Calgary Puck

The Flames look really good on paper.

Again.

And once again I mean it. Will this be the year that the 20-odd players in red believe it? Trust it? Put their shoulders behind it?

There in lies the question. A solid core with good balance has always been the most notable presence in the Flames lineup the past several seasons, but for whatever reason this group was unable to get it done. The Flames are hoping that adding another key cog in Jay Bouwmeester will make a difference, but don’t kid yourself, it’s the guy behind the bench that will make or break this group when the calendar rolls into April and May.

The engine seems to be highly horsed, is this the driver to find that checker flag? Once again … we’ll find out.

Where will they finish?

Predictions are a pain in the butt when you are vested in the outcome of one particular hockey club. It seems equally silly to me to either pick the Flames to succeed every time, or to pick them to fail every time to acquire the opposite reputation. You try and remove bias and look for objectivity. On paper they look very good again, and I mean beyond the addition of #4; the third and fourth lines are improved and they’ve had a good settle out in their bottom pairing. But coaching is the difference in giving them the division title and 2nd seed overall.

MVP:

Miikka Kiprusoff. Less games, less shots, and most importantly less high end second chances will have #34 as one of the buzz players in the league this season as he ends up a finalist for the Vezina.

Best Role Player:

Eric Nystrom. The Kamikaze penalty kill style is well documented, but this is the year that Bobby’s kid gets used in more and different situations as he continues to move into the team’s leadership group. Double digits in goals is possible as Brent Sutter uses him to spark the top two lines from time to time.

Worst Core Player:

I’m really worried about Jarome Iginla. His stats were great last year, but something was “off” with his play. It says a lot about the talent of a hockey player when he puts up 89 points and gives me the willies, but it happened. Too many games without scoring a point, too few times taking the puck off the half wall, and no games where he carried the team on his back. And he’s the player with the farthest to go to fit into the new system.

Breakout Player:

Dustin Boyd. When Brent Sutter talks about what he can do and how he needs a role that he can work with and not move around a lot I get a good feeling about Dustin Boyd’s season. A good chunk of time with talented players like Craig Conroy and Curtis Glencross should turn Boyd from a 10 goal 20 point player into a 15 goal 40 point player this season. Consider Bertuzzi’s production covered.

Special Teams:

Both the powerplay and the penalty kill will improve this season and for two solid reasons. One they are actually practicing it with the help of a new hands on head coach, but also because they’ve boosted personnel in both areas. The new “umbrella” format of the powerplay plays to the Flames strengths, and Jay Bouwmeester’s sneak in and sneak out approach almost looks like the powerplay used by Pat Quinn at the World Juniors last Christmas. A more experienced Nystrom with help from Fred Sjostrom and a less tired Kiprusoff make special teams a big part of Flames success.

Western Conference Standings:

1. San Jose
2. Calgary
3. St. Louis
4. Detroit
5. Chicago
6. Vancouver
7. Anaheim
8. Edmonton
9. Columbus
10. Los Angeles
11. Nashville
12. Minnesota
13. Dallas
14. Phoenix
15. Colorado

Eastern Conference Standings:

1. Philadelphia
2. Boston
3. Washington
4. Pittsburgh
5. New Jersey
6. Carolina
7. Ottawa
8. Florida
9. Tampa Bay
10. Montreal
11. Toronto
12. New York Rangers
13. Buffalo
14. Atlanta
15. New York Islanders