Calgary Flames Look Good...Real Good!

As a Calgary Flames fan, I have had to endure numerous seasons of missing the playoffs, followed by a winning goal that never was (in Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003-04), to mediocre play in the regular season leading up to a first-round exit.

This season, however, there is optimism the team has not had since that fabulous run of 2004. Yes, it is still exhibition—and I know I shouldn't jump the gun, because even the no-name Canucks hold a 3-0 preseason record.

That being said it is hard not to get just a little excited after watching this new Flames team pick apart the Florida Panthers 8-2 on Friday night, all the while without their captain Jarome Iginla in the lineup.

If Todd Bertuzzi and Mike Cammalleri stay on either side of speedster Matthew Lombardi, than the Flames may just have a genuine second-line threat—which is something the team has lacked in numerous years. If Friday night's game is any indication, Keenan would be smart to keep that line intact.

That would leave Iginla and Daymond Langkow to play with either Rene Bourque, Curtis Glencross, or David Moss, whom all scored in the whitewash of the Panthers as well.

I didn't agree with Sutter trading Tanguay for basically peanuts, but the moves he made this summer was nothing short of brilliant.

If anything, this year's installment of the Calgary Flames is deeper than any they have iced in the last 13 years.

With eight more-than-capable defencemen in Adrian Aucoin, Anders Eriksson, Mark Giordano, Dion Phaneuf, Robin Regehr, Cory Sarich, James Vandermeer, and Rhett Warrener, this team is not done making trades to improve just yet.

If Mikka Kiprusoff can rebound from a mediocre year, the defense-rich Flames play to their capabilities, and the roster stays healthy, there is no reason why this season's installment will not make a run in the playoffs.

We may just hear Johnny Cash "Ring of Fire" blaring come June, and Jarome Iginla hoisting the Stanley Cup he has longed for—and deserves.