Calgary Flames: Noah Hanifin, James Neal give Flames high hopes
Strengths
Much Improved Top Nine
Last season, the Calgary Flames didn’t have much forward depth, and it showed. Whenever Gaudreau and Monahan didn’t score, they usually didn’t get much from their forwards. That shouldn’t be the case this season. Adding Ryan, Neal, and Lindholm to the roster makes the Flames a noticeably deeper team.
Elite Shutdown Line
If you ignore the goals for numbers, which were skewed thanks to a 91.13 on-ice save percentage and 5.71 on-ice shooting percentage (both at five-on-five), there were very few forward lines more effective than Tkachuk, Backlund, and Frolik. Getting them to produce is on the Flames’ to do list, but Peters has a line he can throw out against anyone and expect success from. That’s huge.
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Young Defensemen
Again, let’s start off by saying both Andersson and Kylington ought to be on the NHL roster. But they aren’t. Still, the Flames quietly have a trio of impressive young defensemen. We’ll get to Hanifin later, but let’s just say his extension with Calgary could prove to be a nice bargain. Andersson has dominated in the AHL and so has Kylington. The former has been better, though. Calgary could really use a boost defensively and Andersson and Kylington could be the guys who give it.