BobbyWhioux Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 That the only off-season news about the team which I can recall/have heard is this instead of, say, roster adjustment with an eye towards becoming a playoff team again is, well, draw your own conclusions. Ah well, hope springs eternal (for no good reason). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChesterCopperpot Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Flames sign D Mark Giordano to a six-year, $40.5M contract extension Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumbojustice Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Flames sign D Mark Giordano to a six-year, $40.5M contract extension I'm pretty happy with that deal. I know a lot of Flames fans were worried that Giordano's contract would come in well over $7 million per year, which would make it more difficult to to sign Monahan, Gaudreau and Bennett to the big contracts they will (hopefully, assuming the keep improving) need over the next few years. $6.75 AAV for Giordano sounds fair -- it's probably a big of a bargain right now, though in the last couple years of the contract, it could be a bit rough, depending on how Giordano holds up physically. Having Giordano, Brodie, and Hamilton all locked up at reasonable prices puts the Flames in a good position to put together one of the strongest defensive line-ups in the league over the next several years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabremike Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Al Arbour has passed away. Greatest coach ever? Think you can make a strong case for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Al Arbour has passed away. Greatest coach ever? Think you can make a strong case for it.Great coach, no question, and a big loss for the hockey community. But Scotty Bowman was the greatest coach ever and is in the discussion for greatest coach in any sport, ever. Bowman's teams made the Cup Final 13 times and won it all 9 times. His teams also hold the records for points in a season and wins in a season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Al Arbour actually played in the NHL wearing glasses and no helmet if anyone needs a measurement of his courage level. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 So the Oilers always basically open training camp with an Oilers rookies vs. University of Alberta game, it's traditionally a neat thing (and the U of A win more often than they lose) played in a small arena. This year it's been bumped to the big arena, tickets went on sale this morning, and the lower bowl is already sold out. Upper bowl to soon follow. I think people are slightly excited about the blessed McDavid child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buy Me a Burrito Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Al Arbour has passed away. Greatest coach ever? Think you can make a strong case for it.Great coach, no question, and a big loss for the hockey community. But Scotty Bowman was the greatest coach ever and is in the discussion for greatest coach in any sport, ever. Bowman's teams made the Cup Final 13 times and won it all 9 times. His teams also hold the records for points in a season and wins in a season. Of course you'd say Bowman. Of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Who wouldn't? It's a non-discussion. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizium Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 About the only other coach I think you could make a case for is Toe Blake (8 cups in 13 years), but I always feel like any Original 6 success needs to be discounted by about half. Not only were there only 6 teams, but only three of them (the Canadiens, Leafs and Wings) were regularly competitive. The other 3 always seemed to put together brief periods of competency, followed by several years of terribleness. Bowman's number 1, especially when you consider he had success over 4 decades, with wildly different styles of play. Bowman, Blake and Arbour seems like a solid top 3. Guys like Punch Imlach, Dick Irvin, maybe Babcock for a modern pick, would probably be underneath them. I'm never sure how to rate Sather. 3 cups as a coach, but it was with what was basically an All-Star team...but it was an All-Star team that he put together..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Al Arbour has passed away. Greatest coach ever? Think you can make a strong case for it.Great coach, no question, and a big loss for the hockey community. But Scotty Bowman was the greatest coach ever and is in the discussion for greatest coach in any sport, ever. Bowman's teams made the Cup Final 13 times and won it all 9 times. His teams also hold the records for points in a season and wins in a season.Of course you'd say Bowman. Of course.Well... yeah. What's the case for Arbour over Bowman? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Playing devils advocate here, as i love Bowman: Arbour and Torrey built a team that became a dynasty. Bowman could suffer from same argument people use against phil jackson: won with best players. Bowman won cups with 70s habs, mario/jagr penguins and yzerman/federov wings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizium Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Bowman could suffer from same argument people use against phil jackson: won with best players. Generally, the guys we're talking about all had the best players. It would have been ridiculous if Arbour couldn't have won at least a couple cups with that Trottier/Potvin/Bossy core. Bowman won during the goon-y 70's, video game late 80s/early 90s and dead puck era. No one else can be number 1. One guy I didn't think about, where does Quenneville fall now that he has his 3rd cup? He had some really good years with some promising, but ultimate disappointing Blues teams (that really should be the franchise epitaph). