Asked it too late a few weeks back but what is your favourite pre dome establishment for a bite of all time?
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FlamesNation Mailbag: Opening week excitement
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The Calgary Flames begin their regular season on Thursday night, with a home date with the Colorado Avalanche! As we prepare for the onset of hockey excitement, we delve into the mailbag!
There are a few good spots here and there. I’m partial to Bottlescrew Bill’s, but there a bunch of places a train stop or two away that are also really good. (I’ll name-drop the Unicorn and St. James Corner, too.)
The key to a good pre-game establishment, for me, is good beer and good nachos. Your mileage may vary.
I think this is an easy one. I’m just wondering, now that all the cuts have been made and Stone’s contract is in Treliving’s desk drawer. Who are the 23 roster players and what do you think season openers lines look like?
Here are the lines I have pencilled in for Game 1:
Huberdeau – Lindholm – Toffoli
Mangiapane – Kadri – Dube
Coleman – Backlund – Lewis
Lucic – Rooney – Ritchie
Mangiapane – Kadri – Dube
Coleman – Backlund – Lewis
Lucic – Rooney – Ritchie
Weegar – Tanev
Hanifin – Andersson
Zadorov – Mackey
Hanifin – Andersson
Zadorov – Mackey
Markstrom
Vladar
Vladar
The extras would be Ruzicka, Meloche and Stone (if they sign him).
On one hand, he’s a veteran right shot forward and the Flames always seem to covet those. He’s played over 1,000 games and knows what teams need to do to get through a long season. Stylistically, he feels like a Flames fit.
But he’s 34 and not quite what he used to be, due to a combination of injuries and age. The Flames don’t have a ton of cap space, and I’m not sure if the Flames need a second Trevor Lewis (who doesn’t have quite the playoff success that Lewis does).
Assuming the team doesn’t name a captain. Who will be wearing an “A”?
If it were up to me: Mikael Backlund, Jonathan Huberdeau and Chris Tanev. But I could also see them doing a broader rotation and getting Nazem Kadri or Blake Coleman involved, too.
What would your ideal bottom 6 look like? Would it include current AHL players, or possibly a trade?
Honestly, the top six they have – Huberdeau, Toffoli and Lindholm, and Dube, Mangiapane and Kadri – might be a close-to-ideal situation. And if you have the ability to swap Coleman into the top six if you need to mix up the wingers or if you need somebody with a bit of a more two-way skew to his game.
Considering the personnel and salary cap constraints they’re under, they’ve found a pretty solid set-up for the style of game Darryl Sutter wants them to play.
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