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Pacific Division Preview: Calgary Flames

August 24, 2013, 10:57 PM ET [9 Comments]
Jason Lewis
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
And so we move on from a familiar foe in the Anaheim Ducks, covered here , to a new addition to the division in the Calgary Flames.

Formerly of the powerhouse Northwest division (sense sarcasm here) which included Minnesota, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Colorado, the Flames have shifted to the beautiful destinations of the West Coast for the future. They now have the daunting task of competing in a division where four of the six teams have been to a Conference final or better in the past five seasons.

This isn’t your papa’s Flames though, and the names like Iginla, Kiprusoff, Bouwmeester, and Tanguay are gone. New faces have arrived on the scene with hopes of returning the Flames to the top echelon of hockey. It’s a long journey for them and it starts this year. So who are the Calgary Flames? Take a look.

2012-13 Record

19-25-4 - 42pts (13th in the Western Conference, 25th in the NHL)
13-9-2 Home, 6-16-12 Away

Failed to make the playoffs

Top-5 scorers in 2012-13

Mike Cammalleri - 44gp - 13g - 19a - 32p - minus-15
Lee Stempniak - 47gp - 9g - 23a - 32p - plus-2
Alex Tanguay - 40gp - 11g - 16a - 27p - minus-13
Jiri Hudler - 42gp - 10g - 17a - 27p - minus-13
Curtis Glencrosss - 40gp - 15g - 11a - minus-8

Goaltender stats

Mikka Kiprusoff - 24gp (8-14-2), .882 SV%, 3.44 GAA, 0 shutouts
Joey MacDonald - 21gp (8-9-1). .902 SV%, 2.87 GAA, 0 shutouts
Leland Irving - 6gp (2-1-1), .883 SV%, 3.33 GAA, 0 shutouts

Team Stats

Goals for per game - 2.67 (12th in the NHL)
Goals against per game - 3.27 (28th)
Powerplay - 20.0% (9th)
Penalty Kill - 81.5% (14th)
Hits - 935 (25th)
Faceoff % - 46.6 (28th)

Additions/Subtractions

OUT
Jarome Iginla (PIT)
Blake Comeau (CBJ)
Corey Sarich (COL)
Alex Tanguay (COL)
Jay Bouwmeester (STL)
Leland Irving (Jokerit SM-Liga)


IN
Shane O’Brien (COL)
David Jones (COL)
Karri Ramo (KHL - Avangard Omsk)
Sean Monahan (Draft, Entry-level deal) *potentially*
T.J. Galiardi (SJ)
Kris Russell (STL)



UNKNOWN
Mikka Kiprusoff (Retirement?)

2012-13 vs. Kings

Record: 0-3-0
Goals for/against - 4/12
Leading scorers: Alex Tanguay (3gp, 1g 1a 2p) Jerome Iginla (3gp, 0g 2a 2p) 7 players tied with one point (Cammalleri, Brodie, Backlund, Wideman, Giordano, Hudler, Stajan)
Goaltenders - MacDonald (3 appearances, 0-2, .911 SV% 2.31 GAA) Kiprusoff (1appearance, 0-1, .727 SV%, 7.44 GAA)

2012-13 King stats vs. Flames

Dustin Brown - 3gp - 3g, 1a, 4p
Slava Voynov, 3gp, 0g, 4a, 4a
Jeff Carter, 3gp, 2g, 1a, 3p
Jake Muzzin 3gp, 1g, 2a, 3p
Anze Kopitar - 3gp, 1g, 2a, 3p
(Justin Williams [3], Lewis, Fraser, Scuderi [2])


Goaltending

Jonathan Quick - 2gp, .930 SV%, 1.50 GAA
Jonathan Bernier - 1gp, .963 SV%, 1.00 GAA

