NHL Western Conference Offseason Evaluation: Calgary Flames
The offseason is a special time for teams around the National Hockey League (NHL) especially since it provides them with the opportunity to forget the past and work towards a better future.
Calgary Flames are one of those teams that have really caught the eye of spectators this time around as they picked up some big names during the free agency and seem to be progressively working towards a turnaround next season.
Olli Jokinen played his last season with Calgary and left to sign on with neighbouring franchise, the Winnipeg Jets, to a two-year, $9 million contract with an annual salary cap hit of $4.5 million.
Surprisingly, it is hard to see why the Calgary Flames failed to make the playoffs for the past two seasons while they practically had the same roster during the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals in which the Canadian based club lost in Game 7 to Tampa Bay Lightning.
Calgary ended the 2011-2012 NHL regular season with 90 points, five below eighth place Los Angeles Kings and being so is an accomplishment of its own seeing how they took home the Stanley Cup this time around.
Dennis Wideman has to being their biggest acquisition for sure by signing the veteran defenseman to a five-year, $26.25 million contract. The 29-year-old has been a spectacular part of the Washington Capitals and decided to transition into a more leading
role with Calgary Flames.
The far sight of Calgary Flames general manager, Jay Feaster, played out well in this regard because captain Jarome Iginla could be calling it a career at any moment with some regarding the next as his last and having players like Wideman to take the team
into their own hands is something they have always been looking for.
Prior to these signings, Calgary did not have a player that would fit into a role that Iginla does for them but Wideman certainly does now.
In 82 games played last season, the Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, native had 46 points (11 goals, 35 assists) under his belt and proved to be someone who could set up his teammates, which is another aspect Flames wanted on their team. A player who could set
up the forwards and ensure that they would be scoring some goals.
Jiri Hudler was the next surprise signing of the Calgary Flames as the team acquired a top-level centre player to backup Iginla on the line-up from Detroit Red Wings after his two-year contract with them came to an end.
The 29-year-old signed on to a four-year, $16 million contract, enabling him to grow even further with the struggling organisation.
Amazingly, Calgary was able to acquire another top point scorer in lieu of Olli Jokinen as Hudler had 25 goals and as many assist the prior season with a plus-minus rating of 10 and 42 minutes in penalty time, giving the Flames a win-win player.
Talking about picking up upcoming talent, Calgary acquired one of the biggest and tipped off names for the NHL, the Czech Center Roman Cervenka. Flames brought the youngster in from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and secured a promising player for sure.
What the Calgary Flames are reportedly aiming at now under the radar is bringing in a teammate of Dennis Wideman, which most sources are naming to be Alexander Semin. If they manage to do so, Washington would just have shifted up North to Canada and the
Flames would burn even more brightly for sure.
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