Tomorrow night could get ugly. If Dent isn’t fired in the off-season I’m not renewing my ST’s. Of all the stuff that’s happened in Flint with Rolf, hiring Dent is the thing I’m most dissapointed in I think and that’s saying something. He’s clearly failing at EVERYthing. I might seriously make a Fire Dent sign before the season is over and I’ve never made a sign in my life.
Flint Firebirds 2022-23 Off-Season Thread
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We are so ridiculously easy to play against now.
The other team's offense is usually this simple: Stand at the point and blast a shot. Then one of the following will happen:
1. The goaltender will let it in - goal.
2. The goaltender will allow a fat rebound right to one of the opposing players - goal.
3. The goaltender will allow a fat rebound and likely a bunch of rebounds - rarely freezing the puck - and in the ensuing scrum the Firebirds will start chasing the puck instead of taking their man and after about the 4th or 5th attempt at the net someone will be uncovered - goal.
The other team's offense is usually this simple: Stand at the point and blast a shot. Then one of the following will happen:
1. The goaltender will let it in - goal.
2. The goaltender will allow a fat rebound right to one of the opposing players - goal.
3. The goaltender will allow a fat rebound and likely a bunch of rebounds - rarely freezing the puck - and in the ensuing scrum the Firebirds will start chasing the puck instead of taking their man and after about the 4th or 5th attempt at the net someone will be uncovered - goal.
N Da No
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- Jun 3, 2018
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Welcome to the club.
FIRE, FIRE, FIRE, the FIREBIRDS.
You should know better the REAL reason why there were no significant trades made and so does Dent now, when you have obstacles beyond your control you know its time to go.
That's what happen to John Gruden who went on to win an OHL Championship and who's current team is playing at a winning percentage of .833.
To Ryan Oulahen who's North Bay Bay Battalion are currently playing at a .727 percentage and challenging for the best record in the OHL this season or
To Eric Wellwood who knew it was time to leave Rolf and Flint and has gone on to success leading his team currently to first place with a .738 percentage in the ECHL's Eastern Conference.
All good coaches and even better human beings who were blessed in leaving the situations that they were confronted with while in Flint and have all gone onto success.
If you think firing Dent will solve the problem that exists in Flint you are truly misinformed. I suggest you talk to any of the pro scouts who visit Flint and ask them what the real problem is in Flint.
I feel for the young men playing in Flint who have no control but to have to ask for a trade to be rid of the situation that they find themselves in.
This team is currently on a streak in which they have lost the last 9 out 10 games against teams that have more points in the standings that they do.
How many more years and coaches leaving will it take you to realize what the problem REALLY is in Flint?
Thank you Ted Dent for your professionalism and mentoring of these young men wearing Flint Firebirds jerseys. History has proved that there can and will be better days ahead for you.
FIRE, FIRE, FIRE, the FIREBIRDS.
You should know better the REAL reason why there were no significant trades made and so does Dent now, when you have obstacles beyond your control you know its time to go.
That's what happen to John Gruden who went on to win an OHL Championship and who's current team is playing at a winning percentage of .833.
To Ryan Oulahen who's North Bay Bay Battalion are currently playing at a .727 percentage and challenging for the best record in the OHL this season or
To Eric Wellwood who knew it was time to leave Rolf and Flint and has gone on to success leading his team currently to first place with a .738 percentage in the ECHL's Eastern Conference.
All good coaches and even better human beings who were blessed in leaving the situations that they were confronted with while in Flint and have all gone onto success.
If you think firing Dent will solve the problem that exists in Flint you are truly misinformed. I suggest you talk to any of the pro scouts who visit Flint and ask them what the real problem is in Flint.
I feel for the young men playing in Flint who have no control but to have to ask for a trade to be rid of the situation that they find themselves in.
This team is currently on a streak in which they have lost the last 9 out 10 games against teams that have more points in the standings that they do.
How many more years and coaches leaving will it take you to realize what the problem REALLY is in Flint?
