Fansided’s 30 In 30 NHL Previews: Calgary Flames

Another day, another Fansided season preview in the books.  Today, it was the Calgary Flames’ turn for an outlook (this post comes just after midnight, so technically this was “yesterday’s” preview).  After a poor start to 2010-2011, the Flames rallied to come within three points of 8th place by the season’s end.  Now, they look to be consistent enough throughout the season to earn a playoff berth, which, if they play similarly to last year’s second half, is surely a possibility.  Over at Flame For Thought, Ryan Patrick previews what should be an intriguing year in Calgary.

"If you don’t follow the Calgary Flames that closely, you’d probably be hard-pressed to recognize the differences between last year’s team and the team heading into 2011-12. Not to say freshly announced GM Jay Feaster hasn’t done anything, in fact he played an absolute perfect hand in a very tight salary cap situation. He shipped away guys like Ales Kotalik, Robyn Regehr and Daymond Langkow, all who had large contracts they weren’t performing up to. He also locked up Curtis Glencross and Alex Tanguay to long-term deals and brought in a mix of youth and veteran presence on the blueline. In the end, the Flames now have a little over $3.6 million in cap-space heading into the season, and Feaster has made it abundantly clear he’s willing to spend that money to improve the team. Whether or not Calgary’s off-season roster tweaks can push them into a playoff spot in the insanely competitive Western conference remains to be seen."

To read the rest of this Flames’ outlook, click here.

Our Devils will play the Flames once this season, as they will visit Calgary for a January 10th matchup.  If anything, this is the second game of a four-game road trip (and the first of three in Northwest Canada), which will be followed by an important six-game homestand.  Devils-Flames games are intriguing because, if for no other reason, Brent Sutter resigned from the Devils’ head coaching position two years ago, only to take the same job in Calgary (it did allow him to be close to his family, however, although I am still irked by his decision to walk out on a solid team).

Now, for a brief look at the Flames.  Two seasons ago, after acquiring Jay Bouwmeester from the Florida Panthers that offseason, I truly believed this team could be a Stanley Cup contender.  However, Calgary would finish in 10th after a very disappointing season; Dion Phaneuf would be sent to Toronto late in that season, and this offseason, Robyn Regehr would leave for Buffalo.  This season, while expectations (at least from me) might not have been as high, the Flames missed the playoffs yet again (with yet another 10 seed as well).

This season, with Calgary cutting some payroll, as Ryan points out, they might not necessarily be improved (in terms of additions to their roster).  However, these moves have opened up some cap space, and no general manager could ever do wrong with doing so.  The Flames will once again be led by Jarome Iginla wearing the ‘C’ (who could go wrong with Iginla?), and decent depth behind him.  The defensive units Calgary will feature this year are noticably younger, which is a great sign for their future blue line.  Miikka Kiprusoff is once again between the pipes, and should also serve as one of this team’s leaders.

While the Flames have made some smart moves this offseason, and do have talent on their roster, the Western Conference has proven to be incredibly strong over the past few years; strong enough, impressively, to keep two straight Flames’ teams with 90+ points out of the playoffs.  It should be a promising year in Calgary, and they should be competitive throughout; however, I predict that they will, once again, finish at around 10th in the conference, with a more positive outlook than previous seasons and a hopeful fanbase for an excellent future.

Tomorrow’s preview will feature the Carolina Hurricanes, who look to get back to the playoffs after an incredibly disappointing end to last season.

-Drew