CALGARY FLAMES 2018-19 SEASON PREVIEW
Welcome to my 2018-19 Calgary Flames season preview.
The New
New is good, or so we like to believe. In the case of the Calgary Flames, I do believe that change is a positive thing. Gone, are the 2017-18 coaching staff. Gone, are rumored malcontents. In, is a new coaching staff that will play a more up tempo game and allow the players to forecheck. In, is a new level of depth lacking the last few years.
As much as a quarter of the Flames roster will be turned over from last season, additions of James Neal, Elias Lindholm, Derek Ryan and Austin Czarnik have added the aforementioned depth. The new additions came at the expense of Micheal Ferland, Troy Brouwer, Matt Stajan and Kris Versteeg. Frankly of that quartet, only Ferland was an impact player last season, combined they scored 34 goals. The incoming group of four on the other hand scored 56 goals last year, despite the fact that Czarnik never scored a goal in ten appearances with the Bruins last season.
In addition to the four new skaters signed to one-way contracts, there is still up to three open roster spots available and a plethora of players vying for those jobs. The front-runners for two of those positions are the retuning Curtis Lazar and Garnet Hathaway. Rookies, Spencer Foo, Morgan Klimchuk, Ryan Lomberg and Andrew Mangiapane, all of whom got their first taste of NHL action last season are also in the mix for those spots. Fresh of being acquired in a deal with Montreal, Kerby Rychel is looking to finally establish himself as an bonefide NHLer. Free agent signings, Alan Quine, Buddy Robinson, Yasin Ehliz, Anthony Peluso and Tyler Graovac will do their best to add their names to the conversation. One last name to watch is 2016 second round pick, Dillon Dube who is fresh off a breakout season with the Kelowna Rockets and an impressive appearance as the captain of Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.
The Flames backend will also have a bit of a new look, as Dougie Hamiton, who has been on the top pairing for the past two seasons was sent to Carolina. The result of the move not only brought youngster Noah Hanifin, who is bursting with potential, into the fold, but has led to Mark Giordano and TJ Brodie being reunited. Hanifin, who is just 21 is expected to pair up with veteran defensive specialist, Travis Hamonic. Both Brett Kulak and Michael Stone are set to return to the Flames as well, however they may see rookie Rasmus Andersson force one of them to the role of the seventh defenseman.
Bill Peters, a native of Three Hills, Alberta and former University of Lethbridge Pronghorns bench boss has taken the reigns of the Calgary Flames. Peters, used his exit clause to leave the Carolina Hurricanes after four season, to join the Flames. When you analyze the NHL standings, one could see that Carolina missed the playoffs all four years and posted an unimpressive .498 point percentage. However, during those 4 years, the Hurricanes didn't ice the most competitive of teams as former owner Peter Karmanos pinched pennies.
During his tenure in Carolina, the Canes arguably had the leagues worst goaltending and looking at the save percentages for their goaltenders backs up that up. There seem to be two schools of thought when it comes to Peters, the negative is that he had no one ice success with Carolina, so why would he have any here. To, Peters helped a teams with extremely poor goaltending overachieve by implementing a shot suppression system.
GOALTENDING STATS OF HURRICANES GOALTENDERS DURING PETERS TENURE
| Name | GP | W | L | OT | GAA | SV% |
| Cam Ward | 207 | 94 | 77 | 31 | 2.55 | 0.907 |
| Eddie Lack | 54 | 20 | 21 | 9 | 2.75 | 0.901 |
| Scott Darling | 43 | 13 | 21 | 7 | 3.18 | 0.888 |
| Anton Khudobin | 34 | 8 | 17 | 6 | 2.72 | 0.900 |
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In addition to Peters, the Flames added Geoff Ward as an associate coach and brought Ryan Huska up from Stockton to fill an assistant coach role. Ward, has been an NHL assistant for a decade, spending seven years in Boston, where he won a Stanley Cup ring in 2011 and three years with the Devils. Among his duties, Ward will be in charge of the Flames power play, an area where improvement is desperately needed. During his time running the PP for the Devils, they were sixteenth in powerplay percentage. Under Dave Cameron, the Flames were twenty-fifth in two seasons. Huska, while having no NHL experience, has a reputation for cultivating young defensemen, going back to his decade plus as an assistant and head coach in Kelowna. In four years with the Flames minor league system as a head coach, Huska guided the AHL affiliate to the post-season just once, but is credited with helping the development of defensemen Brett Kulak, Rasmus Andersson and Oliver Kylington.
