(My Sportsbook) - Since making the Stanley Cup final in 2004, the
Calgary Flames have been stuck in a holding pattern.
The idea last year was to bring fiery head coach Mike Keenan on board to shake things up. However, just like the previous two seasons, the Flames made it to the playoffs only to be knocked out in the first round.
This offseason, Calgary general manager Darryl Sutter, the team's head coach for the 2004 run to the Cup final, opted to make numerous on-ice personnel changes designed to get the Flames back to the promised land.
Gone are veteran forwards Kristian Huselius, Owen Nolan, Alex Tanguay and Stephane Yelle. Filling in some of those spots will be a task assigned to newcomers such as Mike Cammalleri, Todd Bertuzzi, Rene Bourque and Curtis Glencross.
The injection of new blood into this year's equation is an attempt to lessen the scoring load for Jarome Iginla, who had 32 more points than the second- highest scoring Flame last season.
The question is will the new arrivals be enough to get Calgary ready for another deep playoff run?
FORWARDS - Iginla is the heart and soul of the Flames and also happens to be one of the most complete players in the NHL.
Calgary's captain combines speed, size, skill and toughness and it's a formula that translates into steady production. Iginla has averaged 40.4 goals per season over the last seven campaigns, all of which have come with the Flames.
Last season, Iginla was third in the NHL with a career-high 98 points (50 goals, 48 assists), finishing behind only Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin. It was the second time Iginla reached the 50-goal mark after notching 52 tallies during the 2001-02 season. Iginla also displayed his defensive prowess as he led the Flames with a plus-27 rating.
The Flames' next leading scorer from the 2007-08 campaign was Kristian Huselius, who signed with Columbus this summer after posting 66 points for Calgary a year ago.
Daymond Langkow, the centerman on Iginla's line, is back for another season in Calgary after finishing second on the team with 30 goals in 2007-08. Langkow is a solid two-way player, but the Flames would like to see his overall point total increase from the 65 points he had last year.
The Flames added some extra offensive firepower to their top unit on draft day when they picked up Cammalleri from Los Angeles in a deal that also saw Tanguay land in Montreal.
Cammalleri should fit in nicely as the left wing on the top-line despite the fact that he disappointed with just 47 points (19g, 28a) in 63 games for the Kings last year. The 26-year-old should benefit greatly from playing on Iginla's line and could exceed his career-best output from the 2006-07 season, when he led LA with 80 points (34g, 46a).
Bertuzzi, meanwhile, will play for his fourth team since Vancouver traded him to Florida in the summer of 2006. The power forward who once scored 97 points in a season with the Canucks simply hasn't been the same since his infamous cheap-shot on Colorado's Steve Moore of four years ago. He managed 14 goals and 40 points in 68 games with Anaheim last year and will try to improve upon that after signing a one-year, $1.95 million deal with Calgary.
The Flames also acquired wingers Bourque and Glencross to try and add some new blood to their second and third lines. Bourque, who came over in a trade with Chicago this summer, had 24 points (10g, 14a) with the Blackhawks last year, while the speedy Glencross, a free-agent signee, had 15 goals and 10 helpers in 62 combined games with Columbus and Edmonton in 2007-08.
Calgary also hopes centerman Matthew Lombardi can continue to improve. The 26- year-old notched 36 points last year.
Veteran pivots Craig Conroy and Wayne Primeau are expected to center the third and fourth lines, respectively.
DEFENSE - What Iginla is to the Calgary offense, young blueliner Dion Phaneuf is becoming for the Flames defense.
The 23-year-old Phaneuf is an intimidating presence on the ice, a player who can deliver points as well as highlight-reel bodychecks. Last year, Phaneuf was fourth on the Flames with 60 points (17g, 43a) and tops on the club with 182 penalty minutes. He also finished second in voting for the Norris Trophy (top defenseman) to legendary Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.
Phaneuf has become a younger, meaner version of Chris Pronger and seems well on his way to putting together a Hall of Fame career.
The Flames enter the 2008-09 season with basically the same defensive rotation as last year. Phaneuf is often paired with defensive defenseman Robyn Regehr, while steady veterans Adrian Aucoin and Cory Sarich make up the second pairing.
Mark Giordano will also be back on the blueline for Calgary after playing 50 games with Dynamo Moscow in Russia last year. Jim Vandermeer, who was acquired from Philadelphia before last year's trade deadline, will also see some action this year.
GOALTENDING - Perhaps it's the strain of playing in 224 regular-season games over the last three seasons, but goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff appeared shaky at times during the 2007-8 campaign.
Kiprusoff started 76 games for Calgary last year and posted a solid record of 39-26-10, but both his goals against average (2.69) and save percentage (.906) were his worst marks since the Flames acquired him early in the 2003-04 season.
The 2005-06 Vezina Trophy winner as the league's best goaltender needs to be at the top of his game if the Flames are going to make a serious run at a Stanley Cup title.
The role of Kiprusoff's backup isn't highly coveted since the Finn starts the overwhelming majority of Calgary's games. However, 25-year-old Curtis McElhinney could see increased action this year in an attempt to keep Kiprusoff fresher.
McElhinney saw action in his first five NHL games (one start) last season and was 0-2-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .902 save percentage.
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - The Flames had a great deal of turnover on their roster in the offseason and chemistry could be an issue early on this year. However, if Sutter and Keenan can come up with the right line combinations the result could be an offense that doesn't solely rely on Iginla for points. Still, the X-factor will be the play of Kiprusoff. If the goaltender returns to his Vezina form, the Flames could make a deep postseason charge, but if he continues his slide, Calgary could struggle to even make the playoffs.
