The Calgary Flames have had a very productive off-season.
Not only have they added several pieces that should help them take the next step (Travis Hamonic really solidifies the top-4, Mike Smith will probably be better with a capable roster in front of him, etc.), but they also cut a lot of dead weight.
Deryk Engelland is gone. Dennis Wideman is gone. Lance Bouma is gone. Matt Bartkowski, while still on the roster, probably won't be in the top-6 next season. Alex Chiasson is a solid depth piece but, for the most part, these are addition by subtraction losses.
Take a look at how much worse the Flames were at 5v5 -- in terms of controlling shots and goals -- with those guys on the ice.
All but Chiasson made a negative impact in terms of Corsi and all but Engelland made a negative impact on the Flames' goal differential. In his case, he was only a hair above the team's average.
Today's NHL is built on speed and skill and none of the five players who were let go, or figure to have their role cut (I'm looking at you, Bartkowski), bring much to the table in either category.
Depth matters a lot -- especially come playoff time -- so I'm interested to see how much better the Flames will be without several anchors they had weighing them down last season. I think it'll make a noticeable difference.