ice right or on the bench. So I understand because
I had said at one point too, I don't see
a need for this guy to play eighty two games. Now.
I would be happy with him, you know, for in
the playoffs playing every game, because I think he would
ramp his game up big time.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Yep, I agree, But proving that right, he's proven that.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Yeah, there could have been some more additions in his
place that would have better served the team's direction, I think.
But I was happy they brought him in. I think,
you know, he just won a Cup with Florida. I
think he's a very valuable piece in terms of his
experience and his enthusiasm, his character. But again, on the ice,
I don't see why this guy should be playing as
often as he is. Yeah, let's move on. You want
(28:53):
to move on a d quickly.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
I just want to touch on just two other guys,
real quick. Yeah, we can do him together Frost and
Ferraby now the team will win a mid season trade.
I think both of them drastically underachieved are while in Calgary.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Unquestionably, it blew.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
My mind to hear Farraby in his in his locker
clean out interviews say that he was embarrassed of it.
I predict that Farby is gonna have a really good
year next year, but I still have my questions on Frost.
I think Frost is going to be a decent player
for us, I just don't ever think he's going to
elevate to that. You know, if we can get him
(29:32):
to be a thirty goal scorer, that's great. I just
I guess I just have a little bit more questions there.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Right well, and that's one of the reasons I kind
of gloss over them a bit. And you know, moving
on to defenseman nearly, it's like it's hard to get
a gauge in a player acquired mid season, and those
guys are required pretty much right at midseason, and neither
one was Farib really disappeared. As I mentioned before, just
that one highlight reel goal against Dallas, Frost had as
(30:01):
many chances and created I should say, as many chances
as anybody in the team, but just didn't have the finish.
I do think Frost is going to score sixty next year,
and a Fairbee can be a twenty twenty guy. I
think that would be fantastic.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
Yep with you.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Yeah, those those are my hopes for those two players.
But now they could both be like in the middling
forty points, both of them could be thirty something like.
I don't it's so hard to get read on them,
but I think it's a big adjustment to go from
obviously Philadelphia to Calgary middle of the season. News system
blah blah blah, you know, all that stuff that gets
talked about. But those are two guys that were acquired
(30:35):
for very specific reasons. They very much fit the blueprint
and what this Flames team's trying to do. They gave up,
you know, because Medical bounces around. It is what it is.
But you know, a very likable two way forward and
Jacob Pelcha. So they obviously because they you know, they
believed in these two guys, and I still do too.
I just it's really hard for me to grade them
based on the circumstances. But I can't wait to talk
(30:58):
about the next season.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Oh me too, I think I I'm really interested. They're
probably they're probably in my top three guys. I want
to really see how next season pans out. One last forward,
I just got to get your take on this because
it's it is actually interesting Martin Postphissel and then we'll
move in on a defense.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
I'll be honest, I kind of forgot about him, and
that's why I could tell, like, this is a guy
we had a lot of hopes for this year, and
uh yeah, I don't know how you how you play
that often and only score four goals and that was
a lot that was bad luck too, But.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
It just felt like something was going on with him
this this season. He he had a really good first
full season in Calgary and this one just left a
lot to be desired. But I think he's another one
that's going to be kind of a dark horse going
to next season because I think he has a lot
to prove.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
His shot percentage. I've never seen one this low. How
much the what was it three point five?
Speaker 2 (31:53):
It's pretty damn low.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Yeah, I guess Jake Beans is two point eighth, So okay,
upset Well, different stories let's go on to defense. Fire away.
You picked the guy, and I'll tell you my two cents.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Well, let's start with the most positive one of all.
I think, well, actually that's a debate. So that's how
I'm gonna pitch this to you. Who I gotta that's
too easy? What what part of the defense made you
the happiest? If you had to bowl down individual player?
And I'm gonna give you two options, because I think
(32:28):
there's really only two. Is Mackenzie Wieger Kevin Ball?
Speaker 1 (32:31):
Kevin Ball? I expected that from Wiger. Weiger did exactly
what I anticipated. Wiger was awesome. Eight goals, forty one
points or forty seven points plus eighteen, Like, Wiger was
exactly what I wanted, what we what I expected?
Speaker 2 (32:47):
That's wild so and I actually we should throw a
third name in there too. So we kind of knew
what we had from last season in Braden Pahal.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
You know, he he get me.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
He missed a few games down the stretch. The No'll
take it to the lineup, but it was it fair
to say Ball was the biggest surprise of them all terms.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Of how was the biggest surprise. And I'm super excited
for him. And I hope we can, you know, ink
a deal with him and move forward with him, because
I like what he brings to the table. And we
talked about this a couple episodes ago. You know, we
talked about plus minuses and we mentioned McKinsey league at
plus eighteen. You know, Bradon Bahall was plus five.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
That's impressive.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Kevin Ball minus six. Playing with Rasmus Anderson, it was
minus thirty eight.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
That's so crazy.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
How does it even happen?
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Right, I honestly, and I don't know. I don't I
don't know. I really I don't get it.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
I don't get it. Like Kevin Ball was, uh, I
don't want to say. I let's put it this way.
When we traded Jacob Marksman when we got Kevin Ball,
I had to pull up YouTube to watch some highlights
because I was like, oh boy, I don't I don't
have a take on this guy. And so I had
zero expectations, right and at the beginning of the year,
(34:05):
I'm not gonna lie, and I think I said it
on the show a few times. He frustrated the hell
out of me. But as we move forward, and as
we move forward, I felt like his stick work was better,
He made smarter decisions and it just like the game
came to him and I loved what he brought to
the team. I love it, Yep.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
I agree. Couldn't agree more in fact, and that's kind
of the that's the interesting part. So wigger Ball and pahall,
So it's like half of our d feels like it's
figured out, right, yep. We could now without taking up
too much time on some of these, because we covered
Anderson extensively on our last show, we will we'll be
talking about him. It will be talking about him all
(34:43):
all summer as well as you know, we covered a
quite a bit on Jake Bean. I think we've both
kind of agreed that Merimanov's time with the team is
likely done.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
So who do you see I guess the easy answer
to be correct. But other than prect do you see
anither D either currently on the roster emerging to be
more viable option further up the lineup, or anybody else
maybe with the wrangler? So you think it's going to
make the jump?
Speaker 1 (35:12):
That's a tough question because I really don't know how.
I mean, so much is going to be determined by
the decisions we make with Anderson and on the coming
shows when we talk about laying out our thoughts for
the future, a lot of discussion is going to come
with Anderson. And it's really, really, really tough to speculate now,
(35:34):
not knowing if he's going to have a slot on
the roster next year or not have a slot. And
I do believe Perek will be on the lineup. I
believe will probably talk with Hanley and bout staying. I
think he's a and the thing I like about Handley
is he's my Michael Stolen man. I can have that
(35:55):
guy in the press box eating popcorn for seven games
and he comes back and it doesn't even look like
you missed to beat. This guy was an unsung hero
for the team this year. I think he's a good
guy to have around. He's a safe guy to have around.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
He's not young, though, whether by NHL standards that's okay.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
He's perfect seventy man that can slide in in any
in any spot.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Really if if he's cast that way, which he certainly wasn't,
he was playing top four minutes virtually all yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
But we also agree that he was probably miscast this year.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
It was my concern is if they you know, that's
that's what they do in pro sports, right, what if
you know, what did you do for me last year? Well,
that's what we're gonna pay based on or you know,
this is where you're gonna slot into the lineup unless
you have a terrible training camp or a major injuries.
