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I was reading through articles the other day and noticed a continuing trend with respect to Calgary Flames GM Jay Feaster and his vision for his club. Before moving any further with this write up, I’d like to share a few thoughts of mine from a previous blog to get things started.
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It has been a widely accepted notion that the Flames were one of the older teams in the league and have not done anything to get any younger. James Mirtle has recently released stats which rank teams by height, weight, and age...where did the Flames place?
Age
The most important of them all - age of the team. The Flames are one of the oldest teams in the NHL and have not done very much to address this which consequently ranks them at 14th league wide in age….wait…14th? The Flames are below the median of NHL age league wide. Yes, that is correct…they are a (younger) NHL team and are continuing to get younger!
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The above excerpt from a blog I wrote in January explained how Jay Feaster has been slowly changing several dynamics and labels with respect to his Calgary Flames roster. As mentioned, the impression held by many was that the Flames were one of the eldest and smallest teams in the league. The blog went on to discuss how, in just a short period of time, Feaster has improved upon those two critiques. Well, let’s continue this discussion just over 6 months later.
Since James Mirtle released a blog which listed height, weight, and age averages for each NHL team in January, the Calgary Flames were ranked 14th with an average team age of 28.3. Since then, the Flames have decreased their average age on their roster down to 26.8. Impressive, no? In just a matter of 6 months the team has dropped almost two years in age on average and has brought in several prospects and draft selections who are not even being considered in these calculations.
As mentioned yesterday, the Flames have acquired another young forward in TJ Galiardi from the San Jose Sharks, only a few short days after completing a four player deal with the Colorado Avalanche which saw two vets walk out the door. Although the 25 year old, 6’2 195lbs Calgary native has yet to play a full season in the NHL to date, he adds youth and depth to the Flames forwards.
Now, adding Galiardi is a great move for the low price of a 2015 4th round draft pick, however it creates some congestion on the left wing for the Flames who currently have Curtis Glencross, Sven Baertschi, Jiri Hudler, and Michael Cammalleri in that respective position. I suppose this begs the question - Is this a precursor to a Mike Cammalleri deal that is about to unveil? I guess we will have to wait and see, but you would almost have to assume the Flames have something else planned given their current left wing logjam, right? With that being said, Cammalleri can also be slotted as a centerman, though I would only hope that is a Plan B for Feaster & Co.
We have now further discussed the age portion of this analysis so far - what about the Brawn? Let’s take a look again at the blog I wrote in
January and see how things have changed. In January, the Flames were ranked 30th and 23rd for the average weight of 195 pounds and 72.8 inches in height, respectively. The current Flames roster now averages 198 pounds(+3) and 73 inches(+0.2). As you can see, since January of this year alone, the Flames have not only decreased their average age by 1.5years, but have also increased their height and weight (even if only marginally in height).
Furthermore, Calgary’s recent draft picks who were not considered in these averages add further evidence that the Flames are looking to increase their size as the average height and weight which they drafted were 73 inches and 188 pounds. These recent draft selections appear to have made up for previous selections in Gaudreau (5’8 155lbs) and Jankowski (6’2 170lbs) who were thought to be small when they were originally drafted.
We have now covered age, height, and weight leaving us with just one last category to analyze - players cognizance. If you recall, I wrote a blog several months ago about the notion that a strong level of Hockey IQ takes high precedence for Jay Feaster when it comes to acquiring players, and this is evident in not only the recent transactions which have taken place, but also in his drafting. With the Avalanche trade, Feaster acquired a player in David Jones who he sought after for his north-south game and his ability to be smart with the puck. Additionally, Feaster recently closed a deal with TJ Galiardi who brings another dynamic to the team with his energy and compete level – something players who are having trouble scoring must adopt as a role.
Taking a look at Calgary’s first round selections, they chose forwards who have displayed strong two-way games, and those who played important roles with their respective teams. Feaster appears to select players based on their overall packages and abilities to play a 200 foot game, rather than one dimensional players who may develop problems as they adapt to the NHL.
Hopefully this blog effectively displayed (and furthered) the notion that Feaster has been and continues to add youth, brains, and brawns to the Calgary Flames roster. There is no doubt that several out there still feel the Flames are more than a few years away from competing once again in the league, but Feaster is doing everything he can to change that mentality while keeping his team competitive now, and down the road.
Thanks for reading!
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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