Thank you Ted Dent for your professionalism and mentoring of these young men wearing Flint Firebirds jerseys. History has proved that there can and will be better days ahead for you.
Says the person who raked Dent earlier in the season in a post that the mods removed. You have zero credibility.
Rolf has absolutely nothing to do with the on-ice issues that I mentioned above.
Blah blah blah blah blah.
Same old same old, things never change.
Rinse and repeat, been waiting for this post to show up.
Seriously. It’s incredible. I said as much the day he was traded here. The season was basically sunk the moment Dent decided he was gonna be the man in net. One of many huge mistakes he would make this season. Cranley is the worst starting goalie we’ve had if it’s not Brent Moran. Both NHL drafted OA’s too. Neither of those first two were on Day. Just roll with the kid as your starter. He’ll be back next year. Cranley won’t and there’s no salvaging this season, Dent can bang his dumb head on that wall all he wants. The boys played so good after the first 5 minutes too. Coming back twice after soft goals. Piercey on a roll, Dann, Guryev, Slavicek, Pitre, Kressler, Bertucci. So many kids had good nights and then Cranley lets a wrister in from distance. Then another one. It’s not even whether he can make the big save it’s how many routine saves is he gonna let past him tonight? It’s ALWAYS in a tied or one goal game too. Go high high or five-hole and it’s in.
Missed the first few minutes, Piercey was fighting when we walked in. But goals 4 and 5 were just howlers. Both were so soft. Moran was worse, but that's not saying much. Can't remember if it was blocker or glove side, but he literally couldn't stop a shot on one of those sides. Every breakaway, every shooter went the same way.
Sahil Panwar now with 5 goals and 18pts in 11 games since arriving in Hamilton. That’s one of the reasons I wanted Flint to go hard after 19yo Anson Thornton in the off-season. It would have allowed them to keep Deline, Piercey and Panwar as OA’s and leave the possibility of uniting Hayes brothers at the deadline.
- Jan 29, 2023
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I’m still trying to understand the OA birthday deadline, isn’t Avery considered an OA?
Yeah. He is. I’m not sure the exact cutoff date but it’s the 5th season after the player was drafted when the player is playing most of the season as a 20yo. You can only have 3. I was inferring they could have kept those 3 and then moved Panwar for Hayes at the deadline. Sahil has probably never been traded for the value he’s actually worth but Hayes would have been an upgrade on him and I’m sure you would have seen both Michigan brothers going off.
- Jan 29, 2023
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That makes sense. Sahil has definitely stepped up in Hamilton, I wanna say (without looking) he’s now the only OA the Bulldogs have. I would have loved to see the Hayes brothers play together.
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HockeyPops
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- Aug 20, 2018
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Yep, it's by birth year. This season is 2006s, 2005s, 2004s, 2003s. The OAs are 2002s.
The only teams with a worse record over the last 10 games than Flint are Saginaw and Niagara. Post-game interview after Barrie Dent was asked about pulling Day and his answer was “Two shots. Two Goals.” Are effing kidding me? A bunch of we gotta figure it outs too. Fire Dent.
FireBird71
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- Aug 6, 2015
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That’s an important signing for next year. With Deline, Kuzmin and possibly Guryev moving on and Dent trading away Petrovski and D’Amato the D-Core is gonna possibly need a serious make over. It’s imperative the find and sign a quality import D to replace Kuzmin.
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Panwar, playing with a team that appreciates him! He is really enjoying the game and it shows. Letting him go was a mistake which I stated at the time it happened.
Just one of many this year my friend. Thornton hasn’t been as good as I expected this year but it’s been much better than Cranley not even factoring in Panwar could have remained. Not just his production, but his leadership and expierience would have been nice to have around. 6 high draft pick Nolan Dann on the other hand? Had two really good games……and 1g 1a in the other 8 so far. I just cannot possibly wrap my head around some of the moves he’s made or the idea of keeping him past the this off-season.
