NHL
The Calgary Flames Have Become Discipline in Free Agency and Add Big Names to Hopefully Turn it on This Season.
The Calgary Flames have dove into Free Agency and added one new forward. The Flames also added three more skaters via trade with the Carolina Hurricanes. This is a good situation for the team and Goaltender Mike Smith as he now has players that can defend in front of him. However, the backup goalie situation is the big weakness for the Flames this season.
Have the Flames Gotten Better?
Yes. The players added should boost the Flames into a playoff spot this season. By adding Center depth, Calgary now stacks up with the best among the category. Look for Matthew Tkachuk to have a breakout season. The only question remaining is goaltending. Last season Mike Smith played decent until going down with an injury in February. Outside of Mike Smith, the goalies could not carry the workload and the Flames slipped out of a playoff spot.
Additions
James Neal scored 25 goals last season and was added to strengthen the team’s scoring on the wings. Neal played 71 games last year and was fourth on the Vegas Golden Knights in goal scoring. If Neal was added to the team last season, he would have been second in scoring.
Derek Ryan and Elias Lindholm were added via the trade with Carolina. Lindholm played 81 games and tallied 44 points with 28 assists, while Derek Ryan put up a total of 38 points with 23 assists and 15 goals. The two can help out the Flames on either Special Teams. Although Calgary’s Penalty Kill was above league average, the Power Play was below by 4.19 percent.
Noah Hanifin was added defensively in the trade with Carolina (noted above) that included Dougie Hamilton being sent to the Hurricanes. Hanifin played in 79 games last year with Carolina and scored 10 goals but put up 22 assists. The Flames and Hanifin agreed to terms last week on a deal worth $29.7 million ($4.95 million AAV) over 6 years. This is huge for the Hanifin and Calgary as Hanifin gets his chance to solidify his playing time that he may not have gotten in Carolina.
Subtractions
Dougie Hamilton and Micheal Ferland were sent to Carolina as part of the Hanifin deal. The two combined last season for a total of 85 points (38 goals, 47 assists). Hamilton was on the top pair but did not put up the defensive numbers the Flames hoped for. Ferland was a scoring center but was moved in order to add depth at center.
Troy Brouwer was bought out by Calgary on August 2. He never put up the numbers Calgary hoped for. In 76 games last year, Brouwer scored 6 goals and added 16 assists. Brouwer was signed by the Florida Panthers.
Matt Stajan and Kris Versteeg were the two final players who left Calgary. The pair combined for a total of 20 points (7 goals, 13 assists). These were two good subtractions for a team that added scoring.
Where the Calgary Flames Stand
The Calgary Flames stand in a good position coming into the 2018-19 season. A Net Gain of 29 proves just that. The team rid itself of bad contracts and players who were not scoring at the rate needed to solidify a playoff position. The question stated above is the question that still remains – goaltending. Behind Mike Smith, Tyler Parsons is the prospect who needs to show that he is still an above average prospect if he wants any time in the NHL. Outside of those two, there is not much there depth wise.
This will be a pivotal year for Calgary. I expect them to finish 2nd in the Pacific Division and maybe make a run to or past the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Stay tuned.
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Photocredit
Photo Courtesy of cnheide
