30 teams in 30 days: Calgary Flames
Finished: 5th western conference
Playoffs: Lost in 1st round to Chicago
Who did they add?: Jay Bouwmeester, Fredrik Sjostrom, Brian McGrattan
Who did they lose?: Adrian Aucoin, Mike Cammalleri, Jordan Leopold
Overview: After a few years of early playoff exits and coaching changes and playoff disappointments, there seems to be some restlessness in stampede town. Nevertheless, things continue to look promising for the Flames. Jarome Iginla continues his stellar play as the leader of the Flame’s group of forwards. With the loss of Mike Cammalleri, his supporting cast is substantially weaker than it was last year. The Flames will have to look for someone from inside the system (Dustin Boyd, perhaps) to produce over the course of the season and will need to get an 80+ point season from #1 center Olli Jokinen. They will also need Rene Bourque to prove that he can duplicate his stellar season from last year. Their blue line, however, is undeniably one of the top defense crews in the NHL, after the addition of Jay Bouwmeester. JBO, Dion Phaneuf, Robyn Regehr, Cory Sarich, Adam Pardy and Mark Giordano is a solid group, able to move the puck, shut down the opposition’s top lines and add a little grit. Add Miikka Kiprusoff in minding the cage, and you have one team that will be tough to score against this coming season. The Flames boast one of the best teams in the always competitive northeast division, and they should be able to finish atop it this year. If their forwards can produce and their D and goalies can stay healthy, then they should be in good shape.
Winners or losers?: The Flames are winners this offseason. I have them pegged as winners because of the addition of Jay Bouwmeester, but there are still a couple of things that they could have done. A backup goalie, for example. Miikka Kiprusoff played in 76 of Calgary’s 82 games last season and posted 45 wins. Their backup, Curtis McElhinney, played in 14 games, posting only 1 win. For the Flames to make a run in the playoffs, they need a healthy, well-rested Miikka Kiprusoff. This can’t happen if he has to play 76 games a year because there is no insurance behind him. They are still winners though, because JBO makes up for what lacks behind Kipper.
