[Firebot]

Flames are not that far off.

Calgary's goaltending was so atrociously bad last year, that the year's 260 goals against was the worst GA since the high scoring days way back in 1992-93. Yes even worse then the Young Guns era.

Calgary's goaltending was so atrociously bad last year, that they were 30th by a full .010 point at .892

Flames were deceptive in 2014-15 and a fall back was inevitable, but their crashing to the basement had much more to do with goaltending than any other factor. That has now been fixed. Better goaltending will fix other parts of the game, by allowing players to defend the rebound trusting their goalie rather than the initial shot.

This is the final year of the rebuild. Bad contracts are expiring, star players will be maturing this year, and while they will likely make the playoffs, it won't be until next year that we can expect them to not just be in the top 6, but start to become a potential threat.

An Elliot / Gillies tandem in net until Gillies is ready
Gaudreau, Monahan, Bennett, Tkachuk, Brouwer, Frolik, Jankowski+
Brodie, Giordano, Hamilton, Jokipakka, one of Kylington or Andersson

One or two prospects will likely find their way in too (Shinkaruk very likely could be a huge steal)

Future is looking bright, and the core is likely set for a very long time.