NWD Breakdown: Calgary Flames

All the pieces appear to be in place for the Flames heading into the season - a solid top 6 defense corps, a vezina winner in net and a potentially revitalized attack with the addition of Alex Tanguay and Jeff Friesen up front. All that's left is to combine the pieces into a cohesive, formidible whole.

The questions facing the Flames this year include:

- Can Jim Playfair adequately lead the team in Sutter's stead?
- Will the Flames actually be able to score at even-strength?
- Can Phaneuf step up and play top 2 minutes with Robyn Regehr?

2005/2006 Stuff:

103 points, 3rd in the West

216 Goals For (27th)
193 Goals Against (1st)
18.2% PP (12th)
84.2% PK (7th)

Top Scorers:

Jarome Iginla (35 Goals, 67 points, 17 PP goals)
Damond Lankgow (34 Assists)

Forwards:

Subtractions: Shean Donovan, Mike Leclerc, Craig MacDonald
Additions: Jeff Friesen, Alex Tanguay

Calgary has a very similar crop of forwards compared to last year. Friesen draws into Donovan's speedy-third-line-winger spot, while Tanguay fills a top line position that has been vacant for a long, long time. Leclerc and MadDonald were lost via free agency and won't be missed.

The overriding goal for the Flames this year is to...well...score (at even-strength). Offense was Calgary's lone glaring weakness last season and it cost them the series against Anaheim. In order to become a genuine contender and to defend their NW division crown, the Flames should be shooting for middle-of-the pack output; say 250 goals. That's a 34 goal increase from 05/06.

It seems like an obtainable objective on the face of it. The addition of Alex Tanguay should mean an injection of at least 25 more tallies alone. A full year of Kristian Huselius on the 2nd line may also add some red-light replays - Juice scored at a 60 point pace in Flames colors last season (despite Calgary's year long scoring woes). If Jeff Friesen can score more than Shean Donovan (highly doable) and if Tanguay actually rejuvenates Jarome Iginla, the Flames shouldn't have any more significant scoring issues. If want more good news, consider that Tanguay was Colorado's best point producer at even-strength last year...

Course, things that look good on paper don't always translate on the ice. Tanguay has played his whole career sheltered by the shadows of superstars. No longer behind the likes of Sakic, Forsberg and Hejduk, he'll have to step up and prove that he can be a "go-to" guy. In addition, "Flames Hockey" under the Sutter regime has come to mean rough play, stingy defense and a complete lack of risk taking and offensive creativity. It reamins to be seen if Playfair can appropriately harnass and unleash the likes of Iginla and Tanguay without sacrificing the "Flames identity".

The Skinny:

Calgary was terrible at scoring 5on5 last year. Iginla had an off year and most of the support players (Donovan, Yelle, Nilson, Amonte, Lombardi, Simon) were abysmal offensively. A turn-around is not out of the question if Iginla and Tanguay can click with the odd secondary player rebounding from last season. Should one of the top two stars get injured long-term, however, the Flames may be languishing near the bottom of the league in goals for again. Playfair has to prove he can re-jig the offensive systems around the top two lines while keeping the team mean and defensively responsible.

Defense:

Subtractions: Jordan Leopold, Bryan Marchment, Cale Hulse
Additions: Andrei Zyuzin, Mark Giordano

I am glad to see the back of Marchment and Hulse. Good riddance!

The loss of Jordan Leopold, however, is not insignificant. While Leo had a brutal offensive year (like almost everyone not named "Phaneuf" on the Flames last year) last season he was among the leaders in terms of ice-time for Calgary. He played a lot of tough minutes against other team's top players with Robyn Regehr and was a capable puck-mover at either end of the ice.

According to the preseason, it looks like Dion Phaneuf will be stepping up into the top two pairing with Regehr. As a rookie, Phaneuf lead the Flames in ice-time, although a great deal of it was spent blasting pucks at goalie's head on the powerplay. It will be up to the super-rookie now sophomore to prove he can take on the leagues best night in and night out. Being paired with Regehr certainly won't hurt in that regard.

Leo's loss will be further off-set by the acquisition of Andrei Zyuzin. Zyuzin was a 19 minute-man with the Wild last season. While he doesn't strike me as competent a defender as Leopold, he should be able to eat up between 18-20 minutes per night on the second pairing with Hamrlik well enough. His 7 goals from the blueline will also be a welcome addition above Leopold's 2.

The real challenge here may simply be staying healthy. Thanks to injuries to Warrener, Hamrlik, Regehr and Leopold the Flames only played with a full compliment of their top 6 defensemen 30 or so games last season. Of course, should anyone go down, Calgary has two-time preseason stand-out Mark Giordano waiting in the wings. Giordano lead the Omaha Knights in points last season (despite playing some games in the pros) and was the only Flame to play in all 7 exhibition tilts this September. He won't be put anywhere near top 4 type situations, but he should prove to be an adequate 6th spot fill-in...

The Skinny:

The blueline is unquestionably Calgary's strength. From top to bottom, the Flames have the best defender depth in the division - keep in mind Calgary managed to allow the fewest goals against in the league last season despite having so many d-man injuries.

Goaltending:

Miikka Kiprusoff is roundly considered one of the two best goalies in the NHL. He was top 5 in basically every significant goaltending statistical category last season and is the most recent recipient of the Vezina trophy. The only issues facing Kipper are:

- Can he better in the shoot-out? Calgary lost a lot of points to shoot-outs last year. Partially because Kipper was among the worst in the league in S/O save percentage.

- Can he avoid a slow start? Imagine the stats Kiprusoff WOULD have generated in 05/06 had he not been Raycroft-esque in his first 10 games. There were signs in September he might be in for a repeat of last October's suckage when he was lit up during his first two preseason contests. Hopefully, that can be avoided this time around though.

Calgary will also need some semi-capable work out of their back-up, Jamie McLennan, this season. Both Sauve and Boucher proved to be terrible in their limited roles last year, meaning they were played as little as possible. If McLennan can be a 2.50 GAA /.900 SP in 10 or 15 starts he could take some of the pressure off of Kiprusoff. His career stats suggest it's possible.

The Skinny: In combination with their defense corps., the Flames have little to worry about on the back-end. I expect Kipper to once again challenge for the Vezina by year end. Of course, Injury is a HUGE concern given that McLennan would not be able to take the reigns in Kipper's absence...

Conclusion:

Calgary won the division last year and they've only gotten better while most of their division rivals have either taken lateral steps (Edmonton) or gotten worse (Vancouver, Colorado). If the Flames can figure out how to score with regularity there's no reason to think they won't be one of the best teams in the conference.

Prediction:

1st in the Northwest Division and 3rd in the Western Conference.