New Look Flames - Thoughts on the roster ahead of camp

[transplant99]

The single biggest change on this club is pretty obvious to me and that is they finally have an identity.

They also have the personification of that identity standing behind them for 82 and a guy that will demand they play the way they are constructed.

I suspect far more will buy in to it all than won't, which alone will allow them to see far more success than under either of the last 2 head honchos.

People may not like it, but defense first along with good goaltending has always been a recipe for success in this game. The Flames have an opportunity to have both those things in spades with how the club appears to be assembled this summer.

As always your best players have to be just that and buy-in, but they appeared to do so in short order last year so im not sure that is a huge concern.

This is (all of a sudden) a very big and hard to play against club, at least on paper, and that is miles better than what has been seen the last couple years.

Offense will be an issue but if they can avoid major injury issues and can score 3 a night on average (very doable), i think they will be battling for 2nd in the division.

[sa226]

History says otherwise, bit I still look at the group of forwards and say there is much to like there.

Tkachuk has way more to give, Gaudreau I think has matured a lot. I think Lindholm will thrive under Sutter, and add a Coleman and rocket trajectory Mangiapane. There is a lot to like in the forward ranks. The bottom six may struggle to score but they will make life miserable for the other team.

Monahan is the wildcard. Can he thrive in a new carved out role? Can he stay healthy? If things go well, Monahan is a huge asset to this team. I will be disappointed if Monahan and Gaudreau are not kept apart for more than 10 games.

I have no idea where to peg the D core. Losing Gio hurts, and the overall mobility of the defense has taken a hit, but perhaps under a Sutter system team defense will protect an underwhelming D core. Not to mention Markstrom.

I'm disappointed the lineup hasn't changed as much as I wanted but here we are. It is the season of foolish optimism despite historical evidence to the contrary I see some decent potential in this groups under Sutter.

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[Flamesfan05]

All come down to Johnny. If he has a good year, they’ll make the playoffs
If he doesn’t, they’ll have trouble scoring.
That’s the way it’s always been, I don’t see that changing.

[bigpete]

A lot of players had down years last year. I think it's reasonable to expect at least marginal improvements from Tkachuk, Monahan, Andersson, and Markstrom.

Marginal improvements plus being in a weak division plus having a proven coach should lead to being comfortably in the playoffs. Probably not good enough to be true contenders but you never know. I am cautiously optimistic that the Flames will have a pretty good season and could surprise a lot of people.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I do think this team will lament the departure of Giordano. That's a big hole that hasn't been filled offensively and from a puck-moving perspective, and the D-corps as a whole were already a bottom 3rd team. This continues to be the only area of concern for the roster.


My biggest gripe on the past couple of seasons (if not longer) was how slow this team played. They are not a slow team in terms of skaters - they are just slow in how they play. I thought that the transition game was below average, I thought they didn't move the puck fast enough or attack with enough pace, and with few exceptions (hello Giordano- the GAF metre was always set on 11!) came back on defence nearly hard enough.


Sutter I am sure will correct some of this - he has also criticized this team for not skating hard enough, and he has already warned them about their need to take their off-season training more seriously. I am hoping for a return to how hard the Flames skated under Hartley most nights. You can argue about structure and systems all you want, but his teams would play hard and wouldn't give up (remember the jokes when RNH stated that you can't come back in this league when down by 2 or 3 goals, and the Flames had just finished doing exactly that?).


One of my other complaints over the years has been way too many 'hiccups' defensively. It seemed like a regular occurrence on this squad allowing a breakaway chance against, or a 2 or 3 on 1. I found it really frustrating. Those are still going to happen, but I hope (expect) that they become a very rare sighting indeed this upcoming season.


One of the big areas of concern in the forward ranks is Monahan - is he regressing? Is he washed-up? Hogwash. He absolutely needs to stay healthy this season, but I bet he is productive this year. Last year he was very productive right up until he got injured, and then he looked not much better than Ritchie offensively (ok, that's and exaggeration there). However, right before his injury, he looked like he was about to have a really strong season offensively. Sutter is going to make him into a better centre, and I bet off the 2nd line (if that's where he ends up) he will put up 0.6 - 0.8 PPG, and hit his usual 30 goals. He will also get this team extra points by himself with either OT goals and Shootout winners too. As long as he stays healthy, he will get his points.


Another gripe I have had with this team is how incredibly pillowy soft they play. People point at Lucic and say: "But we have the toughest guy in the league!" - yeah, that helps a little bit so that you don't run into a Tom Wilson situation, but you can't expect Lucic to start jumping guys that are hacking and slashing or intimidating our stars. You need a tough team to do that to THEM. I have seen this team play intimidated for far too long IMO, and it will be a nice change of pace to actually be the intimidating team like they last were in the 2013-15 seasons. Every year since, they have gotten softer and softer. This team will play with some snarl to their game. This team is going to play hard almost every night. It will make a difference.


