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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2018 5:24:50 GMT
What does the Top 6 look Like? Looking like there is going to be very little turnover this offseason in Calgary, it is a good chance that the top 6 looks awfully familiar to last season. The flames boast really 9 top 6 capable forwards, but guys like Monahan, Kopitar, and Skinner stand out a bit. Down the middle it looks like the Flames will likely run with a veteran deep center ice lead by Sean Monahan and Jeff Skinner. Down the left side there is a good blend of speed and skill, but guys like Sam Bennett and Kieffer Bellows will likely hold down the roles, with Bellows sliding into that top line role once again. On the right side, Calder winning Lucas Raymond will be back along side Monahan and look for Owen Tippett to continue to bring that top 6 game. The Flames will have a deep bottom 6 with guys like Ho-Sang, Granlund, Tkachuk, Kopitar all having cases for being in the top 6, it makes you wonder what the expectations of this team can be going forward. The Flames look poised to push on again for another deep run in the post season and with little changes, another division title maybe within reach. Next we look at the bottom 6, but here is a projected top 6 lineup:
Bellows/Skinner/Tippett Bennett/Monahan/Raymond
Hope to see you at the dome! CALGMP: 39+4=43
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2018 5:32:42 GMT
The Depth, Bottom 6 Outlook Anze Kopitar, Josh Ho-Sang, Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Granlund, Kiril Primakov, Lias Andersson and Anthony Cirelli make up the bottom 6 forwards for the Calgary Flames heading into next season. The Flames are deep up front, and the 3rd line that has been so dominate over the last few seasons is set to continue. The Calgary Flames were able to create mismatches last year, which Drove the competition crazy and lead to an excellent season. Here is how the lines shake out: Josh Ho-Sang/Anze Kopitar/Matthew Tkachuk (This is a lock) Lias Andersson/Mikael Granlund/Kiril Primakov x- Anthony Cirelli Going into camp Cirelli will have a chance to make an impact on the roster and maybe make the team, force Primakov back to Stockton, but given Primakov's growth at the AHL level it seems like that will be a tall task for Cirelli. The training camp battles don't stop there as the defence will be one to watch and we ill look at that in our next instalment of writing. Hope to see you at the Dome! CALGMP: 43+4=47
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2018 16:22:23 GMT
Flames Backend The Calgary Flames biggest move of the offseason has to be the addition of Swedish, Norris Trophy winning, Jon Klingberg, from the Edmonton Oilers. The Flames sent Oliver Kylington and a 1st round pick to make the deal happen, quickly extending Klingberg to a 4 year 26 million dollar extension with a no movement clause. Jon is likely going to step right in on the right side of Rasmus Dahlin and see heavy powerplay time. This likely means a bit of a lesser role for Matheson, who started last season as the top pair guy, will now be better slotted going forward. Where the team will see some battles is in the 5/6/7 holes as there are 4 guys competing for 3 NHL roster spots: Adam Fox, Nikita Tryamkin, Cameron Whynot, Rasmus Andersson and Josh Healey are all likely to get a look at camp for this team as they try to decide the best fit going forward. Given that the top 4 is a lock, this will be the most interesting battle as the team rounds into from. Hope to see you at the Dome! CALGMP: 47+4=51
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2018 16:29:08 GMT
Goaltending, Flames Style Well nobody saw last season coming as the Flames started the year very average with Antti Raanta getting the bulk of the work, then Jon Gillies stepped in and played lights out, well enough to back stop this team to a Stanley Cup. The Flames added Sergei Bobrovsky to upgrade on Raanta, it seemed to have an impact, but again Gillies forced his way into the net. Gillies is going to be back and likely will be staying with the Flames long term as he is a great leader and excellent 1B type guy. The biggest question that remains is how Jon will play this season, as well as the 1A guy Sergei Bobrovsky who maybe headed into the final year of his contract. Bob was good for Calgary, but the team will be hoping for a little more from the veteran this season. The Flames right now made no moves in the crease, and management is looking content with what they have in house, so look for the Flames to roll out the same tandem to start the season. Perhaps a bit of moving and shaking might come later on at the goaltending position, but for the time being all is well. Hope to see you at the Dome! CALGMP: 51+4=55
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2018 20:57:09 GMT
55-30=25 SR purchase
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2018 17:15:30 GMT
