Pool Outlook for Calgary

After the 2014 season, there was little doubt that the Calgary Flames were going to be a hard working team in 2015, the question was going to be, how far along will the potential talent take them, because they had a lot of it on paper.  It also could have been argued that the Flames were not going to be ready for the rigors of the buckled down portion of the season, which usually starts after the first six weeks.  Well, their potential shone and they worked through the first six weeks and into the season and their results speak for themselves.

The Flames are fresh off a 5-game defeat in the second round of the playoffs and there should be nothing but optimism in Calgary, as the team has been very fortunate that their draft picks have been coming around, not only quick, but well.  The trades and signings for this club, they have also been of the wise variety, finding a good mix of hard working players, which combine to make a furious lineup on any given night.

The 2015 season was a real eye-opener and it came at the perfect time in the Pacific Division, as the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks fell off the map and the Edmonton Oilers couldn't really get any grips with their franchise.  The Flames were able to get a lot of traction against their divisional opponents, which gave them a lot of confidence for a series against the Canucks early on, but they were shown what the class of the division was all about, when they lost to Anaheim, but it's all about learning at this point.

Having the hockey pool based out of Calgary makes them an ever-popular side to pick from at the draft.  Last September, there were 14 Flames players taken and by the end of the year, 15 players on their final roster had been in the pool at one point or another, 13 of them on active pool rosters.  With the playoff run the Flames had, there is no question that the hockey pool draft next year will be Flames-heavy.

In the regular season, the Flames had 36 players hit the ice at least once in regular season minutes and the top player on the team in points was forward Jiri Hudler.  Hudler finished the year with 31 goals and 76 points in 78 games and certainly was the most consistent player from start to finish.  Hudler was the glue that stuck the top line together and his leadership was a huge asset to the team, especially with such an even keel in the tense moments of the game.  At 31 years old, he has lots left in the tank and should provide that extra bit of leadership for a few more years, at least.

No matter how popular the Flames forwards were in the season, given the reason above, they were still going to be picked.  Only three other forwards on the team were deemed worthy of being picked, by virtue of the depth in the pool draft and two of them finished the team's top line: Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.  They finished with 64 and 62 points, respectively, and made a huge impact on the season and are poised to make a big impact through their careers.  The only other forward to finish in the top 184 in forwards scoring this season, Lance Bouma, who finished 161st with 16 goals and 34 points in 78 games.

The Flames defense also had four players that were deemed pool worthy, but that is far more impressive, given the number of defenders that are regulars in the lineup.  Dennis Wideman finished 4th among defenders in scoring with 56 points, while Marc Giordano, who missed the last third of the season, finished with 48 points and was 13th among defensemen in scoring.  T.J. Brodie had a breakout year, bumping his rank up to 23rd, while Kris Russell fit right in with the Flames, finishing 43rd.

The platoon system in the Calgary net certainly helped the compete level of the goalies, but it hurt the numbers of the tandem, as Jonas Hiller, who ended up with the brunt of the minutes, didn't push huge minutes, therefore, didn't have a great year end ranking.  Hiller finished with 26 wins and 54 points for 21st among goalies, while Karri Ramo had 15 wins and 34 points for 34th place.  They were certainly worthy, but they played like one starter, for the most part.

2016 Pool Outlook

The Flames will be surrounded by a whole lot of hype for the hockey pool draft and there might be a mighty fine race to see who picks up the team's top young players, possibly who they decide is the number one goalie and then how they divvy out the defense corps, which was so good last season.  The team has a lot to do, but they have all the right pieces in place to get there.  There is very little doubt that the draft this year will be more Flames-heavy than usual.

The rookie classes for the Flames in the last couple of years have been quite good, when you think of Sean Monahan in 2014, Johnny Gaudreau in 2015 and we can now look towards Sam Bennett in 2016.  With some money on next season's rookie race, it would be very likely for someone in the draft to look at Bennett, even after his brief appearance in the regular season and his regular appearances in the playoffs, he is a good bet to put up some good numbers next season.  With most of the other positions already being filled on the blueline and in the crease, Bennett may be the only one worth looking at here, right now.

Free Agency and the Salary Cap

Out of the pool worthy players, Lance Bouma goes to restricted free agency, while Karri Ramo will be unrestricted, leaving some question marks in place for the Flames moving forward.  The Flames have some other roster regulars up for new deals, like Mikael Backlund, Josh Jooris, Michael Ferland, Rafael Diaz and David Schlemko, so there will be some busy times in the off-season for the Flames.

Looking at the list of potential free agents shouldn't strike much fear into the team's management, especially given that the 29 players they have signed on with cap hits disclosed, they are only coming in at $57.6 million, which leaves a lot of space and they have the better part of their core sorted out.

Needs at the 2015 Entry Draft

The Calgary Flames are already well underway in their franchise rebuild and they already have some of the necessary young players to move that forward at a reasonable pace.  Monahan, Gaudreau, Giordano, Brodie... yes, they are all poised to make a long stay in Cowtown, so the team may look to add some goaltending early on or possibly another stud defender.  Since there likely isn't a great deal of goalies that are going to make an impact in the opening round, I think the Flames would be wise to go for a kid like Oliver Kylington, a Swedish defenseman with some offensive upside and some comparisons to Niklas Kronwall in Detroit.

What I Said Last Year, At This Time...

If Monahan suffers from the sophomore jinx, which isn't the worst fate of an NHL player, just a bump in the road, the Flames may suffer a little bit more than the 2014 season. Gaudreau will likely be quick out of the gates, but will quickly be the target of opposing coaches in the league, as they quickly review tape before a team's game against the Flames and could be shut down for stretches. That's all a part of growth. If the Flames can sort out some quality two-way defenders, keep a few more pucks away from Ramo, they could be in some games longer, but all in all, I am expecting much of the same from Calgary in 2015, but at least they'll have some growth as a squad to show for it.

Did Monahan suffer in 2015?  Nope.  His growth was excellent in the year and so was his goal total.  Was Gaudreau quick out of the gates?  Not really.  The threat of being sent down to the minors was there and then after that threat, then he leapt out of the gates, not to be out-coached or targeted by other teams, having a whale of a rookie campaign.  In the defense department, both Giordano and Brodie became studs on the blueline, in both zones.  All in all, they accelerated far faster as a group than I had thought possible.

There is no reason why the Flames can't return to the second round of the playoffs again, as their trajectory has taken a turn to the good and their stocks continue to rise.  Monahan will go into year three with experience as the number one pivot, Gaudreau will be a targeted, yet elusive, point of attack, the blueline emerged as quite beast and their goaltending responded well to the platoon system, which they may have to employ for another year, waiting for that iron-clad number one.  If the Flames can find one more playoff leader, they might be very hard to stop next season.