I don't know if this has been pointed out because I haven't read the thread, but here are a few bits of information that may be worth considering in your evaluation of the Flames this season.
- The Flames were 22nd in save percentage at even strength this year.
- The Flames were 12th in save percentage at 4-on-5 this year.
- The Flames were 29th in shooting percentage at even strength this year.
- The Flames were 28th in shooting percentage at 5-on-4 this year.
Those are terrible, bottom five numbers that shouldn't result in being near a playoff spot for most teams. Yet despite being terrible in those key areas, until a losing streak late in the season, the wounds of which are probably pretty fresh in the minds of many here, the Flames were still in the thick of the playoff race. I would suggest that this is because their even strength play was actually fundamentally quite solid.
Maybe you attribute their inability to convert chances to goals to apathy, a lack of intensity and an inability to bear down and bang those rebounds in. Maybe you attribute it to puck luck. Maybe it's a lack of offensive finishing, particularly in the bottom 6. Maybe it's a combination, with one of those things playing the largest role (most likely).
Regardless, the good news is that this is the easiest stuff to fix. Not that anything is an easy fix in the NHL, but I'd rather be a sound even strength hockey team that needs to change a few pieces to finish scoring chances and stop a few more pucks than one that's fundamentally bad. If you can manage to get those numbers up into top ten territory, you have the makings of a serious contender, potentially for a while.