Despite the flat salary cap, many teams have been very active this off-season. In particular, the Calgary Flames have made multiple moves that they believe will be beneficial in the long term. The Flames have been a tough team to evaluate, as last season (18-19), they were the best team in the Western Conference and the second-best team in the league. However, although they were the number one seed, the Flames showed that they overachieved and got exposed by an “up and coming” Avalanche team. This past year, they took an expected backseat and were the 7th seed in the Western Conference. Similarly in the playoffs, while many believed that they were a “sneaky” underdog heading into the postseason, the team got routed by the Dallas Stars in six games, after easily beating the Winnipeg Jets in the play-in round. This fall, there has been ample noise surrounding this franchise. GM Brad Treileving added multiple pieces in free agency, many former Vancouver Canucks. After multiple years of chaos in the crease, Treliving finally acquired a true number one goalie in Jacob Markstrom. Markstrom might have been one of the biggest additions of the free-agent market, as he now becomes the most reliable Flames number one goaltender since Miikka Kiprusoff. At the age of 31, Markstrom is currently in his prime and should provide at least four years of very solid goaltending. While goalies tend to peak in the later years, we believe that Markstrom has been and will continue to be one of the elite goalies in the NHL for the foreseeable future. Additionally, in the event that there will be a condensed schedule next season, backup goalie David Rittich will be able to boost the team’s chances when called upon. While adding the Canucks MVP player last season, the Flames also added many valuable players including Brandon Tanev, an underrated depth forward in Josh Leivo, and Dominik Simon. While the team failed to acquire more pieces on defense, the team’s overall depth and goaltending have certainly improved. However, despite the upward trajectory of the team, the Flames do not have multiple high caliber prospects attempting to make a big impact in the future. Additionally, with the salary cap most likely being an issue for the next few seasons, like every other team in the NHL, the Flames will struggle to acquire multiple high-end assets via the free-agency market in the next few years. How will the Flames be able to improve without top-notch prospects? Many Flames fans have asked themselves this question and this has ultimately spurred many to speculate on the future of the Flames’ core in the next few seasons. At a certain point, with the high expectations in the past few seasons, the Flames window to win is slowly decreasing. The team is illustrating this sentiment and has shown its willingness to have a “win now” mentality. Nevertheless, if the team fails to succeed in the next few playoffs, it comes to a point where Flames management might be forced to make more drastic changes to the core of their lineup. This “win now” mentality certainly looks to be legitimate as their most significant player and captain Mark Giordano, might see a decline in his play in the next few seasons. Despite only being one year removed from winning the Norris Trophy, as the NHL’s best defensemen, at age 37 and signed for only two more seasons, there must be some sense of urgency coming from the player and management. With the lack of playoff success, the attention has turned to the Flames’ core offensive players: Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, and Sam Bennet. In the past few weeks, many have speculated on the future of the team’s best player Johnny Gaudreau. With only two more years on his contract and lack of production in the playoffs, many believe that both Flames management and the player might separate before he becomes a free agent in 2022. Before the Flames lose him for nothing, one can infer that there is a sizable chance he is traded in the future.
My point being is that: the Flames have many good pieces in their lineup; Elias Lindholm is an extremely underrated player with a lethal wrist shot. Despite losing TJ Brodie and Travis Hamonic the Flames goaltending and defense seem good enough to contend in the regular season. However, the Flames are still handcuffed by the Lucic contract which ends after the 2023 season and might be the worst contract in the league. Despite an upgrade in the crease and overall depth, would the Flames team have any more success against the Stars this past postseason? We’re not so sure their fate would’ve been different with this team on the ice. The Flames need to determine their intended direction with their team, as if this team fails to substantially improve in the next few seasons, they might need to rethink and revise their core lineup. Throughout the whole league, player drafting and development have never been more important to each franchise and the Flames will need to improve in this area. Like almost every team in Canada, especially with the possibility of an all Canadian division next season, the pressure on the Flames is surmounting by the day.
How would you guys rank the Canadian teams in the NHL? Let us know in the comments below!
Comentarios