#3. Calgary Flames
On the ice… The Flames have set themselves up as to be crazy strong in their own end. The additions of Hamonic on D and Smith in goal makes the Flames as solid defensively as any team in the NHL. And they know they will have to be because all roads will lead through Edmonton for Calgary… The Flames offense let them down last year, but it appears to be more of a hiccup than a rule…Gaudreau already looks better than he did a year ago, Monahan has almost a 50% shooting percentage in the preseason and Sam Bennet and Tkachuk look strong as ever…
Potential Surprises…. * Mark Jankowski had an amazing camp and preseason…He has shown serious touch around the net and looks like he could make the team * Kris Versteeg has brought his A game early on as well…any help that the Flames can get to ease the pressure on the top line is huge
In the rumor mill…
The Flames have toyed with the idea of bringing in Jaromir Jagr since before the draft. If things went south for Calgary Versteeg, Stajan and possibly Backlund could become available…I am very curious how Mike Smith works out. I am a big fan, but he’s not a slam dunk
Best Case Scenario: The defense is lights out and the scoring returns and Calgary wins the Pacific: 25% Worst Case: The offense and injuries combine and the goaltending is far from secure…they fall to 6th :10% Most Likely: The Flames battle the Ducks and Oilers for the top three spots…but finish in 2nd or 3rd. 65%
Crazy Prediction… The Flames win the Jennings.
Coming up shortly, #2 and the top team in the Pacific.