Top storylines heading into the season

[FBI]

Here are some of the storylines I'm excited to follow for this season:

#1. How good is Parekh? Will this stupid injury stuff hamper him off the start?
#2. Who is Klapka? Is he #1 line driving force player, or 4th line agitator player..
#3. Wolf's Sophomore season, sophomore slump? Or continued awesomeness..
#4. Foutrh line center rotations.. Morton? King? Kirkland? Zary?
#5. Will Honzek stick this time? fingers crossed
#6. Who will bounce back after a mediocre season? Farabee? Pospisil? Sharangovich?
#7. Can Coronato score 30/35/40?
#8. Was Kirkland's shootout stuff a flash in the pan, or will he do it again this year?
#9. When will Andersson be traded, this one is getting stale, but still super important.. Will he regress/be a distraction?
#10. Who will our backup goalie be?
Oh and #11. Will McD continue to not sign?

Any other storylines you guys are excited for?

[cam_calderon]

Andersson No.1 for me, crossing everything he is out the door as soon as possible.

Really keen to see Honzek hopefully stick to the big club.

[theslymonkey]

I want to live in a world where Honzek makes this team, but I just don't see where. Center is full, Left is full, Right is full, and he can't/shouldn't play on the fourth line.

[Macho0978]

Will the Flames be in the playoff race at the trade deadline? Will they be buyers or sellers?

Who else besides Andersson end up in the block or moved this season? Coleman, Kadri, Huberdeau, Weegar?

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by FBI

Here are some of the storylines I'm excited to follow for this season:

#1. How good is Parekh? Will this stupid injury stuff hamper him off the start?

He's good. Really good. He will be on the ice for plenty of goals against, but he will make a highlight reel play leading to a Flames goal at least once every week. They're holding him out for precautionary reasons, because he is the Flames' #1 asset. He will take part in training camp and the preseason.

Originally Posted by FBI

#2. Who is Klapka? Is he #1 line driving force player, or 4th line agitator player..

4th line agitator

Originally Posted by FBI

#3. Wolf's Sophomore season, sophomore slump? Or continued awesomeness..

Wolf doesn't slump. Every time expectations get raised, he elevates his game to meet those expectations. This has been the way he has conducted himself every single season since the Flames drafted him.

Originally Posted by FBI

#4. Foutrh line center rotations.. Morton? King? Kirkland? Zary?

All of the aforementioned except Zary.

Originally Posted by FBI

#5. Will Honzek stick this time? fingers crossed

Yes, and he will be in the top 9.

Originally Posted by FBI

#6. Who will bounce back after a mediocre season? Farabee? Pospisil? Sharangovich?

Farabee and Sharangovich.

Originally Posted by FBI

#7. Can Coronato score 30/35/40?

35 this season, 40 the next.

Originally Posted by FBI

#8. Was Kirkland's shootout stuff a flash in the pan, or will he do it again this year?

Depends on whether he develops a successful secondary move, otherwise every goaltender will go for the poke check. If he develops a reasonably good secondary move, he could score a lot of shootout goals.

Originally Posted by FBI

#9. When will Andersson be traded, this one is getting stale, but still super important.. Will he regress/be a distraction?

He will have a monster season, but be traded at the deadline because he will be looking for a monster UFA contract.

Originally Posted by FBI

#10. Who will our backup goalie be?

Prosvetov. And unfortunately, he won't be very good.

Originally Posted by FBI

Oh and #11. Will McD continue to not sign?

Yes. The Oilers' weaknesses will finally be exposed, and they will have a down season. McDavid will give the Oilers one last gasp the win the Cup with him before departing as a UFA.

Bonus question: can Zary stay healthy, and can he score 50 points if he does?

[stemit14]

I would also add the question if any other veteran player besides Andersson is traded this season? Potentially a winger like Coleman, Sharangovich or Farabee.

I think the depth at wing in the organization has created a logjam that could lead to lack of opportunities for some young players. I am confident at least one young forward will impress at camp this year (likely one of Suniev, Honzek, Gridin at this point) and play well enough to make the team but be told it’s a numbers game so they are going to start the season on the wranglers and will be called up when an injury happens.

[Canada 02]

backup goalie is going to have a big impact. With the condensed Olympic schedule, the backup might need to play 25+ games.

Assuming 25 starts:

backup plays .500, gets 25 pts, Wolf will need to play .632 for the Flames to get to 97 pts

backup plays .400, gets 20 pts, Wolf will need to play .675 for the Flames to get to 97 pts

Vladdy played 29 games and was 1 point over .500.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

backup goalie is going to have a big impact. With the condensed Olympic schedule, the backup might need to play 25+ games.

Assuming 25 starts:

backup plays .500, gets 25 pts, Wolf will need to play .632 for the Flames to get to 97 pts

backup plays .400, gets 20 pts, Wolf will need to play .675 for the Flames to get to 97 pts

Vladdy played 29 games and was 1 point over .500.

Reminds me of the last few years with Kipper. Pretty sure there was a stretch where the flames didn’t get a single win from the backup for a season or even more. And they missed playoffs by a couple points in those seasons. Essentially the flames needed an average quality backup to make the playoffs and missed because of that. Think kipper was playing around 70 of the 82 games. They just needed a backup to win something like 3 out of 10 starts to make playoffs.

Obviously it’s different now because no goalies play as much as kipper did back then. So now, having a decent backup goaltender is even more important for a team to make the playoffs.

