Ask anyone who watched hockey last season, from fans, to commentators, to media everywhere, they’ll probably tell you what I’m about to tell you. The Calgary Flames were the surprise of the NHL season last year. A team that was supposed to be a lottery team, a top five or top three picking team in the 2015 draft. Instead, what we’re now talking about is how this team won forty-five games, potted ninety-seven points and their first playoff appearance since 2009.
The recipe for success for this team was simple, Work or play hard for sixty minutes and you have a chance. It’s those kinds of teams that will get you far, that kind of mindset can get you to Stanley Cups. You have to give all the credit in the world to Bob Hartley, his coaching staff and the players for executing this style of play for eighty-two games then taking it into the playoffs.
Another reason for the great season from the Flames is guys having career years and young guys breaking out. Out of everyone having a great year there was possibly no one more important than Jiri Hudler at least at the forward position. Entering last season Hudler’s best season was in 2008-09 where he registered twenty-three goals and fifty-seven points as a member of the Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Final team. Hudler was a fifty to sixty point guy maybe a little more. This past season for the Flames he scored thirty-one goals and seventy-six points. A twenty-two point jump from the last season and a nineteen point jump on his career best.
Go to defense and another huge player having a career year was Flames captain Mark Giordano. Through the first half of the season people were giving the Norris Trophy to this guy and rightly so. Through sixty-one games he had already set career highs in assists and points. Unfortunately for him and the Flames that would be the last game he would play. Missing the rest of the season with a shoulder injury the Flames definitely missed him but they kept going and winning. If not for the injury I think it might be safe to say the Norris Trophy was his as he was on pace for over fifteen goals and over sixty points.
You can point to other guys after those two specifically. Guys like Gaudreau, Monahan, Wideman, Brodie, Bouma, and even both goaltenders Hiller and Ramo had career years by their standards. Looking at Gaudreau and Monahan more since they are the young guys that will try to take the Flames back into the consistent winning ways, both had over sixty points for the first time in their young careers. The Flames also still have high prospect Sam Bennett waiting to make an impact. Making his first impact appearances during this years playoffs scoring three goals in the eleven games he played. With a center lineup of Monahan, Bennett and Backlund or Granlund this team looks pretty good for some years.
This off-season has been even more exciting for the Flames and their fans. After that great season, they landed a top two defenseman Dougie Hamilton from the Boston Bruins. They got Michael Frolik and Stanley Cup winner who plays a great game, can get you forty plus points and plays hard fitting right into the Flames mentality.
Can the Flames keep this up though? I would say yes based on the one most important thing in my eyes, the hard work that has been sold by the coaching staff and bought by the players. If you can combine skill and will, well boom there you go, you have Jonathan Toews and last I checked he has three Stanley Cups. The Flames have some skill and they have the hard working mentality and the never back down style that even when they’re down and down late they find ways to crawl back and win.
Next season is a different animal though. Next season this team will have teams gunning for them. Yes, I know they didn’t win the Cup and they won’t have teams after them like a cup winner would but they have a playoff spot that at least three other teams want. Those three teams could catch them if all doesn’t go right like it did last season.
If it all went right for Calgary last season you could pretty much argue it went all wrong for the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. Those two teams are very capable of getting back into the playoff race next season and California could regain dominance of the pacific division. Then behind those two teams you have the Oilers. We’ve been saying it for years and waiting for them to take that next step up, but with Connor McDavid and what’s looking to be a better defense this could be the year that make that run to to playoffs.
It all has to go right for the Flames and I don’t like those odds. I don’t like the odds of Hudler putting up seventy plus points and thirty plus goals. I don’t like the odds of Giordano being as great as he was last season. You’re asking for Monahan and Gaudreau to do even better than last season, you’re asking young Sam Bennett to come in and make a big impact right away.
The defense should be fine and that will give them chances to win as well as the hard working style but your still asking for guys on the back end to have career years again or at least replicate their career years from last season. That’s a lot to ask and you’re banking on a lot to go right in Calgary.
I expect the Flames to be a hard team to play against and hard to beat again next season, but I think a step back should be expected. With teams in the division ready to take another run at them and the Wild Card spot as tough as ever to get the Flames just might miss the playoffs. They had a good off-season so far with the trade to get Dougie Hamilton, but how far is that alone going to take this team?
