Great write up, Colin! I fully agree on your assessment. Any chance we could trade either bollig or Engelland and get even a couple late picks or something?

agree 100% and I'd even consider tossing Glennx into the mix.
He's been terrible all year.

I would leave Poirier on the farm for the year. Let him light it up. let him be a force. start of camp next year, bring it kid, you're on!

I think that is a bigger issue for us than the play of the three mentioned.
Very few teams are so thin upfront, especially with centers.
- mfh867

I think these injuries are proving we actually have depth upfront ...especially with centers ....we lost 3 of our starting 4 centers for the season ...leaving just a second year player to be our top center ....if that happens to most teams they might be still looking for their first win after the injuries

Great write up, Colin! I fully agree on your assessment. Any chance we could trade either bollig or Engelland and get even a couple late picks or something?
- Emcee27

I doubt we could get anything for them, but we did get a second for Berra
And the Hawks did get a 3rd for bollig
So anything is possible

pretty much my thoughts on baert, being preaching that for awhile but people are very attached to him.

Its not that he couldn't develop well, its that right now he's a moveable piece from a saturated position
- numbear

Be patient with Baertschi. Look at Zach Boychuk. For a long time it started to look like he was a lost cause. Something clicked for him this year and, well, you guys saw last night.

Be patient with Baertschi. Look at Zach Boychuk. For a long time it started to look like he was a lost cause. Something clicked for him this year and, well, you guys saw last night.
- BINGO!

I don't disagree completely and I certainly held onto that for a while. Only difference with Boychuk who I have always loved is the fierce determination you have always seen in his game. The compete level is just not comparable to Sven. He left them no choice but to keep him this year and Sven is leaving us no choice but to think twice....

I really want you to be right however cause I really think Sven wants it and if we can get him there it could be worth it...he needs to prove it on the ice .. tough one.

Be patient with Baertschi. Look at Zach Boychuk. For a long time it started to look like he was a lost cause. Something clicked for him this year and, well, you guys saw last night.
- BINGO!

So we just need Sven to learn how to fire pucks off goalies masks into the net ??

Bollig was just AWFUL last night and when he and Engelland were on the ice together I cringed. The Flames 3rd D pairing isn't very good, I agree with Colin though that Engelland is making Smid look worse. When Bollig fell over the red line last night I just knew it was gonna lead to a goal, I looked at my girlfriend and said "Look at the big guy lumbering down the ice. (cue the fall) Oh sh*t, here comes a goal."

Great blog Colin. I don't comment much but this post echoes my feelings precisely. All three would not disrupt the chemistry we see on this team right now and the replacements would very likely enhance the play of the team.

Poirier is one of my top prospects coming up. I have a strong feeling he will be a key piece and will bring an element of bite and skill that our team needs.

What are your thoughts on Baertschi right now? I have been a big supporter but I feel forced to admit that his play in the d zone is pretty bad and his compete level doesn't even come close when contrasted with guys like Jooris, Ferland, Byron....well almost everyone else. I think perhaps he should go in order to bolster the RW....
- chinaski08

How can you say that? Nobody outside of the room has any idea what the chemistry is like. All I know is that chemistry is a funny thing.

At the end of the day its a process. Guys will get hurt and the young guys will get their shot! We aren't even 20 games into the season and look at how many players we have had play for this team. Just gotta stay patient, trust the process, and let the young guys slowly take over.

I don't disagree completely and I certainly held onto that for a while. Only difference with Boychuk who I have always loved is the fierce determination you have always seen in his game. The compete level is just not comparable to Sven. He left them no choice but to keep him this year and Sven is leaving us no choice but to think twice....

I really want you to be right however cause I really think Sven wants it and if we can get him there it could be worth it...he needs to prove it on the ice .. tough one.
- chinaski08

I'll disagree with you again. I think Sven has been competing hard. But he just needs to make better decisions on the ice. I can't believe people think he's mailing it in out there.

pretty much my thoughts on baert, being preaching that for awhile but people are very attached to him.

Its not that he couldn't develop well, its that right now he's a moveable piece from a saturated position
- numbear

I think people are so attached to him because when he was drafted our prospects were so bad. Matt Keith lead the heat in scoring followed by Nemo at the time. Baertschi was our lord and saviour, especially after his 5 game stint. He was considered our best prospect for 2 years but is now getting surpassed by a 2nd and 4th round pick from the same draft.

While I agree with a lot of the assessment of the three players, I'm not ready to plan the play-off parade yet.

I think that they have played amazing. I love the continued progression and the never give up attitude, but there is a couple items of perspective that must be included.

Thus far they have not played any of the following teams this season. Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim, Detroit, Minnesota, Dallas, Boston, and Pittsburgh. That is a lot of games against what can be considered the top tier teams in the league, or at least teams that many would think should be pushing that classification. They have also only played Chicago, St. Louis, and Vancouver once each.

I'm not saying that they won't work their asses off, or that they won't compete. But there have been some ugly wins lately (which are great), but it will take more than an ugly win against a lot of those teams.

Of course I will hope and cheer for them against those teams. But until I see how they fair on, for example, a California road trip, I will wait to give a real judgment.

O the Emile Porier front, I expect and forsee huge things our of him. I believe that he has worked and converted himself into that scoring power right winger that is still missing from this line up. But give him some time. He is only just back from a long injury. Give him time to truly get his on ice conditioning and timing back. See where the team sits in a month or so, and how he is still doing then. Then make a call on him.

Send Engellend to Edmonton?
- mfh867

Sure if you eat half his salary plus throw in your first round pick in 2015.

