Calgary Flames 2014-15 Season Primer

The Calgary Flames will once again be in tough this season, and should finish close to the bottom of the Western Conference.

Use the below Tabs to view Flames info for this upcoming season, as well as some numbers from last year.

2013-14 record: 35-40-7, 77 points
Where they finished: 6th in the Pacific; 13th in the Western Conference; 27th in the NHL

Player Salaries: $55,108,333
Cap Payroll: $53,936,667
Bonuses: $1,775,000
Cap Space: $15,063,333
Forwards: $25.58 million (14)
Defensemen: $21.11 million (7)
Goalies: $7.25 million (2)
Source: CapGeek.com

In: Brad Thiessen G, Brandon Bollig LW, Corey Potter D, David Wolf LW/C, Deryk Engelland D/RW, Devin Setoguchi RW, Jonas Hiller G, Mason Raymond LW/RW, Sena Acolatse D

Out: Ben Street C, Blair Jones C/W, Chris Butler D, Christopher Breen D, Joey MacDonald G, Mike Cammalleri LW/C, T.J. Galiardi W/C

2014-15 Team Outlook:

Coming off a season where they couldn’t fill the net with regularity or keep the puck out, newly appointed Flames GM Brad Treliving has taken steps towards addressing both issues.

While they did lose veteran sniper Mike Cammalleri, who the team worked hard to retain before the two sides concluded an agreement couldn’t be reached, the Flames did add some pieces to try and improve their highly mediocre offensive attack.

Calgary signed winger Mason Raymond, who scored 19 goals and tallied 45 points in 82 games with Toronto last season, as well as Devin Setoguchi, who failed to score at a 20-goal pace for the first time last year, to add some scoring punch and depth on the wing.

With possession driving two-way center Mikeal Backlund, Sean Monahan, and Matt Stajan down the middle the team owns a respectable core there.

While Monahan will struggle to match the 15.7SH% he posted as a rookie, his development as a player should help offset the regression.

The team has Johnny Gaudreau to look forward to, and a very potent top pairing in Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie to eat and produce while playing extremely tough minutes.

With the addition of Jonas Hiller they should also have a much more stable crease in 2014-15.

Hiller hasn’t been the same goaltender since suffering from Vertigo a couple years back, but if healthy, he’s certainly an upgrade over what the Flames last season.

The team oddly overpaid Deryk Engelland to the tune of almost $3 million per over three years, and traded for Brandon Bollig to add more grit, but I don’t think either player will make much of an impact.

I don’t view Calgary as a playoff team, but they should be competitive, and will probably be better than many expect.

Written by Todd Cordell, who can be found on twitter @ToddCordell.

The depth chart listed below was taken from NHL.com’s 30-in-30. 

FORWARDS
Curtis Glencross – Mikael Backlund – Jiri Hudler
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Devin Setoguchi
Mason Raymond – Matt Stajan – David Jones
Brandon Bollig – Joe Colborne – Lance Bouma
Paul Byron – Brian McGrattan

DEFENSEMEN
T.J. Brodie – Mark Giordano
Ladislav Smid – Dennis Wideman
Kris Russell – Deryk Engelland
Mark Cundari

GOALTENDERS
Jonas Hiller
Karri Ramo

A look at the Calgary Flames top prospects heading into this season. Each source may use different classifications as to if a player is deemed a prospect or has graduated on from a prospect.

* Dobber Prospects – Prospects based on relevance in a fantasy-hockey keeper league, not actual talent on the ice.

Calgary Flames Draft History from the past five years

Performance and Usage Charts for the Calgary Flames from last season, from Extra Skater.