So I just the thing that worries me about Joel
Hanley is both in terms of contract and in terms
of usage, is you have to trust the team to
pay attention to the signs to cast him properly. And
(36:46):
I don't know if they're smart enough to do that
because one thing with Ryan Husk is he plays his
favorites even when they're getting their heads beat in. And
I hope, I hope I'm wrong here, but we'll see
how that plays out.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
I agree, let's quick touch on goalies, and then we
got to move on. I get a couple of questions.
I want to ask you about the team this year. Wolf.
I don't mean we don't have to talk along. We've
talked about it one hundred times. I mean, you couldn't
be happier, right.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
I'm just unbelievable. I can remember very specifically his handful
of poor outings on a on a team that was
getting shelld that many nights and as many great games
as he had. I mean, this guy's the real deal,
and lock him up as soon as you can for
whatever he wants.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
That's my take. Dan Vodar.
Speaker 2 (37:28):
Crappy start. I might have been a little hard on
in the beginning of the season, but he was dynamite
in the second half. We agreed more recently that we'd
both like to see him return because not only is
he the best option as a backup for this team,
but he's the best option as a backup that could
be a UFA on the on the free bad Tresian market.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
As far as I'm concerned, how would you? How would
your grade? Ryan Huska?
Speaker 2 (37:54):
That's a tricky one because the team, the team overachieved
and they really they had a great culture, which has
been covered at nauseum. I would give him a bee
because there's some major usage problems to get masked by
a team that over achieved due to excellent goaltending individual performances.
(38:15):
I felt he adapted a little bit better down the stretch,
But I mean he's got a he's got a little
ways to go. For me, to think he's going to
be you know, around a whole lot longer. Yeah, what
were your thoughts on him?
Speaker 1 (38:26):
Like same? I went into the season really open minded
with him. I had many nights of frustration because of
usage of players and to some decisions that he made
and personnel decisions. Yeah, I questioned some things. I feel
like he looked at he viewed some players differently than
other players, which I think is impossible as a human being.
(38:51):
But I think it also clouded some of the decisions
that he made too. So open book, I'm ready to
see what he does with a little bit more talent
and a little bit more time underneath his belt.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
Yeah, and I think so too. I'm very curious. And
I'm also curious because anytime you have a positive coach
like that, you got to wonder how long that message
is going to be received, right, Yeah, I guess it
goes the same for any coach really, But I mean
when when they're just when they're always and I've seen them,
you know, act a little fire eight times, but like
it just you don't want to become too too comfortable,
and that's kind of a concern sometimes too.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Yeah. I agree, Uh, I just want touch quick on Worlds.
Backland is going, which shocks me and his age and
his health that he's going, but it is in Sweden,
so him and Anderson will be playing for Sweden. Now.
Husk is going to go as a part of the
Canada's coaching staff. Ornardo is out because of an MRI
they had last week. They just want him to rest
(39:45):
up and be healthy for next year. Wolf is out
because some roster decisions. Team USA did not want to
bother him during their run. And then yeah, what's with that?
Well they here's the deal with that. I heard a
little bit more information that they wanted him but they
didn't want to talk to him. Well, they were in
(40:07):
the middle of the run because they thought when they
expected Calgary to probably get in. They asked Swaymen and
I was it Swaymen in all Mark, I can't remember
who it was.
Speaker 2 (40:17):
I think it was.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
A yeah, it can.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
Be it certain wouldn't I would have been not well, yeah,
swam it makes sense, but I'm not sure who.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
Was Swayman and another guy? Oh no, no, no, Decord
was Decord they asked. They asked those two guys thinking
that one of them would decline and Wolf would maybe
fall into that spot. They both said yes, so the
spot was taken. So I'm totally good with that. Totally
good with that. I hate guys going to Worlds.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Yeah, you talk about that. The world was funny. I
kind of crap.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
I mean tournament in the world. It is the most
irrelevant tournament.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
Okay, I'll take your Worlds and I'll raise you a
Spangler Cup.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
Oh jeez, Honsig's going for Slovakia. Did I see someone
who else? Klapka's going with check? Yah, that's it. That's
all all right. I got some questions I want to
ask you before we go here, quick answers. Just I
don't know, some just to put a rap on the year,
Like I said, If I said I need one word
(41:22):
to describe the twenty twenty five Flame season, confusing, is
this count as two words, I said, roller coaster?
Speaker 2 (41:34):
Just hyphen it.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
You're fine, all right, thanks for the past there. All right,
your favorite game of the season. Really putting on the
spot here, because that's that's not an easy thing to
just fire off. Oh, September twelfth preseason game when Hansig
scored two.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
December December fourteenth, I think it was Saturday night against
Florida because I was there. A great company. They Yeah,
they beat the Cup defending Cup champs in a very
convincing fashion. It was just it was cool to see.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
Yep, I think you're gonna agree with me on this
one too. January thirtieth, four to one win over Anaheim
Frost Fair Betrayed Night. It was so fun to watch.
Oh yeah, oh that was just a lot of.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
The funnest part was watching the Sportsnight guys kind of scramble, right, Yeah,
that was that was that was super enjoyable. It was fun,
all right, big from okay, but from a hockey perspective though,
what hockey perspective?
Speaker 1 (42:31):
Uh, you know what. The New Year's Eve game against
Vancouver I thought was awesome.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
Yeah, it was a good one.
Speaker 1 (42:40):
Biggest surprise of this season.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
Oh, I mean, honestly, I'm not that surprised by Usta Wolf.
I've always believed in him. Probably Kevin Ball he made
that that mark from trade, not like oh the other
did Okay, it was like ship this is a slam dunk,
like he really he was. Yeah, he was phenomenal. I
almost said to Coronado, but I always felt he was
gonna be you know, he figured it out.
Speaker 1 (43:05):
I'm going with emergence of Coronado.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
Yeah cool, Yeah for that.
Speaker 1 (43:10):
I had four on my list. Wolfe's dominance, Huberto bounce back,
the emergence of Coronado, and how serviceable Paul was. Those
are mine. Uh yeah. Biggest disappointment of the season the result.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
Again, if you're getting dummied, you gotta start dealing with
the pain back in like January, right, but in this case,
like just and I actually I mentioned this streit the
other day, but a buddy mind skitting up to me
to pick up hockey. He's like, man, He's like, I
didn't realize the Flames had that many more points than
like three teams and made the playoffs in the east
of me. He's like, that's brutal. I'm like, yeah, dude,
it sucks like it sucks.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
Two more quick ones. Defining moment of the season.
Speaker 2 (43:56):
The lost Anaheim. Uh, the lost to Anaheon. I'm late
in the season or those two games and see Louis
have a bitch about for six months.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
I put the two games in Saint Louis. That is
because the Anaheim game would have been irrelevant if we'd
have won one of those two.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
Such a horrible way of looking at.
Speaker 1 (44:17):
Right, brutal. Are the Flames a better team next season? God?
Speaker 2 (44:23):
I sure hope.
Speaker 1 (44:24):
So if I had to ask you though, honestly, though,
would you think do you think.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
Oh, yeah, yeah, I think we's going to be even
better than D's going to be better? Like, yeah, I think,
so what do you think?
Speaker 1 (44:35):
I think you're going to be about the same. But oh, well,
you know it's such a hard question.
Speaker 2 (44:41):
That's not that's too early for your pessimism.
Speaker 1 (44:44):
Oh, I'm not being I think there's there, there is, Okay,
there's an opportunity for this to go really well early bad.
I think a decision needs to be made on Anderson
this summer. I don't feel comfortable, no question, the season
with him or without him. I need to know, I
can need to know the plan right. This is so
critical to the plan for the future, and I think
(45:05):
that once we can get that ironed out, I'll feel
a little bit better and see how it slots in.