Cranley was a gamble that hasn’t paid off, but I don’t think it was completely offside for Dent to think that he may have been able to rediscover his game and have a solid OA campaign. Cranley had a good summer with the Blues, was a signed prospect and, aside from last year, has some decent years on his resume. Dent was clearly hoping that Cranley would come to Flint with a pro career on his mind for next year and provide for above average goaltending for the year. I mean, just last year, Cavallin (an average goalie for most of his OHL career) took his game to another level for his final year. It proved to be faulty thinking, but I do understand where Dent was coming from.
Furthermore, I just don’t see where there were other, better options.
Sarnia was always going for it this year and we’re probably never going to trade their 1B starter to a division rival who was also aiming for a championship.
Joe Ranger was an option that probably would have yielded worse results.
For whatever reason, Hamilton decided to play a portion of the season with their full roster to see what they had and if another push for a championship was viable, so Costantini wasn’t “available” when Dent needed a goalie (although perhaps if there were an overpayment, but that would have been its own problem).
Where the fault lies with the goaltending is not dealing with it after 2-3 months when it was clear that more was needed from the position and that Cranley was not going provide it.
Patrick Leaver in Oshawa would have been an option. A reasonable SV % based on how bad of a team was in front of him plus an ‘03 which would have allowed Dent to retain Panwar or deal for another productive OA.
To me, the biggest missed opportunity was not doing whatever he could to pick up Zhigalov from Kingston. Slavicek plus picks (some of the ones sent to Niagara for Dann) probably could have gotten the deal done and (I know it’s probably after the fact at that point) keeping Panwar (who roughly = Dann). Heck, Dent could have expanded the scope of the trade and dealt more picks and brought Arcuri along as well. Wouldn’t he look nice on a line with Lombardi? And why not? It’s not like a the team will be good next year.
And this is to say nothing of the loss on the Othmann trade or his failure to add anything meaningful after that.
Anyway, I feel bad for Firebird fans. I really enjoyed seeing them in the WCF last year and was hoping they were going to be in the hunt for a championship this year, in the position that London and/or Windsor currently are at the moment.
Furthermore, I just don’t see where there were other, better options.
Sarnia was always going for it this year and we’re probably never going to trade their 1B starter to a division rival who was also aiming for a championship.
Joe Ranger was an option that probably would have yielded worse results.
For whatever reason, Hamilton decided to play a portion of the season with their full roster to see what they had and if another push for a championship was viable, so Costantini wasn’t “available” when Dent needed a goalie (although perhaps if there were an overpayment, but that would have been its own problem).
Where the fault lies with the goaltending is not dealing with it after 2-3 months when it was clear that more was needed from the position and that Cranley was not going provide it.
Patrick Leaver in Oshawa would have been an option. A reasonable SV % based on how bad of a team was in front of him plus an ‘03 which would have allowed Dent to retain Panwar or deal for another productive OA.
To me, the biggest missed opportunity was not doing whatever he could to pick up Zhigalov from Kingston. Slavicek plus picks (some of the ones sent to Niagara for Dann) probably could have gotten the deal done and (I know it’s probably after the fact at that point) keeping Panwar (who roughly = Dann). Heck, Dent could have expanded the scope of the trade and dealt more picks and brought Arcuri along as well. Wouldn’t he look nice on a line with Lombardi? And why not? It’s not like a the team will be good next year.
And this is to say nothing of the loss on the Othmann trade or his failure to add anything meaningful after that.
Anyway, I feel bad for Firebird fans. I really enjoyed seeing them in the WCF last year and was hoping they were going to be in the hunt for a championship this year, in the position that London and/or Windsor currently are at the moment.
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4-4 vs the top team in the league. Odds that Cranley let’s in a soft one, they go EN and Ottawa scores to make it 6-4?
Well that was quick.
- Jan 29, 2023
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I didn’t even realize there was a game last night. Lucky me. Remember earlier in the year when Cranley’s GAA was right around 3.00 and his save % was like .910? I’m wondering just how bad his numbers look since mid-Dec or so to have fallen to where they are now? The fact the defensive play in front of him has worsened too doesn’t show good on Dent either.
FireBird71
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- Aug 6, 2015
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