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 The Oilers last made the playoffs in '06 and made it to the finals. From '06 until now they have more series wins than the Blues. This is my favourite statistic in the history of statistics because this is (rightly) considered a period of untold hellfire and suffering by the worst franchise in the universe and somehow there we are, ahead of a team that is in the mix every year. No one can overcome being a Blue. It's a genetic thing like being a Chicago Cub. You are doomed. You could put the all star team out there and they'd somehow get eliminated in game 7 of the western final on an own goal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serious Darius Bagfelt Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Playing devils advocate here, as i love Bowman: Arbour and Torrey built a team that became a dynasty. Bowman could suffer from same argument people use against phil jackson: won with best players. Bowman won cups with 70s habs, mario/jagr penguins and yzerman/federov wings. Yeah but the Penguins had just lost Bob Johnson and Bowman refocused them when they were emotionally reeling a bit. And in Detroit Federov and Yzerman were together for awhile without winning squat before Bowman. Scotty gets credit for pushing Yzerman to being a more complete player. Coaching 9 Hall of Famers on one team in Montreal is enviable though but Scotty was smart in how he used the talent there keeping guys like Pierre Larouche pinned to the bench and Montreal faltered after him despite those guys still having tread left on their tires. Bowman is number one everyone battles for second place. Buffalo is really Scottys only failure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizium Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 ...and yet he was their all-time winningest coach until Lindy Ruff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabremike Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 ...and yet he was their all-time winningest coach until Lindy Ruff. Which is pretty much damning with faint praise (after Scotty we really didn't have a sustained period of success with one coach until Ruff). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serious Darius Bagfelt Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 ...and yet he was their all-time winningest coach until Lindy Ruff. Failure is relative. Most coaches would give their left nut for his failure. I was just quoting Scotty on that one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabremike Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Another note on Arbour that people forget is that he came out of retirement in the early 90's and if it wasn't for what is probably the dirtiest play in league history he could've easily won a 5th cup. The win over the Pens was actually the last series the Isles have won which is Bengals level postseason futility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serious Darius Bagfelt Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Another note on Arbour that people forget is that he came out of retirement in the early 90's and if it wasn't for what is probably the dirtiest play in league history he could've easily won a 5th cup. The win over the Pens was actually the last series the Isles have won which is Bengals level postseason futility. Easily is too strong of a word. Had a chance is better. Like the Leaf fans around here that still insist that if it wasnt for the missed Gretzky high stick the Leafs would have easily won the Cup that year but they forget the one big fact that Patrick Roy was on a freaky other level that postseason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Bill Torrey on MvsW today talking Al Arbour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabremike Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Sabres have apparently been one of the teams who inquired about getting Patrick Kane. This is just about the worst idea ever because there seems like a good chance he is headed to prison, and even if he gets off you know if he comes home he will get into serious trouble eventually. He is not worth it no matter how good a player he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabe Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Another note on Arbour that people forget is that he came out of retirement in the early 90's and if it wasn't for what is probably the dirtiest play in league history he could've easily won a 5th cup. The win over the Pens was actually the last series the Isles have won which is Bengals level postseason futility.Man, that play still burns my britches. Turgeon was on another level that year - he'd elevated every aspect of his game and was a total superstar. And then he makes the mistake of scoring one goal too many and Dale Hunter gets his panties in a twist...Another nominee for dirtiest play in league history - at least recent history - would be Adam Graves breaking Mario's wrist in 1992. Didn't have near the effect that Hunter's hit did - since Pittsburgh won the Cup anyway - but it was absolutely intentional and a clear attempt to put out a star player in a premeditated fashion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 (edited) Isn't Suter on Kariya the dirtiest play of the last 25 or so years? That was life altering stuff. And as a kid, I really liked Suter because for whatever reason I enjoyed the Blackhawks as a second or third or fifth whatever favourite team behind the Canucks. But Kariya was the real deal, then that happened. This has me thinking about the the dirtiest plays in the modern NHL and it's not pretty. Claude Lemieux on Draper, stomps, Bure's flying elbow on Churla, Marchment/Samuelsson going after guys' knees, Bertuzzi's assault, Chris Simon's entire career, McSorley, etc. ANOTHER THING, I totally forgot Kariya came back and destroying the league the year after the Suter hit, putting up 101 points in the deadpuck era. Scored 86 the year after that. Seems like the start of his downfall came well after that cheapshot. Edited September 2, 2015 by Oyaji 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Dave Brown on Tomas Sandstrom. Note: Gene Hart and Bobby Taylor accusing Sandstrom of working the injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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