But uh, you know what, this year was a This
year was a pleasant surprise. So I don't know why
next year can't be a surprise too, right.
Speaker 2 (45:19):
Yeah, fair enough? I mean I often get where we're
ahead of the curve. I don't want to get too
excited like when we fourteen fifteen and then face plunted
in fifteen sixteen. Like, you gotta be careful for a
little bit regression on some of these players, especially some
of your key guys. Age, so cautiously optimistic. Now something
else I'm oppous to out because I got know this
is my hometown team. Of course, the Monk and Walcats
(45:40):
swept the semifinals. Now on to the Quebec League Finals
where they will hopefully play Shine again. So we'll have
Gridden versus Morina. So we'll see how that happens. Yeah,
that could be really fun, really really fun.
Speaker 1 (45:52):
I am probably more excited about him as a prospect
than anybody Griddin.
Speaker 2 (45:58):
Yes, Oh he's a great player, man, he's a great
play It actually is cool to see the Flames actually
uh posted today. But the Walcat's moving on, which is
which is great to see.
Speaker 1 (46:05):
I am. I'm really excited to see how that goes.
Speaker 2 (46:09):
Oh you know who's gonna be here, I guarantee it,
Michael Stone.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
I bet you he will be.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Yeah, I'm going to seek him out. Get that Stone
jersey signed.
Speaker 1 (46:20):
Give him a shirt. Oh well, yeah, of course, get
him on the show. Get him on the show. It'll
be cool.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
That'd be cool.
Speaker 1 (46:29):
What have we got coming up? If NF NFL, NHL
draft lottery may fifth the draft of twenty seventh, twenty eighth.
Kyle and are back next week with a special episode.
We're going to discuss some obscure Flames players that we
both love so much.
Speaker 2 (46:44):
So, oh man, you just triggered something in my brain
where all these names just sort of running.
Speaker 1 (46:48):
Kyle, I've been dying to do this episode. I've been
dying to do it. So we are going to have
a show every week this summer. We're going to have
some little short thirty minute episodes here and there to
fill the gaps. I'm talking about all kinds of cool,
fun flame stuff, I don't know week episode every week
and up until the twenty five twenty six season drops.
It's going to be fun as we go today band
(47:12):
a load of small township club with stops. Let listen
to them every single week. Kylo was always fun talking
Flames hockey with you, and a good discussion to be real,
good discussion about kind of putting a wrap on it
on this season. Time to start looking forward right it is.
It was a fun season. It was nerve wracking all
(47:32):
the way along. And I don't think we either one
of us spot but we would e be up until
we work.
Speaker 3 (47:38):
So yeah, it actually yeah right right down to the wire. Yeah,
we're intents were content than all point cents.
Speaker 1 (47:49):
Have a good week and we will be back next week.
Speaker 4 (47:57):
So you have the best bag, big process, don't break
twice before the rough du well, the co checks check.
That's everyone side assen.
Speaker 5 (48:19):
Thanks for listening to Flames Unfiltered with Brad Burud and
Kyle Lewis your source for unfiltered Calgary Flames Hockey Talk.
Keep it locked on Flames Unfiltered dot ca, a subscribe
where you get all your podcasts to never miss an episode.
Flames Hockey Talk every week presented by Inside Edge Hockey
Media Group
Welcome to Flames on Field are hosted by Brad Rude,
Kyle Lewis Talk and Plain Talckey every single week. Kyle,
good afternoon.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Yeah, it's just weird. ID like blackout my office. This
is actually lad outside. Usually it's super late.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
It's rare for us. It's rare for us to be
doing this in the after now what we're doing.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yeah, and before we get into anything, I want to
point somebody that's really kind of funny to me. So
it's May first that we're recording. So I flipped over
my Flames calendar to May. You'll never guess who the
Flames player is for the month of May.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Hubert though.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Wrong, Kevin Rooney.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Oh is that like if fair?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Kevin Rooney made it onto I don't know, but Kevin
Rooney made it onto an NHL calendar. Good for that guy.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Yeah, you're such a Rooney fan. I'm I'm shocked that
you did not notice that sooner.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
I Hey, listen, I want to like him, I really do.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
I do too, you know, And honestly, he was far
from he was far from the biggest problem this year.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Oh yeah, absolutely. I just think it's a really obscure
thing to have him on a Flames calendar, so I
just want to point that out, so happy by everybody.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Yeah, it does. It's it's crazy that it's already me
we're it's it's hard to believe, Kyle, Like, I'm watching
the playoffs now and it's it's hard to believe that
the season's over for the Flames. Like it's been ten
days now since since the last game, and it's been
a little bit of an adjustment this year. I don't
know why.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Well, because we were so close. It also feels like
a lot more than ten days for me, anyway.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
It does. I believe it's ten days, ten or eleven.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
That's it's weird. And now we've got some uh, we
could have more after we record this. We've already got
some eliminations. The the Lightning are gone, the Canadians are gone,
the Devils are gone. That's all the East.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Should we talks down the Cup playoffs before we talk Flames?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Oh yeah, why not? I mean, yeah, there's there's lots
going on, so let's dive into that.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Sure, Let's let's talk about the three series that are
done out East, and that's Tampa is done, Florida knock
them out. Last night, and I'm gonna be honest with you,
did not watch a ton of this series. It was
decent when I did watch it, but I just I
it was you know, you know how every playoffs for
(03:00):
the first rounds, there's series that you become invested in
and there's series that you don't. This just Fino falls
into my not invested in the series.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
It probably would have been dead last for me had
it not been, you know, for the fact that the
Panthers have some former Flames had won the Cup last year.
But I didn't pay a lot of potential. I was surprised.
I had Tampa kind of as a pick to take
out Florida just because you know, they had, you know that,
(03:32):
like the Stanley Cup hangover, and Tampa's a deep, experienced
team who's been there before kind of thing. And I
mean Tampa's got a lot of changes too. But I,
at the very least I thought the series is going
to go longer. I expected six or seven games, and
I was dead wrong on this one.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I I did too. I I I think I I
I can't remember my predictions, even though bad as that
I had. I think I had Florida win in in
six but I did. I thought i'd go six. I
and you know what, vast less. He just wasn't to
his normal standards. And I'm not knock and I'm just
saying like he just wasn't as sharp as he usually is.
(04:05):
And that's not probably the reason they lost the series,
but had a tough couple of tough audience and.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
That's us give a few years ago there was a
good chance that he would have done that. But yeah,
I thought the series was likely going to be seven.
But uh Panthers move on. So and it's interesting to
me that all the Eastern you know, or should say
most of the eastern uh quarters have been determined and
it could be another one tonight. But I didn't watch
(04:33):
a lot of this one either to the Lightning Panthers,
but I enjoyed what little I watched. I just don't
have enough invested in either team to you know, really
pay a lot of attention to it.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Now a series that I hardly can comment on because
I watched literally under five minutes, because I don't really
care at all in the series, Carolina, New Jersey, Does
anybody care about this series? Like, do you know one
hockey fan that's like I can't wait to get home
tonight to watch a Carolina game. I I'm not. I
don't know. I think Carolina.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Don't know if that's a geography thing.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
No, I don't think it's either. It just to me,
it's just I don't know. Maybe I'm so old fashioned Kyle,
But like since the Broader Devil days, I always think
that New Jersey's just boring as hell to watch. That's
twenty something. Shoot, that's thirty some years ago. I still
feel the same way. Does anybody get excited to watch
the Devils? I don't. I think so.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
I would have been more inclined if Jack Hughes had
to be able to play, But yeah, it's just I do.
