Continuing my preview of of the Northwest divison with the Calgary Flames. (My preview of the Colorado Avalanche can be found here and my preview of the Vancouver Canucks can be found here)
Calgary has been thought to be the favorite in the Northwest Division the past two years. This year, however, there has been some doubt, especially after losing both Alex Tanguay and Kristian Huselius.
In goal the Flames seem to be solid with Miikka Kiprusoff as their starter, and under Iron Mike Keenan, he should see at least 70 starts this year. As long as he doesn't burn out, the Flames will be fine for those games. Curtis McElhinney will get his chance to prove he belongs in the NHL and can be a suitable back up for Kiprusoff. Last year, he only got into 5 games before the Flames decided to bring in veteran netminder Curtis Joseph. If he can provide some decent goaltending for the 10-12 starts he gets this year, the Flames will be fine in the goaltending department.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Calgary's defence, led by star Dion Phaneuf, looks to be good as usual the past few seasons. Along with Phaneuf, the Flames have Robyn Regher (arguably one of the best defensive defensemen in the league), Adrian Aucoin, Anders Ericksson, Cory Sarich, and Rhett Warrener. If injuries strike, Calgary should be ok with James Vandermeer and Mark Giordano as reserves.
Offence is the weak point of the Flames. While they have superstar Jarome Iginla, who scored 50 goals last year and doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon, Daymond Langkow, and newly acquired Mike Cammalleri, there isn't much after that. After these three, with Huselius and Tanguay gone, the next highest goal scorer on the team is Curtis Glencross, who netted 15 goals last year. After him, the next best two are Mathew Lombardi, who still hasn't broken out like he was supposed to, and Todd Bertuzzi, who is just a shell of his former self. If they all reach their potential, however, then Calgary's second line could be alright. But that is a big if.
If Calgary hopes to contend in the divisionthis year, they are going to need Kiprusoff to play to his Vezina-winning form, while the defence needs to be rock solid, so that they can counterbalance their lack of offensive depth. Iginla cannot afford to slow down from his MVP like performance last year, while Langkow and Cammalleri have to be at their absolute best. Of course, Keenan may be able to work his magic and turn Bertuzzi back into one of the games best power forwards, leading to Lombardi to finally play to his potential. Or the Flames will be one round and out again. If they even make the playoffs.
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3 months ago
Solid point about some things, but speaking as an analyst myself, Calgary will have a lot more offensively than they have been credited for so far. Many forget Todd, Mike and Girodano as they will put offense where it needs to be put.
3 months ago
And we're not a Flames fan I see?
from 3 months ago
no im not a flames fan lol
but i tried my best to keep my prejudices out of it.
usually i would say calgary is gonna be good, but this year i just don't think they have it
3 months ago
Sorry Faiz-ali, you have very little credibility in your assesment of this team. Although I may agree with you that they may have lost some fire power up front. The amount of points lost compared to gained in the off season is not much different. But the biggest reason that you are dis-credited is you're assessment of the defence. Putting JIM vandermeer as a reserve behind Anders eriksson is just blind. Anders was a -5 in the regular season and was a huge reason the flames lost game 7. (he was on the ice for all five goals against. Jim will play on the first or second line with Phanuef, just like he finished the last season. Also, Iginla has stated that he and Todd had great chemistry at the olympics and would love to play with him. It is also not out of the realm of possibility, that 2007 first round pick, Michael Backlund, will make the team. I appriciate that you probably don't follow the flames as closely as someone who is a die hard fan, but let's leave the season predictions to those who do.
from 3 months ago
Sorry about the Vandermeer thing, but on the website they do list him as James. And you're absolutely right about Backlund, I completely forgot about him, and I think he does have a good chance to make the team.
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