NHL.com offers detailed roster, prospectus and fantasy analysis for each of its 31 teams from November 16 through December 16. 16. Today the Calgary Flames.
The Calgary Flames have their sights set on a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and coach Geoff Ward said his most important role now is how all the squad pieces fit together.
“This will be the challenge of seeing our new employees fit in, then bringing them up to date with what we’re doing as a team, and then tinkering with a few things to complete our transition,” said Ward . “We’re happy with our old line-up, but we want to see if we can find a better line-up than the one we had.”
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Goalkeepers are an important part of this new line-up Jacob Markstrom, who signed a six-year contract for $ 36 million (average annual value $ 6 million) on October 9 as a free agent and defense attorney Christopher Tanev, who signed a four-year contract for $ 18 million ($ 4.5 million AAV) on the same day.
Video: Top 10 Jacob Markstrom Saves From 2019-20
The Flames also signed Free Agent Forwards Dominik Simon (Pittsburgh Penguins), Joakim Nordstrom (Boston Bruins) and Josh Leivo (Canucks) and defenders Nikita Nesterov (Continental Hockey League) each to a one-year contract in October. And defender prospect Juuso Valimaki is ready for a full-time NHL role after missing a torn ACL in his right knee after surgery to repair a torn ACL last season. Valimaki plays for Ilves in Liiga, the highest professional league in Finland.
“We had the opportunity to watch in the same division (Pacific) [Markstrom and Tanev] So through the Stanley Cup playoff bubble, we have great confidence in these two guys for what they will bring to our group, “said Ward.” We want [the incoming players] Just to come in and be the players they are and it’s up to our coaches and an organization to make this transition comfortable and give them every opportunity to show us where they fit best. “
The Flames defeated the Winnipeg Jets in four games in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup qualifiers and then lost to the Dallas Stars in six games in the first round of the Western Conference.
center Mikael Backlund The Flames could have led the stars on the series, but little things like a broken stick in Game 4 right before the stars scored a goal in overtime to tie the series made a big difference and should remind them how close they came.
“We’re not happy with the results but when you lose you really learn what you need to do to improve as a player, as a person and as a group,” said Backlund. “I’m looking forward to going back to war with the guys we’ve had for a while. It’s a dream for everyone to play in [Stanley Cup Final] and to win, but realistically this group has grown over the years and it’s time for us to show that we can at least make it to the conference finals. “
A player’s key to a long postseason run is the left wing Matthew Tkachukwho led the Flames with 61 points (23 goals, 38 assists) in 69 games and played six games in the postseason before missing the final four games with a concussion. Ward said Tkachuk has recovered and is expected to be ready by the start of the season, which the NHL is aiming for January 1, 2021.
“”[Tkachuk] is a warrior to us, so we are excited about the prospect of getting him back, “said Ward.” We’re talking about our team slowly showing up. This is another young leader who has had tremendous experience over the past few years [and is] ready to take another step forward. [There are a] Plenty of reasons for us to be optimistic about the year and we look forward to seeing where Matthew can pick up his game. “
Video: A countdown of the top 20 wings that are currently playing
The hope is a healthy tkachuk combined with the newcomers and constant production from a core group that includes strikers Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholmand defense attorney Mark Giordanocan help the Flames win multiple postseason series for the first time since reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004.
“We have some really good top-end players on our team and we need these guys to be our leaders, our hardest workers,” said Ward. “We have learned a lot for us as a team in recent years. That taught our management group what it takes to win in our league and at the most important time of the year.”
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