Getting Huberdeau was obviously very key for the Flames losing both Johnny and Tkachuk. For me, the top line of Huberdeau-Lindholm-??? will be consistently dangerous and that's what they need to be a top team. The rest of the line up is much the same as last year and you hope that Mangiapane can be more consistent through the year and Coleman can find his scoring touch more often to give the team a bit of a bump to make up for the slight drop in production from the top line compared to last year.
If nothing else of significance is added in the top 6, a Sutter system should see the Flames in a playoff spot and I'd expect a bit of a drop offensively. Other guys could see an uptick in their offensive production in a way that allows the Flames to be an offensive force like last season, but betting on steep improvements from the players on the roster now is a bad bet. Adding a guy you can count on to put points up in the top 6 would really improve the outlook.
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