Flames hope addition of veterans leads to success
The 2009-10 season was a tremendous disappointment for the Calgary Flames. After struggling throughout the latter stretch of the National Hockey League season, the franchise finished with a record of 40-32-10 and missed the play-offs for the first time in five seasons.
In order to avoid the same disappointing result, the Flames have been serious in making off-season moves to revamp the team as much as possible. Calgary has made some risks in bringing back some inconsistent veterans to give the team some much-needed experience and by letting go of a few players. Let’s examine Calgary’s off-season moves.
Departures: The Flames did not do too much serious trading and thus most of their departures are to free agency. The most notable players not to be rejoining the Flames are forwards Eric Nystrom, Christopher Higgins and David Van Der Gulik.
Nystrom will now be playing for the Minnesota Wild, and last season played in all 82 games for the Flames while scoring 11 goals and getting 19 total points. In 204 NHL games, all with the Flames, Nystrom has a total of 39 points, on 19 goals and 20 assists.
Higgins is moving on to the Florida Panthers after another disappointing season. After a strong career start following his full-season debut in 2005-06 with the Montreal Canadiens, Higgins’ production has wavered as of late. He played in 67 games last season, 55 with the New York Rangers and 12 with the Flames, and managed a total of 17 points with just eight goals.
Van Der Gulik spent last season with the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Heat, and his last NHL appearances were a six game stint with the Flames in 2008-09. He has struggled to solidify his place in the NHL after being selected by Calgary in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. The 27-year-old is hoping to make the roster of the Colorado Avalanche for this upcoming season.
Calgary’s major trade was sending Jason Jaffray to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for young forward Logan MacMillan. Jaffray was scoreless in three appearances for the Flames last season.
Arrivals: Calgary decided to bring back a slew of veterans who at one point performed well for the team. Alex Tanguay was a Flame from 2006 through 2008. He had his career best 81-point season with the Flames in 2006-07 and has seen his production decline steadily since. The left winger still has a lot of talent and is expected to alleviate some of the offensive pressure off team-mate Jarome Iginla.
Thirty-one-year-old centre Olli Jokinen will also be rejoining the Flames after an unproductive stint with the New York Rangers. Like Tanguay, Jokinen had his best NHL season in 2006-07. That year Jokinen had 91 points with the Florida Panthers. Since then, his production has also steadily declined. In the last two seasons, he has played 75 games for the Flames. Last year the Flames traded him to the Rangers halfway through the season, and Jokinen managed a mediocre total of 50 points for the whole season.
The Flames also added enforcer Tim Jackman to the roster. Jackman spent the prior two seasons with the New York Islanders, where he led the team in penalty minutes both seasons. The addition of Jackman gives the Flames some much needed muscle. Another muscle-adding signing was that of Raitis Ivanans for the Los Angeles Kings.
Outlook: Overall, the Flames look to be in better shape than they were last season. They now have the trio of Tanguay, Iginla, and Jokinen. Although individually Tanguay and Jokinen are not capable of being a team’s star player, they can work together with Iginla to help revitalize Calgary’s stagnant offence.
The Flames should find their way back to the play-offs this season, but it doesn’t seem as if they are truly capable of a deep post-season run.
Flames hope addition of veterans leads to success
The 2009-10 season was a tremendous disappointment for the Calgary Flames. After struggling throughout the latter stretch of the National Hockey League season, the franchise finished with a record of 40-32-10 and missed the play-offs for the first time in five seasons.
In order to avoid the same disappointing result, the Flames have been serious in making off-season moves to revamp the team as much as possible. Calgary has made some risks in bringing back some inconsistent veterans to give the team some much needed experience and by letting go of a few players. Let’s examine Calgary’s off-season moves.
Departures: The Flames did not do too much serious trading and thus most of their departures are to free agency. The most notable players not to be rejoining the Flames are forwards Eric Nystrom, Christopher Higgins and David Van Der Gulik.
Nystrom will now be playing for the Minnesota Wild, and last season played in all 82 games for the Flames while scoring 11 goals and getting 19 total points. In 204 NHL games, all with the Flames, Nystrom has a total of 39 points, on 19 goals and 20 assists.
Higgins is moving on to the Florida Panthers after another disappointing season. After a strong career start following his full-season debut in 2005-06 with the Montreal Canadiens, Higgins’ production has wavered as of late. He played in 67 games last season, 55 with the New York Rangers and 12 with the Flames, and managed a total of 17 points with just eight goals.
Van Der Gulik spent last season with the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Heat, and his last NHL appearances were a six game stint with the Flames in 2008-09. He has struggled to solidify his place in the NHL after being selected by Calgary in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. The 27-year-old is hoping to make the roster of the Colorado Avalanche for this upcoming season.
Calgary’s major trade was sending Jason Jaffray to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for young forward Logan MacMillan. Jaffray was scoreless in three appearances for the Flames last season.
Arrivals: Calgary decided to bring back a slew of veterans who at one point performed well for the team. Alex Tanguay was already a Flame from 2006 through 2008. He had his career best 81-point season with the Flames in 2006-07 and has seen his production decline steadily since. The left winger still has a lot of talent and is expected to alleviate some of the offensive pressure off team-mate Jarome Iginla.
31-year-old centre Olli Jokinen will also be rejoining the Flames after an unproductive stint with the New York Rangers. Like Tanguay, Jokinen had his best NHL season in 2006-07. That year Jokinen had 91 points with the Florida Panthers. Since then, his production has also steadily declined. In the last two seasons, he has played 75 games for the Flames. Last year the Flames traded him to the Rangers halfway through the season, and Jokinen managed a mediocre total of 50 points for the whole season.
The Flames also added enforcer Tim Jackman to the roster. Jackman spent the prior two seasons with the New York Islanders, where he led the team in penalty minutes both seasons. The addition of Jackman gives the Flames some much needed muscle. Another muscle-adding signing was that of Raitis Ivanans for the Los Angeles Kings.
Outlook: Overall, the Flames look to be in better shape than they were last season. They now have the trio of Tanguay, Iginla, and Jokinen. Although individually Tanguay and Jokinen are not capable of being a team’s star player, they can work together with Iginla to help revitalize Calgary’s stagnant offence.
The Flames should find their way back to the play-offs this season, but it doesn’t seem as if they are truly capable of a deep post-season run.
Tags: