The NHL’s Calgary Flames Offseason Review.

Even though the Calgary Flames slumped late in the season, lost in the first round of the playoffs and fired their coach, all is not lost.  The first step appears to be replacing Mike Keenan behind the bench and general manager Darryl Sutter appears to have found his man.  He only had to look within his own family as he hired his younger brother Brent to take over as head coach.  Brent behind the Flames bench makes sense given his coaching talent and the Sutters’ deep hockey roots in Alberta.  The Flames will aim to make it past the first round of the playoffs for only the second time in the last 20 years, an incredible streak of futility for a team that has usually been competitive.  In fact the last time they were in the Stanley Cup finals was when they beat the Montreal Canadiens during the 1988-89 season.  They have made one major pickup in defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who along with Dion Phaneuf now gives the Flames a truly elite first blueline pairing.  Phaneuf’s first three seasons in the league had fans dreaming of how many Norris trophies he would win in his career.  However, his last season was a forgettable one, as both his offensive and defensive totals dropped.  However, I believe that Phaneuf will bounce back, for the most part, to a level closer to two seasons ago. Playing over 26 minutes a game and in all special team’s situations will give him all the ample opportunities to make plays.

While he didn’t notch 50 goals, as he did in 2007-2008, Jarome Iginla scored 35 goals and 89 points and he’s averaged nearly 94 points per season over the last three years, second-best among NHL wingers (behind Alex Ovechkin) in that time.  However, Iginla’s consistency at both ends of the rink can be better.  Not many players in the league surpassed expectations like Rene Bourque, who notched a career-best 40 points and plus-18 rating despite missing 24 games with an ankle injury.  Bourque is a solid two-way winger and penalty killer, who showed more offensive flair than anticipated.  Like Bourque, Curtis Glencross was an off-season acquisition that paid off handsomely.  Glencross is a high-energy winger who gets in quickly on the forecheck to create scoring opportunities, offering a little offensive upside for a checking winger.  Ageless Craig Conroy had a tremendous season, registering 48 points and a plus-20 rating while providing his usually reliable two-way game.  He’ll be 38 next season, and is entering the final year of his current contract, but Conroy’s a safe bet as the third line center.

As I mentioned earlier Bouwmeester and Phaneuf will provide a strong 1st pair on the blueline as well as the powerplay.  Phaneuf can be an intimidating presence, but needs to learn how to pick his spots so that he doesn’t get caught out of position and can handle one of the league’s heaviest workloads.  Cory Sarich is rock solid and durable on the blueline and his 20 points and plus-12 rating from last season represented career-bests.

While netminder Miikka Kiprusoff has been incredibly durable, averaging 75 games per season over the last four years in Calgary, his goals against average and save percentage have declined every year; perhaps an indication that he’s not at his best when carrying such a heavy load.  For better or worse, the Flames are committed long-term to Kiprusoff, so they had better find a way to reverse the trend.