10 FLAMES STORYLINES TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON
Time for this team to prove they’re contenders, not pretenders
It’s been a long summer and since Mother Nature decided to skip fall in Calgary and go straight into snowy winter — perfect hockey season weather — it’s a perfect time to kick off the Calgary Flames’ National Hockey League season opener.
There are so many questions surrounding the 2018-19 group which largely underachieved last year. The Flames desperately need to prove to this city that they are not a playoff contender one season and lottery draft eligible the next. No excuses.
Flames general manager Brad Treliving spent most of the offseason wheelin’ and dealin.’ Now it’s time to put their roster on ice.
1.
After a busy off-season, how much better is this team?
The summer has traditionally always been interesting for Brad Treliving. But 2018 was an especially aggressive one for the Flames general manager, perhaps his most gutsy one yet. He fired coach Glen Gulutzan. He hired Bill Peters as the new boss, power-play specialist Geoff Ward and promoted AHL Heat head coach Ryan Huska to work with the defencemen. He traded Dougie Hamilton, Micheal Ferland and Adam Fox to the Carolina Hurricanes for right-shot centre/forward Elias Lindholm and top-four defender Noah Hanifin. He added James Neal (formerly of the Vegas Golden Knights), offensively gifted whiz kid Austin Czarnik and reliable right-shot centre/powerplay specialist Derek Ryan in free agency and bought out Troy Brouwer’s contract. Realistically, how much has this team improved? Peters promises the team is set to play faster, will have a stronger forecheck and more aggressive puck possession. They are, supposedly, no longer a two-line team, and their power play is, supposedly, improved.
2.
China hangover?
Last season, after returning from their once-in-a-lifetime excursion to Shanghai and Beijing for the 2017 NHL China Games, the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks went on an absolute tear in October. The Kings reeled off a 9-2-1 start while the Canucks were 6-3-2 in the first month of regularseason NHL action. But eventually the 14-hour time difference and extensive travel to start the campaign took its toll. Jet lag is a real thing, especially when your body clock is telling you it’s 2 a.m. in Shenzhen when, really, it’s 12 noon yesterday. Still, it could have a lingering affect. The Calgary club also plays eight road games in the month of October.
3.
The Bill Peters Effect
At a press conference on April 23, Bill Peters promised he would be “demanding without being demeaning,” a man who built his NHL coaching career on smalltown values and hard work. A straight shooter. A coach that emphasized faceoffs, puck possession, pace and special teams in his ‘Welcome to Calgary’ press conference. It’s been well over a month that Peters has been working with the current group of Flames and now it’s time to put all of that talking into action. Quick practices. No-nonsense drills. Little time spent at the white board. During skates, Peters calls each player by name and singles out players — in a positive, constructive way — at practice. How does all of this translate on the ice, in the dressing room and on the bench? The knock on former Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan, especially last season, was that the team largely lacked an identity.
4.
How does a healthy Sean Monahan impact the Flames?
A year ago at Flames training camp, Sean Monahan was quietly taking maintenance days to rest his wrist, which, as it turned out, was just the start of what would be an injury-filled season. When all was said and done, the 23-year-old No. 1 centre endured four surgeries to fix his left wrist, left and right sports hernias and his right groin. Unbelievably, Monahan was still able to produce 31 goals and 33 assists in 74 games before the Flames, out of the playoff race, officially shut him down. Eleven of those goals were game-winners. It was one of his best statistical seasons to date, and, more impressively, he also went 50.39 per cent in the faceoff circle. It begs the question — what can Monahan do at 100-per-cent health? The stone-faced, strong-but-silent, lead-by-example pivot has had five 20-goal seasons and two 31goal seasons and is now bracing for what he hopes will be his best season yet.
5.