[Goriders]

For me the big question marks are:

- Andersson situation
- Parekh
- backup goalie
- whether Sharongovich and Farabee can turn things around

If all of them turn out positively I think the Flames will have a great season

[NegativeSpace]

Originally Posted by FBI

Here are some of the storylines I'm excited to follow for this season:

#1. How good is Parekh? Will this stupid injury stuff hamper him off the start?
#2. Who is Klapka? Is he #1 line driving force player, or 4th line agitator player..
#3. Wolf's Sophomore season, sophomore slump? Or continued awesomeness..
#4. Foutrh line center rotations.. Morton? King? Kirkland? Zary?
#5. Will Honzek stick this time? fingers crossed
#6. Who will bounce back after a mediocre season? Farabee? Pospisil? Sharangovich?
#7. Can Coronato score 30/35/40?
#8. Was Kirkland's shootout stuff a flash in the pan, or will he do it again this year?
#9. When will Andersson be traded, this one is getting stale, but still super important.. Will he regress/be a distraction?
#10. Who will our backup goalie be?
Oh and #11. Will McD continue to not sign?

Any other storylines you guys are excited for?

#12: What new young player, if any, (other than Parekh) makes another veteran expendable?


In my view, this team's progression is continuing turning over veterans for younger players gradually over the years. There are a few young wingers that may be knocking on the door and demanding spots in the lineup. So, who does that make expendable?

[ThePrince]

Originally Posted by theslymonkey

I want to live in a world where Honzek makes this team, but I just don't see where. Center is full, Left is full, Right is full, and he can't/shouldn't play on the fourth line.

I think that would say more about Honzek than it does the team. If he can’t break through a potential lottery, or at best bubble team, then how good of a player is he really?

[Steve's Stick]

Originally Posted by ThePrince

I think that would say more about Honzek than it does the team. If he can’t break through a potential lottery, or at best bubble team, then how good of a player is he really?

I'm a strong proponent of Honzek, but I'd rather have him start in the AHL, as a center.

Go there and dominate.

Next year Kadri and Backlund may be moving-on (and Frost didn't prove anything last year).

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by FBI

Any other storylines you guys are excited for?

• Who plays on the 3rd pairing out of camp this season, and who gets waived?
• Will Kerins make the team out of camp, or are the Flames going to lose one of the top producers in the AHL on waivers?
• How will the PK look out of the gate since the Flames are switching to a diamond instead of a box?
• How will the coaching responsibilities shake out with the addition of Lowry?
• Will Sharangovich be on pace for 35 goals or 35 points this season?
• Can Huberdeau and Kadri maintain the chemistry from last year?
• Can anyone steal Lomberg's spot in the lineup?
• Will Prosvetov manage to win the Flames games, or at least stay around .500?

[topfiverecords]

Which Flame will be this year's whipping boy?

[united]

Hmmmmm did I possibly miss this? Big, if true.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1968064867702808647

[FBI]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

backup goalie is going to have a big impact. With the condensed Olympic schedule, the backup might need to play 25+ games.

Assuming 25 starts:

backup plays .500, gets 25 pts, Wolf will need to play .632 for the Flames to get to 97 pts

backup plays .400, gets 20 pts, Wolf will need to play .675 for the Flames to get to 97 pts

Vladdy played 29 games and was 1 point over .500.

I'm guessing more like Wolf 62, backups 20.. Or Wolf 60, backups 22..

[Leeman4Gilmour]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

• Who plays on the 3rd pairing out of camp this season, and who gets waived?
• Will Kerins make the team out of camp, or are the Flames going to lose one of the top producers in the AHL on waivers?
• How will the PK look out of the gate since the Flames are switching to a diamond instead of a box?
• How will the coaching responsibilities shake out with the addition of Lowry?
• Will Sharangovich be on pace for 35 goals or 35 points this season?
• Can Huberdeau and Kadri maintain the chemistry from last year?
• Can anyone steal Lomberg's spot in the lineup?
• Will Prosvetov manage to win the Flames games, or at least stay around .500?

I'd put it at #11 on the OP's list, but the waiver wire in general.

All of the current 'regulars' along with Kuznetsov, Poirier, Solovyov, Kerins, Morton, Cooley, Prosvetov, all have to pass through waivers. Would losing any of these guys be debilitating? No, with the exception of Cooley or Prosvetov and that's because you're suddenly left with Say or Sergeev as first call up if either of the NHL tandem gets hurt.

[browntrout]

For me the story line will be, "will Conroy continue to trade away vets and make room for rookies, or will the GM back peddle from rebuilding and attempt to make the playoffs

[Fan69]

To me it comes down to essentially 3 story lines.

First and foremost the center position. Does kadri regress? Secondly can frost come in and provide some offense. To me frost and sharangovich are the bounce back questions of the year farrabee less so. Does Backs continue to slide but be fed more minutes than he probably should?
Can a trade for a young center be had??

Andersson? When does he get traded and does the return involve a young center? Can a trade be made to soften the blow or can the internal promotions cover it ?

Goaltenders? If wolf can give us 910 and the Back up goaltender can give us decent 20 outings?
Can prosvetov come in and prospertov?

If you can solidify center or frost or zary come in and give us second to first line production with a decent performance from the back up and someone stepping up or making a trade to shore up the defence this is a playoff team.

Young guys will progress, klapka will prove he is more than a 4th liner, wolf will be allright. Up is the only direction we are going.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by Leeman4Gilmour

I'd put it at #11 on the OP's list, but the waiver wire in general.

All of the current 'regulars' along with Kuznetsov, Poirier, Solovyov, Kerins, Morton, Cooley, Prosvetov, all have to pass through waivers. Would losing any of these guys be debilitating? No, with the exception of Cooley or Prosvetov and that's because you're suddenly left with Say or Sergeev as first call up if either of the NHL tandem gets hurt.

This is the "dog bites man" of season stories. It happens every year. And every year, we survive.