#Flames tirade incoming (sorry)

I know I am late to the party, as most of Flames Nation has stopped dissecting "What Happened" and have moved on to discussing "How do we get better from here" (trade proposals etc.).

But I can't help but notice a pattern from analysts and fans.

A year ago, when the Flames got decimated by the Avalanche, armchair GMs and pro commentators alike came to this conclusion: Flames are too soft. They need more "playoff style players".

That's code for more size, bite, sandpaper, toughness, or whatever you want to call it.

Treliving's response that summer was to go get Milan Lucic at a steep cost.

In August of 2019, I tweeted that if the Flames get bounced early again in 2020, you no longer have the Size & Toughness excuse. Your backs are against the wall, and you must confront the real issues.

Well, this summer, we are having those same conversations again we had in 2019. And I feel like I'm going senile reading and listening to it all. We need more "playoff style players", they say.

It's the easiest, and also laziest, breakdown of how to fix a team's playoff woes.

What people really mean when they say "playoff style" is players who are skilled but also have bite and toughness.

"If I were Treliving, I would simply acquire guys with size and grit, who are also speedy and skilled enough to play in my top six. How hard can that be?"

Sam Bennett led playoff skaters in hits. Lucic is still a top 3 tough guy in the NHL. Tkachuk is Tkachuk. Rasmus Andersson isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Flames haven't been shy to call upon Buddy Robinson and Zac Rinaldo when needed. Even Mangiapane and Dube are scrappy.

You name me three teams that entered the playoff bubble in August that objectively have more “sandpaper” than that, I will delete this thread and replace it with an apology. The Flames' strategy for beating Winnipeg was basically to leave dead bodies in their wake. Come on now.

Those who are STILL, after all that, complaining the Flames don’t have enough bite to win in the playoffs, I genuinely don’t know what kind of magical “built-for-the-playoffs” roster you are envisioning. Do you want Lindholm to fight? An entire second line of Tom Wilson clones?

Players who legitimately blend sandpaper with high-level skill (Travis Konecny, Jamie Benn, Brad Marchand, Pierre Luc Dubois, even Michael Ferland from a few years ago, etc.) are unicorns in this league. You're lucky if your team has one.

The Flames have one, and he wears 19.

Point me towards a team whose star players all do double duty as the providers of toughness and bite. It doesn't exist.

Stop trying to sell me on this fairy tale, that if Brad Treliving would simply put on his thinking cap, he could build a team like that.

You need skill, need sandpaper, and maybe 1 or 2 players who perfectly blend the two. The Flames have that.

The reason they lost is because they didn't show up in big moments, they weren't opportunistic enough to exploit Dallas' mistakes. That's why big changes are needed.

Fin