Pre Season Set to Begin Tonight The Calgary Flames are poised to start the preseason as the team has begun training camp, bringing back all their prospects to camp as the team begins its path. The Flames as usual will be giving their future prospects a long look in camp as some of them will be ready to push for an everyday NHL job. The Flames are returning 18/21 players, with new comers like John Klingberg and Lias Andersson being the two biggest names for the Calgary Flames. The Flames also lost Craig Smith, Nick Shore to free agency and Michael Ferland was later traded to Vancouver. There are open spots on this roster, so who should we watch? Looking at the backend the names to watch are: Adam Fox - Fox played half of last season, had an unreal playoffs and is likely to make this team and play an impact, but with Klingberg locked up long term, Adam's offensive prowess may not be as needed. The one slight against Fox is his size, and slow development, but his on ice performance is much better than the paper suggests. Cameron Whynot - Drafted 10th overall in 2021, Cameron spent the past season in the AHL and played a hand full of AHL games last year, seeing little development he got a chance at the NHL game, which he played okay in, given his age of 19 there is no reason to rush him onto the NHL roster, but if Whynot has a great camp he will make the team. Nikita Tryamkin - Whynot has to come in and displace the big russian who is a physical force out there and played really well for the Flames last season, Tryamkin is in a contract year and will likely be finishing his career with the flames this season given the depth in pipelines. It should be a fun battle to watch at camp. Hope to see you at the Dome! CALGMP: 25+4=29
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2018 17:28:37 GMT
Pre Season Set to Begin Tonight In our previous article we focused on the potential candidates to become part of the Flame's defensive core this season, but with two vacant roster spots up front, there will be new faces there. Michael Ferland and Craig Smith are no longer lining up for the Flames, as they fell victim to the cap. The Flames as always will look for responsible forwards that can chip in on the scoreboard to makeup their 4th line. Veteran stud, Mikael Granlund, is the anchor of that 4th line, lets look at who could flank him: Kiril Primakov - Kiril spent his second season in the AHL last year and really took major steps forward as he became the best all around forward for Stockton. Primakov is a 3rd round pick who has taken the long road, but given his attention to detail in his game he is going to be a front runner for that RW spot, Kiril is young and has a lot of growth left it look like, could be a nice asset for the Flames going forward. Lias Andersson - He was acquired from the New York Rangers, and after a contact hold out Lias is back in North America, and moving west to join the Flames, Lias was a top 10 pick and is loaded with talent. Lias bring a solid responsible 2-way game is all but a lock for a spot on this roster given his 2 year 3.5 million extension. Anthony Cirelli - Anthony is what he is at this point likely a serviceable 12/13 forward and that will be his role for the Flames likely here, he might be able to displace Primakov, but Cirelli will have to prove it at camp here. Philipp Kurashev - He is the darkhorse of the group the former 1st rounder in 2019 has had a hard time finding his game in North America, but he is on the edge of becoming a NHL player. Philipp is nearing the end of his ELC and is going to have to prove something this year if the organization is going to extend him further. Kurashev is highly, highly talented player especially offensively, he will be given a shot a camp. Hope to see you at the Dome! CALGMP: 29+4=33
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2018 17:38:47 GMT
Tough First Half of Pre Season The Flames had a rough start to their preseason, but that is expected with only 5 veteran NHL players in the lineup, but the biggest silver lining to a tougher start might be the play of, Sergei Bobrovsky, who was dominate within those games. Flames had a 1-3 record, given the lack of veterans it is safe to say that the Flames will sprinkle in a larger range of veterans to start, but not that many as the Flames want their young defenders to play. Adam Fox, Cameron Whynot and Viktor Pohorsky are currently in the midst of a battle for the 6th and 7th defence spot on the roster. Thus far it looks like Whynot might be leading the way of the group as he recored 2 assists in his 4 games and played fairly steady out there, but to remove Fox he is going to have put a doubt in management's minds' in regards to Foxy's game. The other camp battle that the team is watching close is between Primakov, Cirelli, and Andersson, who are competing for the 11th, 12th, 13th forward spots for this team. Given that Primakov is the only right winger there is an excellent chance the young guy will suit up for opening night along with one of Cirelli/Andersson, but the battle will continue as the team throws a projected 4th line together for the 2nd half of the pre season. Andersson, Granlund and Cirelli will make up a checking line this preseason and may give the team the indication it needs to make the decision.