I do think that he could have made a big
enough difference in that series that it could have gone
the distance as well. But Jersey had a lot of
a lot of injury problems. Mark Strom was not great,
uh and Carolina is a deep team, so I kind
of expected that series is gonna be relatively quick.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Let's pull this one back to Calgary a little bit.
You know, Mark's from leaves last year into trade just
in the off season, and I thought Markstrom was decent
when he was in Calgary, but it seemed like later
on in his career in Calgary, he seemed like he
was angry. And I feel like I still see an
angry Jacob Marx from in New Jersey, and like when
(06:12):
they lost out in that game, like he looked like
he was gonna chop someone's head off with his stick,
and the net took the brunt of it. But like, what, why,
why all of a sudden are we seeing like an
angry Jacob marks from I never saw that in Vancouver,
and I never saw the first year and a half
in Calgary.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
I have no idea. Maybe he was getting older and
his chanceer is getting more limited. I mean, and I don't.
I've said this before.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
His reputation is like an elite goaltender. I'd never fully
understood it because I didn't see you know, three straight
seasons of forty wins or you know, uh, just all
these highlight reel saves like it's good. Don't get me wrong,
I just I never really understood why he was so coveted.
And yeah, I don't know. I well should have answer that,
(07:00):
to be honest.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Washington, Montreal, that one's done now too, is Washington wins
that one four to one. I got a question for you.
So last was it Friday night or Saturday night? They
have the fight where Anderson and Wilson end up in
the bench throwing blows. They get two intens and a
(07:23):
five thousand dollars fine, And I'm sitting here thinking they
were fighting at the end of the period on the
bench and got two intents. That's it? Yeah? Is that
not Oddumn, I'm missing something here that seems.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I don't know if you're missing anything. I mean, it's
really it's the same old and that the officiating what
you might expect, is extremely inconsistent. I'm not entirely sure
how I would it call that necessarily, So I don't
want to be too heavy handed about it, but it
was a suspendable thing in the regular season. That was
scene is intense and fun in the playoffs because there's
(08:03):
a huge double standard and disparity between the two and
then that there's no better example of it than that.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Right. Oh, so Tom Wilson hit on and Kent Carrier?
Did you think it was legal?
Speaker 2 (08:15):
I thought it was late.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Yeah, I know, I'm I don't I'm not a Tom
Wilson fan, but I actually did not think it was
that bad. His shoulders were down, he never left the ice, like,
was it Yeah, I didn't.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah it wasn't. Yeah, it wasn't that bad. I mean
the bigger, the bigger issue, whether they wanted to better
or not, at least from my eyes, is that the
Habs just didn't have an answer for that type of
play at all.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
No, they don't, they don't. But you know what, I
think the Habs of really are probably in there rebuild
well whatever you want to call it, or probably on
track pretty well.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Oh they're they're you know, I was hoping they would
have got more out of that series. I mean, they're
a young, fan asked, very skilled team, but it is
obviously fantastic experience for them. I think Dobish played well,
so they've got two pretty solid goaltenders net uh and
just you know, a lot of things look forward to.
I don't, I don't. I can't think of any Habs
fans are disappointed with, you know, the way their season went.
I think they're all pretty happy. I would I could
(09:17):
argue that much like Calgary, they're probably a little bit
ahead who people thought they'd be. But it just sucks,
you know, I wanted to see more home games in Montreal,
like from that crowd, because there's there's just nothing like it. Man,
They're so it can be a Saturday afternoon game, which
I've attended there, right, and it's just they're always up
for hockey. It's it's good for hockey. Montreal does well.
So this is a big step in the right direction
(09:38):
for them.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I agree. Toronto Ottawa three games so two Tonight's six.
Oh man, I know you're into this series. I know
you're into this one.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah, this one's been fun. This one's been really, really
really fun. Now this could age terribly, you know, if
we if we were to release and the least pull
it off in Outawa. But I love watching Lee's fans
sweat because they get so arrogant, so cocky, you know,
and for what I don't know. They haven't a cup
in forever, and they do have a good team, to
(10:11):
get me wrong, but they are. The Senators are giving
them all like a handle and then some right now.
And I hope it goes seven games. I really really
hope it goes seven games. I would love that.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
I am with you completely in the last way.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
You love Ottawa.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
You say it all the time. I I somebody asked
me the other day if you would if I would
change trade the Flames complete roster for the Ottawa Senators
complete roster, and I jumped up and down and was like, yes, yes,
can we do it? Because I I love the direction
of Ottawa. I do. I I really do. I do too.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
I'm the big fan.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Uh out West three two three two three two and
three two? Can you get any better? Vegas Minnesota? I
watched quite a bit of this series. It just seems
really really really back and forth, and it's been fun.
It's been physical, but it's been good hockey.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, I feel that Minnesota is kind of underrated go
into that series, and perhaps because they stumbled a bit
down the stretch, they didn't look like a particularly strong team.
But I mean they've played very well against Vegas and
mashed up very well against and I'm starting to believe
that series is going to be seventh in a coin toss, right,
what are you? What are your feelings on that one
so far?
Speaker 1 (11:26):
That one's going to be seven? I think I really
do think that one will be seven. Dallas, Colorado, I
don't think that one's gonna go seven. I think Dallas
closes that one out, and I'm just I've had a
struggle watching this one. Why these are two good teams,
too fun teams to watch? Why am I struggling? I
am I just I find myself venturing away. And I
think a lot of that is because it's been a
(11:48):
lot of times in the same nights as the Edmonton
LA and that, to me is just bonkers of a series.
Just I laugh every time I watch That's this series
because it's been such a roller coaster. Being a Flames guy,
you know, we none of us wanted Edmonton to do well.
And the way the series started, I thought, oh, this
is great, this is perfect. Big David looked like you
(12:10):
wanted to get on a ship right out of Edmonton,
and I'm just like, oh, we get any better. And
then it's been a stumble for LA and they just
keep allowing Edmonton to hang on in games and come
back and it's painful as hell to watch. Painful. Yep.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah, well there's two things there. I guess you touched
on Dallas Colorado. I also have had a bit of
a hard time with that for the same reason you
just mentioned. But I don't find it's had the storylines
and the intrigue other than Landscot coming back is a
big story, But I just I don't find it as
compelling of a series for whatever reason. Not noble teams
are fantastic and either one who comes out of that
is certainly a Cup contender, but yeah, it doesn't. It
(12:51):
just doesn't really seem to do anything for me. Now,
Edmonton LA always has some investment there. I've said all
along that I thought LA was a deeper team and
a better overall team perhaps, but I can give credit
where it's due and monked and Native Calvin Pickard has
really saved the Oilers a net since taken over. I
didn't expect that, honestly, I really, but you know, that's
(13:13):
what happens the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Man.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
You never know who's going to emerge as a potential
hero when Pickarck's doing his part. So that's another series
that I'm not really sure what to make it at
this point. But it's looking good Forripingtons as we record
here today.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Winnipeg, they were up to zero, they lose to to
Saint Louis and last night figure out a way to
win a big game. Last night, Shifley's out he's out
for Game six too. This has been a fun series
to watch, and I feel like a lot of people
I know well, and I live close to Winnipeg, but
(13:46):
a lot of people are really are really cheering and
watching for Winnipeg here.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yeah, and this this series has the storylines that you know,
I just alluded to. I mean, especially now between the
head coaches getting into it over the injury to Shifley.
