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1) I really like the off-season the Calgary Flames have had.
Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson were cheap yet significant upgrades in goal.
They drafted very well and that starts at the top with Matthew Tkachuk. I think they overpaid a bit for Troy Brouwer but he's still a fairly useful player, too.
In saying all of that the Flames still remain far from locks to make the playoffs next season.
Los Angeles was a 102 point team last season and, besides replacing a 55 point winger (Milan Lucic) with a 43 point winger (Teddy Purcell), their roster remains almost identical. They will be very good once again.
The San Jose Sharks went to the Stanley Cup Final and added Mikkel Boedker and a very underrated blue liner in David Schlemko while their biggest loss, if you'll call it that, is Roman Polak. They will be very good once again.
I don't think the Anaheim Ducks will be as good under Randy Carlyle. They lost a lot of depth, too, but with Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and arguably the best, young blue line in the NHL they won't exactly be push overs.
I am not doing my predictions posts until September, and things can change between now and then (roster movement, injuries while training, etc.), but as it stands I think all three teams will grab a divisional playoff spot.
That means the Flames would have to shoot for the Wild Card.
From the Central I think Dallas, St. Louis and Nashville are all absolute locks. Chicago probably is, too, although they were quietly not very good last season at 5 v 5.
I could see Minnesota falling out and the Flames taking the final WC spot but, again, there will be plenty of competition.
The Flames are definitely better than they were a year ago but I'd hold off penciling them in as playoff locks.
2) Heading into the off-season the Flames weren't in a great spot financially but, after some savvy roster management, things are looking pretty good moving forward.
The Flames have a strong, young core that should keep them competitive for years to come. They also have a lot of money coming off the books over the next couple years so if GM Brad Treliving and co. spend wisely they could put together a great supporting cast for their stars.
A year from now ~$13 million is coming off the books in the way of Dennis Wideman, Deryk Engelland, Ladislav Smid and Brandon Bollig. That's a lot of money given all they will be losing is bottom pairing defensemen and a 13th forward.
Two years from now they'll get another $5.3 million from Matt Stajan and Lance Bouma. Again, that's a lot of money tied up in non-impactful players.
The Flames may not be Cup contenders right now but the future is definitely bright in Calgary.
Recent posts:
Couture calls Giordano one of NHL's top-5 defensemen
Flames sign Roman Dyukov
On Gaudreau, Monahan & Hudler
Gaudreau deserves more money than Monahan
Michael Ferland should score more next season
Flames deserve credit for finding cheap, quality solutions in goal
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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