Realistic expectations
Neal was acquired in the offseason to score goals and to help bring the Flames to the next level with his NHL experience. The 31-year-old has racked up 263 goals and 232 assists through 703 regular-season games along with 142 power-play points. He adds 100 post-season contests where he scored 31 goals and 24 assists en route to the Stanley Cup finals for the past two years with two different organizations. Inking the left-shooting, right-winger to a long-term contract over five years gives the Flames at least — if you look at the trend in the NHL — two solid seasons of point production. He’s called ‘The Real Deal’ for a reason ... He’s scored over 20 goals every season and has spent a decade in the NHL. The expectation of Neal is also to provide a swagger in the dressing room, give the team experience when it matters and help lead them to the playoffs.
6.
Better get some saves
To quote Peters (circa 2017 mid-blowup in Carolina, referring to Eddie Lack’s goaltending ability), the Flames “better get some saves” this year. Goaltending wasn’t an issue last year for the Flames until it was. That was until Mike Smith went down at the worst possible time with a groin injury, forcing rookie netminder David Rittich into action. He took turns with Jon Gillies, getting a crash course in NHL starting goaltending and were clearly thrust into the spotlight before either of them were ready. It’s no secret Smith likes to log as many games as possible. But the Flames should mind his minutes this season, limiting his starts to protect him from injury and save him for the long haul. That means utilizing a trustworthy back-up netminder.
7.
Battle of the back-ups
No doubt about it, Jon Gillies had probably edged out David Rittich in consistency during Flames’ fall audition for the No. 2 netminder at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Instead, the Flames decided to go with Rittich who has proven he can handle the gig and will start the 2018-19 campaign as the Flames’ back-up goalie. But just because Gillies was dispatched to the Stockton Heat on Monday and Rittich was minding the crease opposite to Mike Smith, that doesn’t mean the try-out is over. Last season, Rittich had four games through 16 starts that were arguably awful and went 8-1-3 in the other 12 contests. He shouldered the load of the Flames’ No. 1 netminder while Smith was hurt through the month of February — when the Flames should have been making a playoff push and gaining momentum. But when the adrenalin wore off, his inexperience was painfully exposed. Gillies, who started nine games, was 3-5-1. Rittich, 26, has a different level of maturity and experience than Gillies, 24, despite having only played in North America for two full seasons.
8.
The Defence Despite their best efforts last season, the Flames could not make the pairing of TJ Brodie and Travis Hamonic work. The pairing had a horrible plus-minus between the two players (-16 for Brodie and -9 for Hamonic) and had an obvious lack of cohesiveness despite Brodie’s knack for jumping into the rush and Hamonic’s stay-at-home prowess. Enter Hanifin, a smoothskating, raw blueliner and former first-rounder who was picked up in the Dougie Hamilton trade during the off-season which was intended to be able to ease the pressure off the BrodieHamonic pairing and allow Mark Giordano to be paired with his old defence partner again. While Giordano and Hamilton made up one of the best blueline pairings in the NHL, Brodie and Giordano do play well together. They had their best individual seasons when they were on the top pairing, with Giordano on the left side and Brodie on the right. Giordano had 13 goal and 25 assists through 82 games in 2017-18.
9.
The Kids
Forcing themselves on the roster through training camp, Dillon Dube and Juuso Valimaki made it impossible for the Flames to do anything but give them each a stall at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Dube, the team’s second-round selection in 2016, will be starting the season on the third line with Ryan and Neal, while Valimaki, the club’s first-round selection in 2017, will be paired on the Flames’ third blueline duo with Michael Stone. It’s exciting for everyone: for the players, for fans who hope both will play a major role in winning games for the Flames and for management when good drafting and development pays off. But this is only the beginning. Competition gets tougher as the season wears on.
10.
Taking the next step
Since he broke onto the scene in 2016 like a bull in a China shop, Matthew Tkachuk has been an impact player. He’s emotional in the right ways, wears his heart on his sleeve, hates to lose and can change the tone of a game with a scrum (that likely he started), a goal or a play. The Flames knew they had something special in Tkachuk, and it’s evolved year after year. Now, into his third National Hockey League season and healthy, it’s tough to imagine what Tkachuk can do to elevate his game. Likely a shoo-in for an ‘A’ this season, the 20-year-old will be relied on as a leader this season.