Calgary Flames Season Preview

The Flames may have had the best off season of any NHL team acquiring a new goalie tandem while adding Travis Hamonic to make one of the league's best defensive cores. The biggest questions still remain in net with new additions Mike Smith and Eddie Lack taking over for Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson. With plenty of young talent and an elite defensive core, you could argue the Flames are cup contenders entering the season in a stacked Pacific Division.

Arrivals/Departures

Arrivals: Travis Hamonic, Mike Smith, Eddie Lack, Spencer Foo, Luke Gazdic, Marek Hrivik
Departures: Brian Elliott, Deryk Engelland, Chad Johnson, Alex Chiasson, Dennis Wideman, Lance Bouma



Forwards:

Johnny Gaudreau took a step back last year taking a drop in points partly due to a hand injury but his play faltered a bit too. Gaudreau is still one of the best young players in the NHL though and expect him to once again reach his point-per-game pace. Centering Gaudreau is another great young player in Sean Monahan who was the Flames' best player during their short playoff run scoring in all four games. The last member of the top line will be hard-hitter Micheal Ferland who helped spark a win streak to propel the Flames to the playoffs while put alongside Gaudreau and Monahan. The first line is flashy but the second line is one of the best shutdown lines in the NHL with Mikael Backlund, Michael Frolik and Matthew Tkachuk. Backlund has quietly became one of the league's most underrated players putting up 53 points while playing a two-way game. Michael Frolik is also a very good two-way player who average between 40 and 50 points a season. Tkachuk was one of the better rookies last season getting under the skin of some of the game's best players as well as scoring and playing effective hockey. Sam Bennett will be the third-line center after another disappointing season for the youngster, and if he does not improve his days in Calgary may be limited. Kris Versteeg was a good-value signing last year contributing on the first power play unit so the Alberta native returned for another season in his home province. Spencer Foo was this year's most-coveted college free agent coming out of Union College and he chose to sign in Calgary so expect him to make an impact as a rookie this upcoming season. Troy Brouwer disappointed in his first season with the Flames getting to demoted to the third line; with young players stepping up, he could be a fourth-line player in the upcoming season. Matt Stajan is a good fourth-line center who can help mentor the young players and provide leadership in the dressing room. Garnet Hathaway played good in his call up last season so he will have a good shot in training camp to secure a roster spot to replace the toughness that left with Deryk Engelland's departure. Curtis Lazar will also have a chance to make the roster and probably will but as a depth forward. The other depth forward will probably be Freddie Hamilton as the Flames don't want their prospects sitting in the press box. Mark Jankowski also has a good shot to make the jump to the NHL after playing one game last year but a deep-forward core may make him wait another year. Hunter Shinkaruk and Emile Poirier will be also given a chance to make the roster but they are both doubtful to secure a spot.



Defenceman:

With the addition of Travis Hamonic, the Flames have bolstered their already good defence into one of the league's best as they take a run at the cup next season. Mark Giordano is still the captain and leader of this team as he remains one of the best defenceman in the game. Giordano is good in all aspects of the game as he shuts down the opposing teams' best players and puts up lots of points. Dougie Hamilton will once again be paired with Giordano as last season they combined for one of the best advanced statistics season ever by a defensive pair. Hamilton set career highs in almost all major statistical catergories after a bad first year in Calgary. Smooth-skating TJ Brodie will be the staple point of the second pair as he moves the puck well and contributes offensively giving the Flames three very good defenceman. New addition Travis Hamonic will team up with Brodie to give the Flames a great top-four defence. Hamonic is more a shutdown defenceman than the other three so he will provide something the Flames didn't have last season. Brad Treliving also resigned Michael Stone who played very well in the last quarter of the season after he was traded to the Flames giving them depth at the position. Last year's late-signing Matt Bartkowski will be the last defenceman in the top six. Brett Kulak and Tyler Wotherspoon will likely compete for the seventh spot to fill in when injuries occur. Prospects Oliver Kylington and Rasmus Andersson may also compete for Bartkowski's spot but they would probably do better on the first pair in the AHL.



Goaltending:

After a disastrous season in net where both Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson were weak, the Flames addressed the goaltending need by trading for Mike Smith and Eddie Lack. Smith is getting up there in age but he should be able to provide a stabling presence in net especially with such a good defensive core in front of him. Lack struggled last season on a bad Hurricanes team and is the backup because he comes at little cost.

Projected Lineup:

Johnny Gaudreau	Sean Monahan	Micheal Ferland
Matthew Tkachuk	Mikael Backlund	Michael Frolik
Kris Versteeg	Sam Bennett	Spencer Foo
Garnet Hathaway	Matt Stajan	Troy Brouwer
Freddie Hamilton	Mark Jankowski	Curtis Lazar

Mark Giordano	Dougie Hamilton
TJ Brodie	Travis Hamonic
Matt Bartkowski	Michael Stone
Brett Kulak	Tyler Wotherspoon

Mike Smith

Eddie Lack

Jon Gillies

Top 10 Players:

10. Mike Smith

9. Matthew Tkachuk

8. Travis Hamonic

7. Michael Frolik
.

6. Mikael Backlund

5. TJ Brodie

4. Dougie Hamilton

3. Sean Monahan

2. Mark Giordano

1. Johnny Gaudreau

Projected Finish: 104 Points (2nd in Pacific)
Last Year: 94 Points (4th in Pacific) 

Photo credit for Travis Hamonic goes to http://www.tsn.ca/. Johnny Gaudreau goes to https://www.cbssports.com/. Mark Giordano and Sean Monahan goes to https://www.nhl.com/.