There are two teams in the league that most people would agree are the super elite. The Sharks and the Wings. After Calgary was creamed by San Jose in a one sided embarrasing loss they came back and looked to have the right idea but against a practice squad called the Avalanch.
So the talk was about taking what they learned after being spanked by San Jose and the two wins over Colorado and applying it to the Detroit game. The result? Well... they didn't blow us out and we stayed in it for a while.
News flash to Flames management, that is not good enough for the fans. There is too much money on players, too much money for beer, too much money for a ticket now that they do not get the luxury of saying, "we're okay and that's getting better."
Staying the course with what hey have at this point is a huge mistake, it is not working. Most fans agree the coaching staff as a whole needs replacement but is it too late now? I think they could fire Preston and the team would survive just fine. What we are seeing is Keenans lack of practicing and focus on power play schemes throughout his career coming back to haunt him. He has nothing to offer, Preston has nothing to offer and if they aren't bringing chips to the game then they can't play poker.
Dramtic changes need to happen unless the message to the fans is, "we know it's tough economically, we know the price is huge, we know the drinks are way to expensive... but we don't care. We just want to be alright."
Now imagine you are an Oiler fan :p
The future is bright in Edmonton eto, the future is now in Calgary and it's scary to see what they are doing.
So far this year the Flames have been very boring to watch and I think the fans are showing it at the home games.
Ya Loobjob, selling out every night at home means the fans are bored and love being such so very much that they'll shell out the dough to attend another game and be bored silly again. WTF?
Sell outs are irrelevant... Loobjob is right... the Flames have played some pretty uninspired hockey as of late (and I'm certainly not suggesting the Oil have been any better). The frustration among fans is evident... the ol' Dome just is not that imposing to play in this year... the Flamers and Oil would be well served to take a page out of the Canucks book... out work the competition. It seems that all of the pre-season prognostication has hurt the both the Flames and Oilers alike... most picked them to battle in out for top spot in the NW... guess the teams figured it would just happen on its own. Hopefully they figure it out before a team like the Canucks with less raw talent (but far more heart at the moment) takes the division... just not enough urgency or conviction.
I feel the woprk ethic is there with the flames, Mike Keenan's whole coaching system is work hard, they need a coach that can show them the finer points and be more of an "x's and o's" guy.