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Originally Posted by BACKCHECK!!!
The Flames success this season did involve multiple career-best seasons by an array of players at every position.
I think the *most likely" thing to happen this coming season is that Giordano takes a noticeable step back from his all-time best season, Lindholm returns closer to his career average numbers, and both Talbot and Rittich perform pretty similar to the last season or two.
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Why “most likely”? I expect most of the Flames forwards to record lower totals this year, but don’t see why we should anticipate any steep drop offs. With the chemistry Lindholm showed on the first line; with his level of skill I see him much more likely to hit +65 points this year than to return to -50. It’s reasonable to see a slide back for Giordano, but there is nothing to think it will be especially significant.
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If that's what happens, I think the Flames and Tkachuk will struggle to put up the same numbers they did this season.
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With the expected moderate regressions mentioned above, and also with some improvements from likely sources such as Hanifin, Andersson, Mangiapane and Dube (I think Monahan is a good bet to score 40 goals), I think it is reasonable to expect the Flames to score in range of 265 goals. That would still be top-ten in the NHL, and with average goaltending should again have them in the conversation for the Division title. Unless he misses time, I can’t imagine that Tkachuk will suffer much of a reduction in his own production.
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