All Right, man, I've said it a million times. I
love the Jets, I love the city Winnipeg. I think
this team is, you know, the wind of opportunities. Now,
I just I don't know. Saint Louis is give us
(14:13):
a you know, get him fits and the big test
is gonna be that game in Saint Louis, obvious because
Hella Buck's been terrible on the road and he's gotta
he's gonna pull together. Man of the series is over,
especially Sliphey out. The good news for the Jets obviously
the game vlarities back and that's a huge, huge, huge
plus for them. But now they're missing Schifley, They're already
missing Elers. You know, those are two top six fours
and any team in the NHL, and I I don't know.
(14:35):
I gotta I got a bad feeling about that one.
If I'm being honest with you and with myself.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
I know it is scary. I hope they can battle
through in game six and and maybe get Schifley back
and in game seven, but we'll see. I felt a
little bit more comfortable with hella Buck in game five.
I feel bad for him, and I guess his his
statistics lea the criticism after the first or after game
(15:03):
three and four, But yeah, I don't know that. I mean,
he is a top end goal in this league, and
I can't see that this is going to be a
problem that continues in the playoffs. I guess maybe maybe
I'm wrong, but I sure hope not. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Same here, and I think it's, uh, it's this is
the series that it's going to define it because I mean,
he had a really rough event against Collar out of
the playoffs last year. And you know, even if things
go poorly for them around two, if they get that fire,
just being able to squeeze out this series missing you know,
two top six forwards like they are, go a long
ways towards seventing Hellabuck is something more than just a
regular season performer.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Right, absolutely, all right, let's talk flames. It's been what
did we say, a little over ten days now since
we accepted the fact that we are not into the
Stanley Cup playoffs.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Well, hang on, we haven't accepted the fact we're just
stuck with the reality.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Were with it. Yes, we have no choice but to
live with it. So it's given us time to like
take a step back. I don't want to say calm down,
because like there's really I wasn't all that fired up
last episode. You were a little more than me, Kannie
is what it is. But like now I feel like
(16:18):
we can talk about the players and their season and
I don't know, kind of put a ball on it,
you know, and and next episode will we'll look forward
into what comes. But I want to kind of just
roll through some of the players. I don't know if
we'll hit on everybody, but we can. We can, I guess,
because some of them, there's not going to be a
(16:38):
whole lot to say, well, just you can name a guy,
I'll name a guy, and we'll we'll rattle through them
and kind of give our synopsis on on what we
thought of them this season. And I don't know, let's
heart at the top and a positive and that's uh.
Jonathan Hubert, Oh, I felt like he was I don't
know what. I guess he's back, right, twenty eight goals
this year versus twelve the year before. Six two points.
(17:01):
You know, it's not what we signed up for, but
it's a hell of a lot better than what we had, right.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Yeah, if I was gonna put a lot of grade
on him, i'd i'd go like B plus a minus area.
He's very, very good at a key moments too. I
mean the sixty two points is admirable for a lot
of you know, for most players, it's a significant amount
of points, but uh, not superstar level. But I feel
that he really came up in big moments. So a
couple of games down the stretch where I felt he
really should have stepped up more and didn't. But overall, yeah,
(17:32):
he was the comeback story with waiting three years for
right for two years, I suppose, Yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Think he he was not let's focus this He was
not the focus of criticism this year, right, And that's
a positive, not at all, far from it. In fact,
Nasen Kadrey.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
I got a lot of flak not that long ago
on X for talking about Cadre and not giving him
like a perfect grade because he he he came up
him and Dustin Wolf for the two like standouts on
the nights they needed to be right. Yeah, but I'm
saying yeah. My only a grievance with Kadrey was some
you know, gregious giveaways and those typs. I think they're
(18:11):
really bad moments. But overall, I thought it seems fantastic
and he and he was worth the money we paid him,
which I don't think a lot of people necessarily expected
that this fired too.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
His contract thirty five goals, sixty seven points. I thought
he was great. He had some moments where I was
very frustrated with him. I took some heat also on
X because I was a proponent of moving him at
the deadline, because I felt like with him having the
season that he was having, that we could get ourselves
out but from underneath that aging contract, because I'm going
(18:43):
to make a prediction here that twelve months from now
we're going to be sitting here trying to figure out
how to get rid of that contract, and maybe I'll
be wrong, and I hope I'm wrong, but I still
think that an opportunity was maybe missed a deadline. Although
that if you asked me right now who is the
(19:04):
most dynamic player, I would probably say Nasam Kadri and
he had to hit a real good year.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Yeah, then has a career high thirty five goals too,
we should point out, and still I highlight real machine
when it comes to some of those goals. So that
great season, and I don't I think it's as the
contract ages, it gets a little bit easier and move
them because there's less years left the course. But the
production eventually is going to start to decline. Hopefully not
as soon as next season, but it's certainly the case
(19:29):
that could happen given his age. Let me throw a
couple at you. We'll stick with the forwards, just to
keep it consistent for now. Sharon Govic, let's go to
the other end of the well.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
I mean, I think he's probably if I said, you know,
what were your three disappointments this year, he'd probably be
in the three. Just seventeen goals, fifteen assists. I think
we probably pegged him as a thirty goal scorer for
this team, and I would have been ecstatic with that.
(20:04):
He was not the Sharon Golvich that we expected up
until probably sadly and scarily the last six games.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Yeah, yeah, he really fell off a cliff, and hopefully
with those last few games where he's kind of started
to find his game, but that's what we get next year.
I think he's going to rebound. But now the question
is is he really is he that thirty goal guy
or is he more like that fifteen to twenty goal
guy that Jersey generally had and the one that we
had this past season. So I'm really curious to see
how that all plays out.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
We'll know next year at this time, because this season
is going to be a I don't want to say
a do or die for his career, but quite possibly
a do or die for his career.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah, we'll see. I mean, he'll always obviously got a
long term contract. But what he's going to be is
the question, right especially with the other guys emerging, one
of whom let's switch to a positive here in terms
of emergence, Matthew Coronado.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
He did it all this year, twenty four goals in
seventy seven games, forty seven points, saying this guy's this
guy's going to be an elite scorer in this league.
Will it, man, I was a slight I don't want.
I can't say a heavy critic of him at the
(21:21):
end of last season, but I did. I did at
my concerns about his skating, and I don't think there
was an improvement on the team more visible than that.
This year. His skating was much improved versus last year.
And the kid can shoot the hockey puck. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
My personal highlight from the games I attended this year
was him scoring that overtime winner in Montreal, like just
a beautiful, beautiful shot, and man, he had a pile
of me. He is by far the pure sniper on
the team, which previously I would have thought would be
maybe Sharon Govich. But that's Cornado's title in his alone.
So he's going to score thirty to forty next year,
bearing injury guaranteed, guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
I'm with you, man, I'm excited. I'm excited for the
future for this guy.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Michael Blackland, that's a tough one, possibly the toughest one
to accurately try and grade. Very up and down kind
of year. Overall decent, but I would have expected more.
But then after find buy how many injuries he was
dealing with and the nagging type of injuries he was
playing through. You know, he was the Michael Backland we've
(22:27):
come to no one love, just you know, take it
down a few notches buy what he was dealing with.
So I'm very curious to see how he does next year,
especially at his age, as contract status, all those those factors.
But we'll see what we're what we're feelings on Backs.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
I think he brought to the team what we needed
him to bring to the team as far as leadership
goes and things like that. In all his totals numbers
were off, his impact was off. But yeah, he summed
it up perfectly. But he was dealing with a lot
of stuff. And I'm not making excuse for him, but
(23:02):
I guess pencil him is are In is our third
line center next year, and I have zero worries about that,
if I guess that's a positive.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Yeah, I'd like to see him transition to the fourth
line role over time, because I think he'd excel at that.
