Prospective Look at Calgary

The biggest question in Cowtown this summer will be 'who stays and who goes?' The team has got the core signed on for years, but the cost is actually quite astronomical. There is very little room to maneuvre for GM Darryl Sutter to put in the right amount of depth players when it comes time to the Free Agent Frenzy. Big contracts for Jarome Iginla, Dion Phaneuf and Miikka Kiprusoff are almost putting the team in the same situation that the Tampa Bay Lightning were facing when they had Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis all signed to large deals, so they couldn't keep around Nikolai Khabibulin after their Cup win.

Forwards	Defense	Goaltenders
Jarome Iginla	Dion Phaneuf	Miikka Kiprusoff
Alex Tanguay	Adrian Aucoin
Matthew Lombardi	Robyn Regehr
Dustin Boyd	Anders Eriksson
David Moss	Cory Sarich
Wayne Primeau	Rhett Warrener
Marcus Nilson

Jumping right into the big issue, the team has only 14 regulars returning from this past season, including their top six defensemen and their starting goalie, but the cost of these 14 players is approximately $45.6 million. That leaves an estimated $9 million (if the cap hits $54 million) to spend on 9 regular players. Sure, a million per player should be an easy hole to fill, especially if you can bring in some top young talent into the fold full-time, but those names do seem to be a little sparse.

First, we'll tackle all who is going to be unrestricted come July 1st. Craig Conroy, Daymond Langkow, Owen Nolan, Curtis Joseph, Kristian Huselius, Stephane Yelle, Jim Vandermeer, Eric Nystrom and David Hale. That's nine players being taken off the roster due to unrestricted free agency. Last season's salary total for these nine was over $12 million. Then you tack on who is up for a raise... Huselius, Vandermeer, Nystrom and Hale... and you can tack on at least another $6 million. Out of that group of nine players, the likely number of players staying on the team will max out at four, more chance for three.

Unsure if it's a benefit or not, but none of the major players from the roster are going to be restricted free agents, especially ones who are eligible for arbitration.

As for youth to possibly fill in a gap or two, the only name to really jump out is Mikael Backlund, the Flames first round pick in 2007. He'll actually still need to sign a deal with the Flames and he'll likely earn over a million after bonuses, as a top level pick. The Flames will also likely look to Leland Irving to back-up Kiprusoff next year, but he'll also make $1.2 million next season.

On Draft Day, it will be a perfect opportunity for the team to to make some moves and possibly free up some room. Of course, the name on the tip of every tongue (as it was at the trade deadline) is Alex Tanguay. He has one more year on his deal and will earn $5.25 million this coming season. If the Flames could move Tanguay, it would open room for Backlund and Irving for next season and team may be able to breathe just a little bit easier.

The Flames will pick 17th in this year's draft and they haven't had the best of luck with a lot of their own picks over the last few years. The last drafted player to crack the line-up full time is Dustin Boyd, who was picked in the third round of 2004. At the 17th pick, they may not have a great shot at one of the blue-chippers, but they have the opportunity to pick a player who could be a very good prospect. The scouting staff will have to hit a home run this year or else questions will have to be asked about their ability to sort out young talent.