Sure if you eat half his salary plus throw in your first round pick in 2015.
- hunter3333

You run a tough bargain……but toss in some perogies and it just might be worth it.

I seriously still don't get the Engelland hate. I'll watch him more closely next game but I think he's been fine so far.

Ouucchh! Tough but I like & agree with most. The one player I don't totally agree with yet is Bollig. I have liked some of his game & don't think he has played as bad as you portray. In fact some of the games I saw a fourth line of Bollig, Jooris & Bouma, that was a fantastic 4th line & they created scoring chances.As much as we are out of the gate quick, we need to put some perspective on this start. This team appears to have some pieces that are switching gears to the next level but still too many pieces are place holders in year 2 of a major rebuild. You are scaring the piss out of me of what kind of moves we would make to reward the excellent starts of Hiller/Brodie/Gio/ & to a lessor extent, Monahan & Gaudreau.

Seems to me Stajan & Raymond are out for extended periods but Frelund & Colborne will probably be back sooner than later. If Bourque can clear waivers, I am sure Seto can. Send Seto down, he has zero value, make him earn the $750 large in Addy.

Coming into this year, we knew we had a pretty thin blue line & we knew Seiloff & Tspoon needed big minutes in Addy. That hasn't changed. No one is taking Engellend. So what does BT do, it's too soon to sell, does he pay a price for a real good 3-4 dman. At what price? Be careful for what you wish for.

Our blue line has been relatively healthy & one injury to our top pairing D & we are tank nation. I remember 1 year where we went out of the gate something silly like 12-1-2 & we wound up with Gilbert coaching & we went on to pick in the top 10 that year. It's too soon to decide to go for it & shift gears. I do know how you feel & the excitement of seeing our guys play a brand of hockey that's going to win games.
- Kevin R

I agree with Colin that Engelland and Smid aren't the solution on that 3rd pairing, but I don't think anyone's advocating anything drastic. Personally I have no interest in any trades, unless it's to move veterans on expiring contracts for more youth (especially on defense).

If BT could swing something along the lines of Glencross for Gormley, I'd be ok with that, but for now I just want to see how our kids can do. Granlund, Jooris, and Byron have all shown that they're perfectly capable of playing at this level. I'd like to see if the same is true with Wotherspoon and Sieloff. I think we might be pleasantly surprised.

From Pittsburgh... Move engylend into bolkigs spot up front. He did decent 4 the line work

From Pittsburgh... Move engylend into bolkigs spot up front. He did decent 4 the line work
- ChrisMS

I was wondering about this myself... does he go hard to the net? I'd be willing to try it out.

I was wondering about this myself... does he go hard to the net? I'd be willing to try it out.
- jtommyt

I liked it. got us some nice garbage goals.. not a lot.. but didn't play up there a lot

Nope. Engelland shouldn't be in that conversation. He's been our 5th best defenceman this season. Confirmation bias at play here big time for a lot of people.

Nope. Engelland shouldn't be in that conversation. He's been our 5th best defenceman this season. Confirmation bias at play here big time for a lot of people.
- TheBold

No I actually think he just looks terrible out there
regardless of being overpaid... If he was a veteran on a steal of a contract, he'd still look bad. If he was your prospect I would say he's not ready - too slow and bad decisions.
I'd be more leniant if he was a young player that looked to have a high ceiling and just learning the ropes, but he's actually taking up a spot that could be better utilized.
Same thing can be said about Bollig - would rather see McGrats in there

Send Engellend to Edmonton?
- mfh867

Why on Gods green Earth would we want that piece of poop? Why the (frank) did you sign 2 more tough guys to begin with?

Makes sense, team is playing great hockey, that probably was not expected by management either, hence the loading up on face punchers.

Hey guys, that Peter Labardious or whomever the (frank) that does color on the radio....is that guy for real? He's gotta be the worst guy in the business the way he's. Swinging off Giordanos junk like that.

No I actually think he just looks terrible out there
regardless of being overpaid... If he was a veteran on a steal of a contract, he'd still look bad. If he was your prospect I would say he's not ready - too slow and bad decisions.
I'd be more leniant if he was a young player that looked to have a high ceiling and just learning the ropes, but he's actually taking up a spot that could be better utilized.
Same thing can be said about Bollig - would rather see McGrats in there
- cpltanto

I just don't get how two people can watch the same player play and come to such markedly different conclusions. After watching Chris Butler's play with the puck (and I'll note that I'm completely able to see the good things that Butler brought to the team in his own end which often went overlooked), and after watching Shane O'Brien last season, Deryk Engelland is a really capable third-pairing defenceman. No, he isn't as good as our top-4 defencemen. No, he isn't going to be able to dominate a shift against the other team's top-6. But I'm not worried about having Engelland on the ice. He's a better skater than I was expecting, and he makes much stronger and smarter plays with the puck than our third-pairing guys of previous years. His only real flaws are a lack of speed and natural talent. I just don't understand what you guys expect out of the guy.

I don't disagree completely and I certainly held onto that for a while. Only difference with Boychuk who I have always loved is the fierce determination you have always seen in his game. The compete level is just not comparable to Sven. He left them no choice but to keep him this year and Sven is leaving us no choice but to think twice....

I really want you to be right however cause I really think Sven wants it and if we can get him there it could be worth it...he needs to prove it on the ice .. tough one.
- chinaski08

Fair. Boychuk has always been driven, it's just that he hasn't always been able to use that in an effective manner.

So we just need Sven to learn how to fire pucks off goalies masks into the net ??
- Redmile247

Was talking less about the shot and more about the fact that the little bugger kept going with Wideman leaning on him for about 80 feet.