But I also don't to take too much away from
him because he is, when healthy as of now, at
least still an ideal third line center. I'd like to
see him, to be honest, he's not dynamic enough to
continue with the power play experiment, even on the second unit.
I'm kind of over that. I'll give you. Yeah, given
(23:33):
the lack of options in the past, I understand it.
But I mean, as a penalty killer, key face off guy,
you know, there's still lost likable backs game. I just
think they really the offense I think is gone. If
we get thirty to forty points at him next year.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
I'm happy.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
How about Blake Coleman, Well, I said all along, and
I think anybody with a brain between the earths has
said the same thing. He was never going to score
thirty goals again, it just wasn't in the cards. Ram
but he was again exceptional at both ends of the ice.
Like he is such a valuable player to this team.
He's another one we talked about as a a very
(24:11):
attractive trade candidate, and obviously that didn't happen. But I
that contract, by the time it's done or by the
time he's traded, one of the best ones of Flames
I've ever signed.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
In my opinion, agree, I don't want to even trade him.
I just think this is a guy that's perfect. No,
he's perfect for the a retool right, Like he is
such a he's such a calming factor, I think, and
I think he's much more of a leader than we
probably see on the outside. I mean, I knew he
wasn't going to score thirty again, and I never at
(24:41):
this point this season was there any games you're just like, oh, man,
we need something from Coleman here. I mean, I know
he had a little quiet stretch there in the latter
part of the season, but I don't know, I rarely
found myself disappointed in his play.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
I don't know that I ever was really disappointed. I mean,
I certainly wish he had maybe potted of more goals.
But and for his stake.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
He's the most unlucky player in the league. I'll tell
you that, Oh most certainly.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
And I feel badly because he was perhaps the loudest
advocate to get you know, Goudrou to stay and you know,
back in twenty twenty two. Because and I think part
of that is the fact that he could have been
a part of a competitive team for years and Coleman
didn't sign here to not make the playoffs, right, He
(25:27):
came here to help put the team over the top.
And if he doesn't do it here, he's gonna do
it somewhere else because he's just that effective. And you know,
if you had a if you had your third and
fourth line all players like Blake Coleman, you'd be a
very very dangerous playoff team. So he's great.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Okay, you hit me with a couple more forwards.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
I want to because this one's curious to me because
I really liked this game myself in the last little
bit of the season. Adam Klapka, what are your thoughts
on him?
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Man? I think I said it on the show too
two times this year that I thought I just said
Adam Klapka is not an NHL player, and I think
I might be wrong. Yeah, I think that having him
up on the first line is straight bonkers. And I
think that having him anywhere other than the right wing
on the fourth line is straight bonkers. But I think
(26:21):
this guy has carved out a spot and if I
was putting our lines together right now for next year,
he is my right wing on the fourth line and
he will be awesome.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Yeah, I agree, And I like him as an f
frond presence too. In the power play, Like on the
second you guys really think there's a spot for him
there and he has decent hands for a man that big,
like surprisingly good hands. So it's hard because he didn't
play a full season with the big club, but you
could tell the last ten to twelve games usually starting
to figure it out. So he could be a really
(26:51):
important piece going forward. So moving on from him, if
I was gonna hit you with somebody else from the
forward group, there's a few different ones to choose from here.
What did you think about Ryan Lomberg?
Speaker 1 (27:07):
I knew you were gonna say that. You know, this
is a tough one apparently, because like he's our fourth
line left winger, and I'm fine having him be our
fourth line left winger next year. But I don't think
he should play eighty two games, and I surely don't
(27:28):
think we should have given him two million dollars. He
brings zero to the table offensively complete zero. He was
much more of a presence physically early in the season
than he was later in the season. I'm not sure why, Yeah,
but as a whole I I I beg anybody to
(27:52):
give me a reason that I can't find a guy
that'll do the same job for a million dollars that
doesn't have fancy hair.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Well, I don't know that. Well, I don't know that
there's players that can bring more enthusiasm to a game
than Ryan Longberg.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
And that's no. I agree with you there. I know
I agree with you there.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
And but some of some of that cheerleading can be
done in the dressing room and not necessarily on the
ice right or on the bench. So I understand because
I had said at one point too, I don't see
a need for this guy to play eighty two games. Now.
I would be happy with him, you know, for in
the playoffs playing every game, because I think he would
ramp his game up big time.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Yep, I agree, But proving that right, he's proven that.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Yeah, there could have been some more additions in his
place that would have better served the team's direction, I think.
But I was happy they brought him in. I think,
you know, he just won a Cup with Florida. I
think he's a very valuable piece in terms of his
experience and his enthusiasm, his character. But again, on the ice,
I don't see why this guy should be playing as
often as he is. Yeah, let's move on. You want
(28:53):
to move on a d quickly.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
I just want to touch on just two other guys,
real quick. Yeah, we can do him together Frost and
Ferraby now the team will win a mid season trade.
I think both of them drastically underachieved are while in Calgary.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Unquestionably, it blew.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
My mind to hear Farraby in his in his locker
clean out interviews say that he was embarrassed of it.
I predict that Farby is gonna have a really good
year next year, but I still have my questions on Frost.
I think Frost is going to be a decent player
for us, I just don't ever think he's going to
elevate to that. You know, if we can get him
(29:32):
to be a thirty goal scorer, that's great. I just
I guess I just have a little bit more questions there.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Right well, and that's one of the reasons I kind
of gloss over them a bit. And you know, moving
on to defenseman nearly, it's like it's hard to get
a gauge in a player acquired mid season, and those
guys are required pretty much right at midseason, and neither
one was Farib really disappeared. As I mentioned before, just
that one highlight reel goal against Dallas, Frost had as
(30:01):
many chances and created I should say, as many chances
as anybody in the team, but just didn't have the finish.
I do think Frost is going to score sixty next year,
and a Fairbee can be a twenty twenty guy. I
think that would be fantastic.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
Yep with you.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Yeah, those those are my hopes for those two players.
But now they could both be like in the middling
forty points, both of them could be thirty something like.
I don't it's so hard to get read on them,
but I think it's a big adjustment to go from
obviously Philadelphia to Calgary middle of the season. News system
blah blah blah, you know, all that stuff that gets
talked about. But those are two guys that were acquired
(30:35):
for very specific reasons. They very much fit the blueprint
and what this Flames team's trying to do. They gave up,
you know, because Medical bounces around. It is what it is.
But you know, a very likable two way forward and
Jacob Pelcha. So they obviously because they you know, they
believed in these two guys, and I still do too.
I just it's really hard for me to grade them
based on the circumstances. But I can't wait to talk
(30:58):
about the next season.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Oh me too, I think I I'm really interested. They're
probably they're probably in my top three guys. I want
to really see how next season pans out. One last forward,
I just got to get your take on this because
it's it is actually interesting Martin Postphissel and then we'll
move in on a defense.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
I'll be honest, I kind of forgot about him, and
that's why I could tell, like, this is a guy
we had a lot of hopes for this year, and
uh yeah, I don't know how you how you play
that often and only score four goals and that was
a lot that was bad luck too, But.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
It just felt like something was going on with him
this this season. He he had a really good first
full season in Calgary and this one just left a
lot to be desired. But I think he's another one
that's going to be kind of a dark horse going
to next season because I think he has a lot
to prove.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
His shot percentage. I've never seen one this low. How
much the what was it three point five?
