With the NHL season now underway, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Today, we focus on the Calgary Flames.
Last Season: 45-33-4 record (94 points), fourth in Pacific Division (lost to Anaheim in first round)
Remaining Cap Space: $2.77MM per CapFriendly
Key Additions: F Jaromir Jagr (free agency, Florida), F Tanner Glass (free agency, New York), D Travis Hamonic (trade, New York), G Mike Smith (trade, Arizona), G Eddie Lack (trade, Carolina)
Key Departures: F Alex Chiasson (free agency, Washington), D Dennis Wideman (free agency, unsigned), D Deryk Engelland (expansion, Vegas), G Brian Elliott (free agency, Philadelphia), G Chad Johnson (free agency, Buffalo)
[Related: Flames Depth Chart From Roster Resource]
Player To Watch: F Sam Bennett – With all the exceptional young players in today’s game jumping straight from the entry draft to the All-Star game, it’s easy forget about those who take a bit longer to develop. That’s what has happened so far for the 2014 fourth-overall pick Sam Bennett, who has been a solid if disappointing NHL player thus far in his short career.
After being selected in 2014, Bennett would be returned to the Kingston Frontenac’s of the OHL for another year of junior, only to undergo shoulder surgery and miss most of the season. After doing his rehab in Calgary, and seeing a quick exit from the OHL playoffs, Bennett was dropped right into the NHL for the Flames’ playoff run. His first NHL game came in March of 2015, before jumping into the playoffs for eleven more contests.
He was impressive in those playoffs, and would secure a full-time NHL job the following training camp. It seemed he was on the fast track to NHL stardom just like his 2014 draft mates. Unfortunately, his second season didn’t go as well. Last year saw just 26 points from Bennett and not much improvement from his defense and faceoffs. He was questioned as a true center, and doubted as an elite prospect.
This year, Bennett will have a secret weapon up his right sleeve. Though the Flames have already started their season with a disappointing loss to their rival Edmonton Oilers, sooner than later they’ll insert the ageless Jaromir Jagr into the lineup. He’ll likely skate alongside Bennett to start, giving the still just 21-year old center all the experience and hockey knowledge he could ever want sitting right beside him on the bench. Though Jagr isn’t exactly a coach, he has experience playing with young forwards before.
In Florida, he and Aleksander Barkov turned into a dynamic duo and the latter into a star in the league and Calgary will hope some of that magic will rub off on Bennett. Though the young forward hasn’t ever been criticized for his work ethic, he’ll get to see one of the hardest workers in NHL history—one who has already been spotted bag skating himself at Flames practice—on a daily basis. It will be interesting to see how their games mesh, and how Kris Versteeg fits into the plans on the other side. If Bennett can turn into the star that he was drafted as, Calgary will have a huge advantage they were missing last year.
Key Storyline: The Flames are going for it. This summer they’ve made move after move to bring in players to help them compete right now, and they believe they’re ready to take that next step. Jagr, Smith, Hamonic and others are all answers to questions that were asked last year when they fell at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks once again. Calgary hasn’t had an answer for the Ducks for a while now, and it’s only getting tighter in the Pacific Division.
The Edmonton Oilers, once the punching bag in the Battle of Alberta, are now one of the premiere clubs in the Western Conference, led by a captain who can’t seem to be slowed down by anyone. If the Flames are to position themselves as equals, they’ll need more from their own dynamic young forwards.
Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan are some of the most exciting players to watch in the NHL, but they’ve lacked consistency at times and need to be a nightly source of offense. While the team’s second line impressed last season, buoyed by the debut of Matthew Tkachuk, it’s Gaudreau and Monahan that really drive this train. If they remain in the 50-60 point range, the team will do well enough to make the playoffs and even compete for a few rounds. But they need to be difference makers and return to the 60-goal, 140-point duo they once were. They have the talent. Now is the time to break through.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images