The changes behind the bench for the most part is seen as a positive among the members of the Flames fanbase, as generally the most negative comments will be along the line of "they can't be worse than Gulutzan and Cameron". But some, like myself are excited about the changes behind the bench.
The Old
Even though a large turnover has occurred, at least three-quarters of last years roster is returning. Among the returning, is Sean Monahan who was sent to some remote lab in the Rockies to have adamantium inserted into his body. Affectionately called 'Mony' by fans and teammates, Monahan underwent three surgeries after being shelfed by the Flames when the season grew out of reach; two for sports hernias and another on his wrist. Recent reports have Monahan at one hundred percent already. New head coach, Bill Peters has stated he will keep the Flames dynamic duo of Gaudreau and Monahan together.
Another pairing that looks like it will be returning to play together, is Matthew Tkachuk and newlywed, Mikael Backlund. With a more offensive option on their right wing, both the Flames and their fanbase are hoping to see more offense from the line known for it's possession metrics.
The third member of the Triple M line, Michael Frolik; is also returning, but early line combinations from Bill Peters have him sliding into the bottom six, however the exact spot is unknown. Also returning are two-thirds of last years third line, Sam Bennett and Mark Jankowski. Due to their ages, both are expected to improve. Bennett, who shot a surprisingly low shooting percentage is a candidate to break out for the Flames. It is uncertain where either Bennett or Jankowski will play in the Flames lineup, or if they will even stay together. Also returning to the team are bottom six forwards, Curtis Lazar and Garnet Hathaway, either of whom could be used on the fourth line or as extra forwards.
As mentioned in the previous section, the move of Dougie Hamilton to Carolina, will result in the Flames reuniting Giordano and Brodie, a pairing that was among the NHL elite when they last played together. Currently still in tact in the Flames bottom pair of Michael Stone and Brett Kulak, however with Stone's ability to play the left side and rookie Rasmus Andersson knocking on the door, the pairing could very easily be split up with one of the two falling to the role of the seventh defenseman.
Between the pipes, the only possible change is Jon Gillies beating out David Rittich for the back-up spot. Mike Smith has the starters role all sewn up.
The Unknown
What is unknown about the Flames heading into camp is plentiful. With all the changes behind the bench and on the ice, the Flames have alot of question marks. Will it take the players a while to adjust to Peters? Does having three former Hurricane players that played under Peters make that adjustment easier? Will the apparent similarities between Gulutzan and Peters systems allow for a quicker transition as well? How will Lindholm and Neal fit with Gaudreau, Monahan, Tkachuk and Backlund?
Who will step up and take the final open roster spots up front? Will the Giordano & Brodie pairing be able to rekindle old chemistry? Will Noah Hanifin grow into the number four role? Will Rasmus Andersson or WHL graduate Juuso Valimaki steal a roster spot from Stone or Kulak? Will Mike Smith's health hold up? Has the experience of starting in the NHL given one or both of Gillies and Rittich something they needed to reach the next level? So many questions, that only time can answer.
Prediction
I am a big fan of all the Flames changes, every single one of them. I suspect the 2018-19 season will go very well for the Flames. I think Peters will implement a similar system, but will focus more on utilizing the speed of our forwards and using a relentless forecheck. I think the new players and Geoff Ward will improve a powerplay that was a putrid 16% last season. Last season the Flames players shot 1.6% lower than their averages over the previous 4 seasons, so I expect some normalization in that regard too.
I predict that the Flames will make the playoffs in the Pacific bracket, finishing second or third in the division. I think the normalization of the teams shooting percentage and the newly added scoring depth, will vault the Flames into the top ten in scoring. I think Mike Smith remains healthy, while playing a lighter workload.
What are your thoughts on the upcoming season?
