1) Goaltending - will it improve and can 35 year old Smith stay healthy? I am guessing yes.
2) How does the defence perform? Does Hamonic gel with Brodie? Can they start reverting to a faster-transitioning team like they were/tried under Hartley to make use of that deep skill on the backend, but yet maintain a high level of defence?
3) How will the Flames do against Edmonton - both on the scoreboard and physically? I think they will be better on the scoreboard, but I do worry about what happens when Lucic, Maroon, Kassian, Nurse, etc., start running guys and playing a bit dirty. I remember what happened in Buffalo when Lucic ran Miller, and what Calgary did to Vancouver under Torts, and though this is a young team that should be much more resilient, it does worry me to some degree.
I don't worry about offence. I don't worry about any Jagr/Iginla implications. I am sure Bennett will continue to progress (and he did last season, at least defensively - by a LARGE margin I may add), I do think that Lazar will rebound, I am not sure about Brouwer - but every team has one bad contract and I can live with that on the 4th line if he doesn't bounce back.
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