Speaker 2 (31:53):
It's pretty damn low.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Yeah, I guess Jake Beans is two point eighth, So okay,
upset Well, different stories let's go on to defense. Fire away.
You picked the guy, and I'll tell you my two cents.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
Well, let's start with the most positive one of all.
I think, well, actually that's a debate. So that's how
I'm gonna pitch this to you. Who I gotta that's
too easy? What what part of the defense made you
the happiest? If you had to bowl down individual player?
And I'm gonna give you two options, because I think
(32:28):
there's really only two. Is Mackenzie Wieger Kevin Ball?
Speaker 1 (32:31):
Kevin Ball? I expected that from Wiger. Weiger did exactly
what I anticipated. Wiger was awesome. Eight goals, forty one
points or forty seven points plus eighteen, Like, Wiger was
exactly what I wanted, what we what I expected?
Speaker 2 (32:47):
That's wild so and I actually we should throw a
third name in there too. So we kind of knew
what we had from last season in Braden Pahal.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
You know, he he get me.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
He missed a few games down the stretch. The No'll
take it to the lineup, but it was it fair
to say Ball was the biggest surprise of them all terms.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Of how was the biggest surprise. And I'm super excited
for him. And I hope we can, you know, ink
a deal with him and move forward with him, because
I like what he brings to the table. And we
talked about this a couple episodes ago. You know, we
talked about plus minuses and we mentioned McKinsey league at
plus eighteen. You know, Bradon Bahall was plus five.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
That's impressive.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Kevin Ball minus six. Playing with Rasmus Anderson, it was
minus thirty eight.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
That's so crazy.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
How does it even happen?
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Right, I honestly, and I don't know. I don't I
don't know. I really I don't get it.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
I don't get it. Like Kevin Ball was, uh, I
don't want to say. I let's put it this way.
When we traded Jacob Marksman when we got Kevin Ball,
I had to pull up YouTube to watch some highlights
because I was like, oh boy, I don't I don't
have a take on this guy. And so I had
zero expectations, right and at the beginning of the year,
(34:05):
I'm not gonna lie, and I think I said it
on the show a few times. He frustrated the hell
out of me. But as we move forward, and as
we move forward, I felt like his stick work was better,
He made smarter decisions and it just like the game
came to him and I loved what he brought to
the team. I love it, Yep.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
I agree. Couldn't agree more in fact, and that's kind
of the that's the interesting part. So wigger Ball and pahall,
So it's like half of our d feels like it's
figured out, right, yep. We could now without taking up
too much time on some of these, because we covered
Anderson extensively on our last show, we will we'll be
talking about him. It will be talking about him all
(34:43):
all summer as well as you know, we covered a
quite a bit on Jake Bean. I think we've both
kind of agreed that Merimanov's time with the team is
likely done.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
So who do you see I guess the easy answer
to be correct. But other than prect do you see
anither D either currently on the roster emerging to be
more viable option further up the lineup, or anybody else
maybe with the wrangler? So you think it's going to
make the jump?
Speaker 1 (35:12):
That's a tough question because I really don't know how.
I mean, so much is going to be determined by
the decisions we make with Anderson and on the coming
shows when we talk about laying out our thoughts for
the future, a lot of discussion is going to come
with Anderson. And it's really, really, really tough to speculate now,
(35:34):
not knowing if he's going to have a slot on
the roster next year or not have a slot. And
I do believe Perek will be on the lineup. I
believe will probably talk with Hanley and bout staying. I
think he's a and the thing I like about Handley
is he's my Michael Stolen man. I can have that
(35:55):
guy in the press box eating popcorn for seven games
and he comes back and it doesn't even look like
you missed to beat. This guy was an unsung hero
for the team this year. I think he's a good
guy to have around. He's a safe guy to have around.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
He's not young, though, whether by NHL standards that's okay.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
He's perfect seventy man that can slide in in any
in any spot.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Really if if he's cast that way, which he certainly wasn't,
he was playing top four minutes virtually all yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
But we also agree that he was probably miscast this year.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
It was my concern is if they you know, that's
that's what they do in pro sports, right, what if
you know, what did you do for me last year? Well,
that's what we're gonna pay based on or you know,
this is where you're gonna slot into the lineup unless
you have a terrible training camp or a major injuries.
So I just the thing that worries me about Joel
Hanley is both in terms of contract and in terms
of usage, is you have to trust the team to
pay attention to the signs to cast him properly. And
(36:46):
I don't know if they're smart enough to do that
because one thing with Ryan Husk is he plays his
favorites even when they're getting their heads beat in. And
I hope, I hope I'm wrong here, but we'll see
how that plays out.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
I agree, let's quick touch on goalies, and then we
got to move on. I get a couple of questions.
I want to ask you about the team this year. Wolf.
I don't mean we don't have to talk along. We've
talked about it one hundred times. I mean, you couldn't
be happier, right.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
I'm just unbelievable. I can remember very specifically his handful
of poor outings on a on a team that was
getting shelld that many nights and as many great games
as he had. I mean, this guy's the real deal,
and lock him up as soon as you can for
whatever he wants.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
That's my take. Dan Vodar.
Speaker 2 (37:28):
Crappy start. I might have been a little hard on
in the beginning of the season, but he was dynamite
in the second half. We agreed more recently that we'd
both like to see him return because not only is
he the best option as a backup for this team,
but he's the best option as a backup that could
be a UFA on the on the free bad Tresian market.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
As far as I'm concerned, how would you? How would
your grade? Ryan Huska?
Speaker 2 (37:54):
That's a tricky one because the team, the team overachieved
and they really they had a great culture, which has
been covered at nauseum. I would give him a bee
because there's some major usage problems to get masked by
a team that over achieved due to excellent goaltending individual performances.
(38:15):
I felt he adapted a little bit better down the stretch,
But I mean he's got a he's got a little
ways to go. For me, to think he's going to
be you know, around a whole lot longer. Yeah, what
were your thoughts on him?
Speaker 1 (38:26):
Like same? I went into the season really open minded
with him. I had many nights of frustration because of
usage of players and to some decisions that he made
and personnel decisions. Yeah, I questioned some things. I feel
like he looked at he viewed some players differently than
other players, which I think is impossible as a human being.
(38:51):
But I think it also clouded some of the decisions
that he made too. So open book, I'm ready to
see what he does with a little bit more talent
and a little bit more time underneath his belt.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
Yeah, and I think so too. I'm very curious. And
I'm also curious because anytime you have a positive coach
like that, you got to wonder how long that message
is going to be received, right, Yeah, I guess it
goes the same for any coach really, But I mean
when when they're just when they're always and I've seen them,
you know, act a little fire eight times, but like
it just you don't want to become too too comfortable,
and that's kind of a concern sometimes too.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Yeah. I agree, Uh, I just want touch quick on Worlds.
Backland is going, which shocks me and his age and
his health that he's going, but it is in Sweden,
so him and Anderson will be playing for Sweden. Now.
Husk is going to go as a part of the
Canada's coaching staff. Ornardo is out because of an MRI
they had last week. They just want him to rest
(39:45):
up and be healthy for next year. Wolf is out
because some roster decisions. Team USA did not want to
bother him during their run. And then yeah, what's with that?
Well they here's the deal with that. I heard a
little bit more information that they wanted him but they
didn't want to talk to him. Well, they were in
(40:07):
the middle of the run because they thought when they
expected Calgary to probably get in. They asked Swaymen and
I was it Swaymen in all Mark, I can't remember
who it was.