So, as I said in a previous post somewhere on this site, I expect the Flames to finish first in the Pacific.



Oilers are Oilers - their 'lucky season' is over. They got a miracle season out of an old washed-up goalie, their underlying metrics last year sucked, and they got worse defensively. I liked the upgrade with Hyman, but that was the smallest hole they had. Keith? Ceci? Are you kidding? Lucky for them, the Pacific is that bad, so they will be a bubble team.


Vegas - most people have Vegas pegged for top of the standings, but I don't agree any longer. I think they have lost their culture in some of their moves lately, and have changed from a 'collection of spare parts with something to prove' to more of a 'collection of mercenaries' after how they have treated some of their players. Lehner is all 'up and down' every year, and it has become more apparent to me that Fleury was a much more important player on that team than I imagined. One thing that Vegas had going was that they were a big, strong, fast and hard-working team... well, the Flames are that now, and I would say that the Flames are better on forward and in net, and have the better coach.



Nobody else is really a threat this year in the Pacific. A lot of teams are somewhere in their rebuild stage - I expect maybe LA to 'surprise' like the Flames did in 2014-15, and that isn't much of a reach since the division really is that bad.


So my overall expectation for this season is that the Flames finish first, and that I see a team with a noticeable uptick in playing hard, being stingy on defence, and punishing the other team. This will be a fun team to cheer for, and we will have an entire year of Darryl Sutter quotes to help keep us entertained along the way.

[Scroopy Noopers]

I honestly see them winning their division.

[FlamesAddiction]

My impression is that this is a team that will be difficult to play against, but will still have trouble scoring. As a result, no playoffs this year.

It should benefit teams that take on other teams back-to-back after playing the Flames.

[MrMike]

Originally Posted by neo45

Offense from the back end is going to be a major problem too, it was a problem for us BEFORE we swapped Gio for Zadorov

Who QBs the powerplay? No one we have has had success at it so we are either going 5 forwards or assuming someone will elevate their game to new levels

Definitely opportunity for someone. Will Andersson get the start back there like he did last season? Will Hanifin get the start up there? Does Valimaki develope some poise and confidence to man the PP? It really could make or break our powerplay, which our team lives and dies by with the lack of secondary scoring lately.

Our defence and especially the production from it, at least to me, seems like our greatest weakness.

[topfiverecords]

Improvements:
- Sutter in charge from day 1 of camp
- Coleman; either as a top 6 offensive addition along with his stellar defensive play; or just a solid top 9 defensive forward
- Zadorov’s physical game
- Don’t have to play Ottawa 9 times.

Deteriorations:
- Loss of Giordano; although as he aged a year older how much of a loss is debatable.
- Ryan leaving is a loss, although net benefit may be positive.
- No veteran backup, however Vader looks to have significant potential.
- Don’t get to play the Oilers 9 times.

Not addressed:
- Top end forward scoring
- PP quarterback

Question marks:
- Gaudreau, Monahan, and Tkachuk. Can they have a better season? Are they even here long term as well? Lindholm lives and dies by the rest of the group.
- Is Zadorov overall a good addition on defence?
- Andersson needs to have a better year.
- Are Pitlick, Lewis, Richardson and Gudbranson just 2022 Leivo/Simon/Nordstrom/Nesterov?
- Is Backlund on the back 9?
- Is Vader an answer at backup?

Feeling confident on good progression: Mangiapane, Dube, Valimaki

Not need worrying about going into the season: Markstrom, Lindholm, Lucic, Hanifin, Tanev. They’ll be fine.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Not much went right last season. For this season to go better you need some, but perhaps not all, of the following to happen
- Monahan rebounds, even if not to his historic levels, but to an acceptable bar for a 2nd liner
- Tkachuk rebounds
- Markstrom rebounds
- Tanev continues strong play
- Hanifin takes a big step to be the new #1
- Juuso takes a step towards being a second pairing guy
- Andersson rebounds
- Eatbread continues to develop.
- Dube takes a step
- Coleman justifies his contract

There's a lot that COULD go right. If some of that happens I see them as a 7-10 team competing for a playoff spot. If MOST of them go right, I think they can be a little higher. If key players continue to play poorly they are out of the playoff picture and sellers at the TDL

I think they have already addressed 2 things that you didn't mention, but that are important: coaching and identity. And as Calgary4Life said, I expect them to pay with more pace. Those things alone will probably get them in the playoffs in a really weak division.

With respect to the 10 items you listed, if 3-4 of them happen, they make the playoffs. If 5-6 of them happen, I think they are in the conversation for 2nd or 3rd. And if 7 or more of them happen, they will be in the chase to win the division.

[united]

- Every player who had a down season will rebound.
- Players who exceeded expectations will not regress as that is their new normal.
- All young players will show progression.
- All players over 27 will not experience age-related declines.
- Despite a multi-year rolling sample of basically league average goaltending, Markstrom will be one of the best goaltenders in the league.

The 2021-22 Calgary Flames are Stanley Cup contenders. Wizardly stuff in other words.

