Flames figure Ferland still has more to offer
Last spring, during his exit meetings at the Saddledome, Micheal Ferland’s boss predicted he could bury 20.
He just did, a new career-high. So what was the message Monday, as the Calgary Flames cleaned out their lockers after failing to earn an invite to the NHL’s spring dance?
“A year ago, I told him I thought he could score 20-some goals. I think he can score 30 now,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan after his sit-down with Ferland. “He has to find that level of consistency within himself, too, to be more consistent and recognize he’s a pretty good player in this league.
“I think we got 50 really good games out of Ferly. I still think there’s room for him to play more.”
Ferland’s Fab 50 was frontloaded. A couple of months back, it didn’t seem totally far-fetched to think the 25-year-old thumper — a left-handed shot most often utilized as the right-winger on the Flames’ top trio — could be a 30goal guy this winter.
After all, he hit 20 on Feb. 1, with nine-plus weeks remaining on Calgary’s regular-season slate. He finished with 21.
“A good start, but obviously it wasn’t the finish I thought I could have had,” Ferland said after Monday ’s farewells. “It could have been better. I think if we were better, maybe it would have helped the team out.”
Offensively, there’s not much more the dynamic duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan could have done to drag the Flames into the playoffs.
Gaudreau piled up 84 points, 20 more than any of his pals. Monahan, meanwhile, provided a teamleading 31 lamp-lightings despite a laundry list of injuries that eventually resulted in four(!) surgeries after he was shut down.
It’s worth noting Ferland missed a four-game stretch due to a nagging injury, which might help to explain his struggles after the allstar break.
“When I’m playing with confidence, that’s when I’m at my best,” said Ferland, who still offered good bang-for-buck with 21 goals and 20 helpers at a US$1.75-million cap hit. “Sometimes, it’s tough when you don’t have the confidence to try to get it back. That’s the biggest thing for me is that when I’m at my best, when I’m at the top of my game, I’m playing confident.”
With general manager Brad Treliving promising everything and everyone will be evaluated after this underachieving campaign, one of the many off-season question marks is whether the Flames are comfortable with Ferland as a first-liner.
And if not him, then who? Matthew Tkachuk has the smarts for a seamless transition to his off-wing, but if you promote the kid, there’s not much scoring punch on your second line.
James Neal headlines an otherwise ho-hum list of soon-to-be free-agent right-wingers, and the belief is he’s hoping to re-sign with the Vegas Golden Knights. Expert marksmen don’t come cheap by trade.
The 23-year-old Spencer Foo has an intriguing blend of speed and skill and impressed in his lateseason look-see, but four garbagetime games isn’t enough to prove he’s ready for prime time on a fulltime basis. With no picks until the fourth round, the Flames are not going to unearth an instant firstl-iner at the 2018 NHL Draft.
“I think Ferly is a great player,” Monahan said Monday. “He can skate. He can shoot. He’s physical. He’ll fight when he needs to … I’m sure he’s going to have a great year next year.”
A great year, like, a 30-goal year? His boss thinks it’s possible. “There’s still more for him, and he understands that,” Gulutzan said. “But he has to put in the work and the effort to make sure that happens. It’s up to him.”