Speaker 2 (40:17):
I think it was.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
A yeah, it can.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
Be it certain wouldn't I would have been not well, yeah,
swam it makes sense, but I'm not sure who.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
Was Swayman and another guy? Oh no, no, no, Decord
was Decord they asked. They asked those two guys thinking
that one of them would decline and Wolf would maybe
fall into that spot. They both said yes, so the
spot was taken. So I'm totally good with that. Totally
good with that. I hate guys going to Worlds.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Yeah, you talk about that. The world was funny. I
kind of crap.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
I mean tournament in the world. It is the most
irrelevant tournament.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
Okay, I'll take your Worlds and I'll raise you a
Spangler Cup.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
Oh jeez, Honsig's going for Slovakia. Did I see someone
who else? Klapka's going with check? Yah, that's it. That's
all all right. I got some questions I want to
ask you before we go here, quick answers. Just I
don't know, some just to put a rap on the year,
Like I said, If I said I need one word
(41:22):
to describe the twenty twenty five Flame season, confusing, is
this count as two words, I said, roller coaster?
Speaker 2 (41:34):
Just hyphen it.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
You're fine, all right, thanks for the past there. All right,
your favorite game of the season. Really putting on the
spot here, because that's that's not an easy thing to
just fire off. Oh, September twelfth preseason game when Hansig
scored two.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
December December fourteenth, I think it was Saturday night against
Florida because I was there. A great company. They Yeah,
they beat the Cup defending Cup champs in a very
convincing fashion. It was just it was cool to see.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
Yep, I think you're gonna agree with me on this
one too. January thirtieth, four to one win over Anaheim
Frost Fair Betrayed Night. It was so fun to watch.
Oh yeah, oh that was just a lot of.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
The funnest part was watching the Sportsnight guys kind of scramble, right, Yeah,
that was that was that was super enjoyable. It was fun,
all right, big from okay, but from a hockey perspective though,
what hockey perspective?
Speaker 1 (42:31):
Uh, you know what. The New Year's Eve game against
Vancouver I thought was awesome.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
Yeah, it was a good one.
Speaker 1 (42:40):
Biggest surprise of this season.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
Oh, I mean, honestly, I'm not that surprised by Usta Wolf.
I've always believed in him. Probably Kevin Ball he made
that that mark from trade, not like oh the other
did Okay, it was like ship this is a slam dunk,
like he really he was. Yeah, he was phenomenal. I
almost said to Coronado, but I always felt he was
gonna be you know, he figured it out.
Speaker 1 (43:05):
I'm going with emergence of Coronado.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
Yeah cool, Yeah for that.
Speaker 1 (43:10):
I had four on my list. Wolfe's dominance, Huberto bounce back,
the emergence of Coronado, and how serviceable Paul was. Those
are mine. Uh yeah. Biggest disappointment of the season the result.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
Again, if you're getting dummied, you gotta start dealing with
the pain back in like January, right, but in this case,
like just and I actually I mentioned this streit the
other day, but a buddy mind skitting up to me
to pick up hockey. He's like, man, He's like, I
didn't realize the Flames had that many more points than
like three teams and made the playoffs in the east
of me. He's like, that's brutal. I'm like, yeah, dude,
it sucks like it sucks.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
Two more quick ones. Defining moment of the season.
Speaker 2 (43:56):
The lost Anaheim. Uh, the lost to Anaheon. I'm late
in the season or those two games and see Louis
have a bitch about for six months.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
I put the two games in Saint Louis. That is
because the Anaheim game would have been irrelevant if we'd
have won one of those two.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
Such a horrible way of looking at.
Speaker 1 (44:17):
Right, brutal. Are the Flames a better team next season? God?
Speaker 2 (44:23):
I sure hope.
Speaker 1 (44:24):
So if I had to ask you though, honestly, though,
would you think do you think.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
Oh, yeah, yeah, I think we's going to be even
better than D's going to be better? Like, yeah, I think,
so what do you think?
Speaker 1 (44:35):
I think you're going to be about the same. But oh, well,
you know it's such a hard question.
Speaker 2 (44:41):
That's not that's too early for your pessimism.
Speaker 1 (44:44):
Oh, I'm not being I think there's there, there is, Okay,
there's an opportunity for this to go really well early bad.
I think a decision needs to be made on Anderson
this summer. I don't feel comfortable, no question, the season
with him or without him. I need to know, I
can need to know the plan right. This is so
critical to the plan for the future, and I think
(45:05):
that once we can get that ironed out, I'll feel
a little bit better and see how it slots in.
But uh, you know what, this year was a This
year was a pleasant surprise. So I don't know why
next year can't be a surprise too, right.
Speaker 2 (45:19):
Yeah, fair enough? I mean I often get where we're
ahead of the curve. I don't want to get too
excited like when we fourteen fifteen and then face plunted
in fifteen sixteen. Like, you gotta be careful for a
little bit regression on some of these players, especially some
of your key guys. Age, so cautiously optimistic. Now something
else I'm oppous to out because I got know this
is my hometown team. Of course, the Monk and Walcats
(45:40):
swept the semifinals. Now on to the Quebec League Finals
where they will hopefully play Shine again. So we'll have
Gridden versus Morina. So we'll see how that happens. Yeah,
that could be really fun, really really fun.
Speaker 1 (45:52):
I am probably more excited about him as a prospect
than anybody Griddin.
Speaker 2 (45:58):
Yes, Oh he's a great player, man, he's a great
play It actually is cool to see the Flames actually
uh posted today. But the Walcat's moving on, which is
which is great to see.
Speaker 1 (46:05):
I am. I'm really excited to see how that goes.
Speaker 2 (46:09):
Oh you know who's gonna be here, I guarantee it,
Michael Stone.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
I bet you he will be.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Yeah, I'm going to seek him out. Get that Stone
jersey signed.
Speaker 1 (46:20):
Give him a shirt. Oh well, yeah, of course, get
him on the show. Get him on the show. It'll
be cool.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
That'd be cool.
Speaker 1 (46:29):
What have we got coming up? If NF NFL, NHL
draft lottery may fifth the draft of twenty seventh, twenty eighth.
Kyle and are back next week with a special episode.
We're going to discuss some obscure Flames players that we
both love so much.
Speaker 2 (46:44):
So, oh man, you just triggered something in my brain
where all these names just sort of running.
Speaker 1 (46:48):
Kyle, I've been dying to do this episode. I've been
dying to do it. So we are going to have
a show every week this summer. We're going to have
some little short thirty minute episodes here and there to
fill the gaps. I'm talking about all kinds of cool,
fun flame stuff, I don't know week episode every week
and up until the twenty five twenty six season drops.
It's going to be fun as we go today band
(47:12):
a load of small township club with stops. Let listen
to them every single week. Kylo was always fun talking
Flames hockey with you, and a good discussion to be real,
good discussion about kind of putting a wrap on it
on this season. Time to start looking forward right it is.
It was a fun season. It was nerve wracking all
(47:32):
the way along. And I don't think we either one
of us spot but we would e be up until
we work.
Speaker 3 (47:38):
So yeah, it actually yeah right right down to the wire. Yeah,
we're intents were content than all point cents.
Speaker 1 (47:49):
Have a good week and we will be back next week.
Speaker 4 (47:57):
So you have the best bag, big process, don't break
twice before the rough du well, the co checks check.
That's everyone side assen.
Speaker 5 (48:19):
Thanks for listening to Flames Unfiltered with Brad Burud and
Kyle Lewis your source for unfiltered Calgary Flames Hockey Talk.
Keep it locked on Flames Unfiltered dot ca, a subscribe
where you get all your podcasts to never miss an episode.
Flames Hockey Talk every week presented by Inside Edge Hockey
Media Group
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