Hope to see you at the Dome! CALGMP: 33+4=37
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2018 17:51:54 GMT
Flames Looking for Young Development The Flames are in an interesting spot as they have a blend of veteran's in Skinner, Kopitar, Klingberg, Bobrovksy and Granlund who are all north of 30, nobody is calling this their last season, so Kopitar will be back next season for sure, but the Flames will have to make decisions on Granlund and Bobrovsky respectively, likely to sign extensions and return to the Flames one would think. Given the Flames drafted a center in the past draft at 30th overall in Petteri Holkeri, that will add a future 3rd line guy to the Flames roster at 6'5, he will be a handful for the opposition. Primakov is poised to make his impact on the roster at the tender age of 21, given that the Flames have gone defence heavy in their past few drafts look for impact pieces to start to show up there. The biggest talent on the backend outside of the franchise defender in Dahlin, the young Cameron Whynot has every chance to develop into a top 4 2way stalwart for a long time for the Flames, but is still transitioning to the game. Given that Tryamkin and Fox are on expiring deals the defence will be needing two additions long term. Whynot might be starting in Calgary this season, with Pohorsky, Revnik and Clancy likely headed to Stockton. Clancy and Revnik both project to be a better version of Tryamkin, which add the perfect addition to the bottom pair and penalty kill units. Hope to see you at the Dome! CALGMP: 37+4=41
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2018 18:17:57 GMT
41 - 25 additional underager = 16GMP
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2018 18:38:55 GMT
Adam Fox, Philipp Kurahev, Assigned to AHL It was a sad day for Adam Fox, as he is headed for Stockton to start the season, it appears Whynot is going to make his NHL debut this season for the Calgary Flames as the 6th defender, but there is chance that Whynot does not stick, we know that GM Backtrack is wanting to repeat badly, and hence why this decision was made. Whynot has a much brighter future than Adam, who has been given many, many chances to develop his game more at the NHL level, but it has not happened. The Flames have had a hard time with Fox, Andersson and Kurashev who all projected to be impact NHL players, but the only one who could play an everyday role is Andersson, as a shut down guy, perhaps a 7th defender. The Flames are still holding out hope that Fox and Kurashev can go down and improve their game, but at this point it looks like Whynot, Holkeri, Pohorsky, Clancy, and Revnik have surpassed both Fox and Kurashev. Time will tell if the rope has run out for Fox/Kurashev, but they can go down and find a way to earn a recall and stay. All in all it looks like the Flames are going to run with 13F, 6 D and 2 goalies, we will go into the opening night roster in our next article. CALGMP:16+4=20
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2018 17:15:49 GMT
Season set to Begin The 2022-2023 season is set to begin and for the first time since 1990, the Flames will enter the season as the 2022 defending standing cup champions. The Flames made few, to little moves this year as they did a bit of shuffling with the cap being a bit of an obstacle to the management team, as Ferland was the biggest name who is not going to be returning. The Flames might have lost a bit of depth up front, but addressed that with Cirelli and Andersson to help bridge that gap. The biggest improvement for the Flames roster is adding a stud in John Klingberg, who should fit like a glove right beside fellow swede Rasmus Dahlin. Expectations for the Calgary Flames will be Stanley Cup or bust as this might be the best incarnation of Calgary Flames we will see in a while, as Monahan is due a large raise, which will likely lead to cap crunch's. Mikael Granlund, Sergei Bobrovsky, Owen Tippett and Lucas Raymond are all on expiring contracts, and will be looking for raises, outside of Granlund who could look at a bit of a discount to stay with the Calgary Flames long term. All in all it will be a big season in Cowtown as the Flames look to compete for this season, and future seasons. Hope to see you at the Dome! CALGMP: 20+4=24
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2018 17:08:38 GMT
Flames Picking Up Where they Left off Just as the title says the season ended with a the final win hoisting the Stanley Cup, they won 7 in a row to start the 2022-2023 season. The Flames had a dominate start to the season averaging 36 shots for, giving up a measly 20 shots against per game, which is outstanding for the Flames. Not only did the Flames out shoot, by scoring 31 goals (4.42/game) and only giving up 13 (1.86/game) and a remarkable differential of a positive 18. The Flames were worried about scoring going into the season, but Lucas Raymond seems to be an offensive juggernaut for the Flames as he put up 10 points in 7 games to start the season, which could lead to a really big year for the young Swede. The Flames will round out the month of October and put their unbeaten streak on the line as the Flames will play another 6 games as the Flames have a really heavy October schedule to start, there is a great chance that this October can create space for the Flames as they look to win the division for the 6th year in a row! Hope to see you at the Dome! CALGMP: 24+4=28
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2018 17:25:53 GMT
28+11 PTPFL= 39CALGMP
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2018 18:10:46 GMT
Flames Finish October 9-4-0
The Calgary Flames came out to a blazing start winning 7 in a row to start, but naturally they are going to lose a few games and they did, as the Flames had a rougher week going 2-4, so look for the team to get an extra skate in here soon to keep up and maintain that winning attitude that runs through the Flames locker room. Jon Gillies and Sergei Bobrovsky both played really well in the month of October, but Gillies is looking like he might be ready to steal the show again this season, as Gillies is posting some lofty numbers for the Flames again. The Flames 2nd line of Bennett/Monahan/Raymond and been really good as all 3 guys are over a point per game through 13 so far, with Monahan and Kopitar's 6 goals leading the team scoring wise. Dahlin is also off to a fast start with 8 points in 13 games for the young star. The Flames are still awaiting more impact from Klingberg, who has only picked up 2 goals so far, both powerplay, but there is more there in John's game its just a matter of time will he starts putting up those lofty point total's he is known for. The Flames also sent Kiril Primakov down to Stockton for the time being to elevate his playing time, thus Anthony Cirelli will be taking a regular shift on the 4th line now, which is an opportunity for the young man to prove his worth the Flames. The Flames will look to get back on track for the month of November as we know the Flames want to repeat and that will not be easy. Hope to see you at the Dome! CALGMP: 39+4=43
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