Ninja from Raking Leafs drew my attention to a recent Mark Spector article on the National Post.
Dubbed "Fading Flames", the article basically says what a lot of people, both inside and outside of Calgary, have been thinking for awhile: Sutter's formula of work hard/prevent goals just isn't going to cut it anymore.
On one side, it seems a valid claim given the Flames inability to score all of last season and their current struggles in early October. Of course, one could also argue that in the last 2 seasons Calgary has enjoyed a large measure of success: they made it to the cup finals and then won a tough NW division title. You could therefore forgive Sutter (and, by extension, Playfair) if he ignores the cries of media and pundits for him to open things up...
However, like Sportak, I am finding it difficult to quiet some of the nagging whispers that float in the back of mind every time the Flames play: this kiddy-bar-the-door system is old news. It made sense when the only option was to outwork the bad guys and hope for some Iginla heorics beyond the opposition blueline - but it's no longer true. Obstruction has gone the way of the dodo, meaning speed and offense are the new dominant species of tactics in the NHL. In addition, the Flames aren't a collection of pluggers and grinders anymore: They have a mobile defense corps, young and swift up-and-coming players and a pair of established NHL quality stars. Mudcrutch raised an interesting point in a post during the summer: the Flames have the best goaltender in the league and a top notch defense crew...why not let the forwards loose? If there's any team that can afford to take risks in the "new" NHL, it's the Calgary Flames. Why is it the Carolinas and the Buffalos that are willing gamble to a bit in the offensive zone? They have neither a Miikka Kiprusoff in net nor a Robyn Regehr on the blueline. I understand playing to your strength - The Flames hardly boast an equivalent set of offensive forwards - however, that's not to say the cupboard is completely bare: a two-time Rocket Richard winner, a career PPG player and a 2nd line of 20 goal scorers is hardly chopped liver.
Sportak mentions that the Flames players will be unlikely to verbally question or deride Sutter system - he's too well respected in the organization and too willful a presence for that to happen. However, the concern is whether the players will silently take to heart what the likes of Sportak and myself are starting to think: that the system is obsolete. Patented "Flames" hockey requires unfailing commitment and work ethic to succeed. Should the troops belief in Sutter hockey begin to flag, the result will be frustration and hopelessness: frustration at being so offensively impotent and hopelessness at being stuck on a team that promises to indefinately systemically castrate them and damn them to lose more often than is necessary.
At the game on Monday night the sense of anxiety wafting from the Flames players and fans was nearly palpable. Everyone, players included, seemed to merely HOPE (rather than expect) that Calgary would score anytime they crossed the blueline...and each time they didn't, you could almost see the doubt growing like an insidious fungus in every person present. Each missed empty net becomes more manure in the dark. Each deficit met with the left wing lock rather than an aggressive or creative attack plan may represent another step towards a team of resigned pseudo-pluggers all awaiting their opportunity to escape to greener, goal-filled pastures.
It remains to be seen, however, if this all proves to be true or not. Calgary won the divsion with a similar game plan last year and with less offensive weapons. Their current struggles may be symptomatic of any number of different issues - good teams like Ottawa and Detroit have also limped out of the gate so far this year...
I'm certainly not panicking, personally. I like the players we have and the organization. I cannot quiet the concerns a seasons plus worth of offensive futility has planted in me though. I can only wait and hope that either the players can make it happen within the framework of the existing systems or the coaches and brainstrust have it within them to adapt should mine and Sportak's fears prove accurate.