[sketchyt]

IMO, the most overlooked thing with this team is having Sutter for a full season. He stated himself he didn't change the system coming in mid-way through the year.

It's not going to be pretty hockey but I think it will be effective. The new players brought in support that.

The damage that Bill Peters and Geoff Ward did (both for different reasons) did to this team seems to be largely ignored. I think they're still clawing their way out of that.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Thoughts on the "new" roster?

Still too many questions. Not much has changed where it matters. The top six is pretty well untouched, and that group hasn't been good enough. The top end of the blueline is still missing that offensive dynamic, and the blueline still looks thin to me. Goaltending is still a question mark. Do we get Markstrom pre-injury, or post-injury. Will Darth be a good enough backup?

The team has gotten bigger and should be more aggressive. The concern is whether they can skate with the top dogs in the division. That is a significant concern that we will have to see play out. I see this team being a crash and bang defense first, meaning they will be taking a lot of penalties, so special teams will be the difference maker in most games. Not sure I see a team with good enough talent to keep pucks out on the PK, or score enough when they have the PP. Seems to be pretty much the same problems we faced last year, so you have to wonder why this year will be different.

I think this is going to be a year of distractions. Gaudreau's contract extension should have been worked out by now. The longer that plays out, and the closer he gets to UFA status, the bigger the media circus will be. The Tkachuk situation has potential to be a distraction as well. How he comes into camp will determine how much of a pain in the ass to the Flames he will be this season. I think Sutter is going to squeeze him to finally play up to the level of his mouth/ego and there will be a crossroads at some point. Either he buys in, or he's going to be a problem like he was last season. Monahan needs to get out of the gate quickly as well, or he's going to be the target of the fans looking for someone to blame. The expectations for Mangiapane are going to be crazy high, so he's another guy that really needs to step up or there could be problems there. Same with Dube. Like I said, lots of possible distractions.

The Flames will be a team under scrutiny, no doubt. What could really help here is a fast start out of the gate. Here's hoping that happens, because this fanbase is hungry for some success.

[Enoch Root]

I don't expect a fast start. Beyond the fact that they never start quickly, I expect it to take a while for Sutter to get this team where he wants them.

[Strange Brew]

That 4th line…

It strikes me as being made up of the kind of players you add at the deadline for a playoff push. Too old and slow for a full season, so hopefully some young guys emerge and steal the playing time during the season.

This club could be severely lacking in energy over the ups and downs of a long season. Sutter can’t fix everything and we have seen this core group of players sleepwalk through game after game in seasons past. The best hope is for a quick start and they start rolling.

[GranteedEV]

[MrMike]

If Coleman doesn’t play in the top 6 we will have the most expensive third line in the league.

[Igottago]

Tough season to call. I like that the team seems bigger and tougher, but not enough changes to the core guys, who ultimately will make or break success for the team. Even if they make the playoffs I don't really have a lot of faith the same guys will outplay the top lines of the opposition. I have full trust in Sutter as a coach, so that'll be a positive. I worry about the defense without Gio. We are relying on a lot of guys to either bounce back or step up their games. I foresee making the playoffs but not a deep run if the roster stays the same.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by united

- Every player who had a down season will rebound.
- Players who exceeded expectations will not regress as that is their new normal.
- All young players will show progression.
- All players over 27 will not experience age-related declines.
- Despite a multi-year rolling sample of basically league average goaltending, Markstrom will be one of the best goaltenders in the league.

The 2021-22 Calgary Flames are Stanley Cup contenders. Wizardly stuff in other words.

That’s not the impression I got from the rookies game thread.

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I think they have already addressed 2 things that you didn't mention, but that are important: coaching and identity. And as Calgary4Life said, I expect them to pay with more pace. Those things alone will probably get them in the playoffs in a really weak division.

With respect to the 10 items you listed, if 3-4 of them happen, they make the playoffs. If 5-6 of them happen, I think they are in the conversation for 2nd or 3rd. And if 7 or more of them happen, they will be in the chase to win the division.

I understand the tougher to play against not being as soft and possibly having more compete, BUT pace?

Are the Flames going to be faster because Sutter told them to? I find it hard to believe that the individual Flames were not training hard enough in the past off seasons.

The additions of Coleman and Pitlick might be faster and able to play at a better pace, but it thought Ryan was in the league because of his skating and ability to play a fast game.

Zaradov and Gudbrandson are not going to increase the pace and likely are going to slow things down for the whole team when they are on the ice. Lewis and Richardson are likely pretty quick for players finishing out their careers.

Big physical teams are not usually associated with being up tempo. The smaller less physical teams try to force the tempo to expose the other tougher teams.

The Flames will not want to go up tempo and exchange scoring chances with the Oilers for example. Gaudreau and Tkachuk are not going to outscore McDavid and Draisatil very often if at all.

The Flames best chance for winning will be to have their players stay on the defense side of their checks. Less offense from both sides.