Results

LAK W @Calgary 3-1
LAK W @ LA 6-2
LAK W @ LA 3-1


Analysis

Calgary, and general manger Jay Feaster, look like they have finally accepted what many fans have already come to agree on several years ago: The team needs to rebuild. By dealing Jarome Iginla, Jay Bouwmeester, and Alex Tanguay, the Flames took a step away from their habitual mediocrity with an aging group of players and ended the season by letting some youthful horses take the lead, to some varied success and optimism. That being said, it’s going to be a very meager and trying couple of years here in Southern Alberta. They have talented youthful pieces in T.J. Brodie, Mikael Backlund, Sven Baertschi, and Roman Horak. They’ve also added to that group with the drafting of forward Johnny Gaudreau and the Center Sean Monahan. The latter looks to be set for an NHL appearance in what will be his rookie season. In fact, the Flames, with just a few moves, lowered their average age from the 3rd oldest in the league to the 14th youngest. However, youth alone can’t fix some of the gaping holes in the Calgary Flames team.

Sean Monahan’s junior numbers so far:



Johnny Gaudreau’s NCAA numbers:



In terms of goals against they were one of the worst teams in the league last year. While slotting in at only 17th in shots against per game with an average of 29.4 allowed, they gave up a staggering 3.27 goals per game which was good enough for 28th. Part of the problem was an evidently aging and tired Mikka Kiprusoff who for the first time ever in his fantastic career did not look up to snuff. They did little to fix the current conundrum in goal this offseason possibly relying on a tandem Karri Ramo, who is fresh of four years in the KHL with Avangard Omsk, and 33 year-old career AHL and NHL backup Joey MacDonald. Reto Berra, a goaltenders whose rights the Flames recieved in the Bouwmeester trade could also see some playing time. The retirement of Kiprusoff is not set in stone yet, and there are those who believe he will play in 2013-14. However, if his 2012-13 numbers are any indication of the direction the 36-year-old’s career is going Calgary better find their No. 1 and quick.

Up front it’s going to be an interesting mix and the Flames will have a lot of questions to answer. The team will have to progress now into an era without Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay, who together have been amongst the teams top-3 scorers the last three seasons. Their top-six could potentially include the likes of Curtis Glencross, Matt Stajan, David Jones, and Jiri Hudler. You’ve got to admit, that’s ugly. There are plenty of goals in the lineup with former King Mike Cammalleri, Lee Stempniak, and David Jones...but could you pick a streakier group of forwards? They’ve done little to improve their team in the dot, with only Blair Jones finishing with a respectable faceoff numbers (53.7%) amongst their four projected centermen (Stajan (46), Horak (45), Backlund (48), B. Jones). They are certainly banking a lot on Sean Monahan, whom they selected with the 6th overall pick, to jump into a top-6 center role ASAP. To sum it up, there are questions at defense, goaltending, and offense. This is what you expect from a team that is rebuilding though. They brought in some decent pieces with Galiardi, O’Brien, and David Jones, but this is a Flames team that will likely miss the playoffs for a fifth straight year.

The Kings manhandled the Flames last season, as did the Anaheim Ducks (2-1), San Jose Sharks (2-1), and the Vancouver Canucks (4-1). They have been playing in arguably the weakest division in hockey in the Northwest for several years with little success and are now being tossed to the wolves in a very competitive Pacific division. I would be hard pressed to believe that anyone right now thinks the Flames have a shot at finishing in the top-3 in the division, let alone battling for one of the final two point total spots for the playoffs in the Western Conference. Not to completely write-off the Calgary Flames, but I think if they finish outside of the bottom of the division that would be a huge achievement given how young this team is, not to mention their lack of a true superstar or difference maker. This is rebuilding though. You take your knocks and come back the next year stronger. Calgary has a few years, but they already have some of the pieces like Baertschi, Backlund, and now Monahan, which makes them worth a watch moving forward.


Scheduled Games


@Los Angeles Oct. 21st
@Los Angeles Nov. 30th
@Calgary Feb. 27th
@Calgary Mar. 10th
@Calgary Apr. 9th

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