2015-16 record: 35-40-7 (77 points)
Missed the playoffs
Captain: Mark Giordano
At the start of last season, there was much optimism for the Calgary Flames, as they were coming off of a Conference Semi-finals appearance and were welcoming in Dougie Hamilton into the defensive fold. Along the way, however, things went horribly wrong, as the goaltending was the absolute worst and the defense in front of it was not what it had hoped to be. This season, a new head coach and a new goaltending duo will join a team that features some great young talent up front and on paper, a great unit on the blue line. The rest is up to the new faces to improve upon last year's numbers.
The most obvious change on the ice will be in the blue paint, as Jonas Hiller, Karri Ramo, and Nicklas Backstrom, three of the four goalies responsible for the worst goaltending numbers in the league, were not retained. Incoming will be Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson, and both put up good numbers last season. While it is reasonable to expect Elliott to have a slight drop-off in numbers, Johnson's numbers should be good for a 25-30 game spell. Defensively, health will be a major factor, as TJ Brodie missed time at the start of the season and combined with Mark Giordano, those two should figure to be the top pairing once again. Dougie Hamilton struggled with expectations for most of the season, but appeared to find a groove late in the season. The rest of the unit is filled with role players, although Jyrki Jokipakka figures to get some more ice time. Up front, while the status of Johnny Gaudreau remains up in the air, as he is unsigned as of this time, his running buddy Sean Monahan was signed to a long term deal, and when both are under contract, there are few teams that can match their production. Sam Bennett will look to build upon a respectable rookie season while Troy Brouwer will add grit on the wings. Like the blue line, health up front is something to watch, as key role players such as Micheal Ferland, Michael Frolik, and Lance Bouma were out for stretches of time, robbing the Flames of continuity and some toughness.
Prediction: 3rd in the Pacific Division
The Flames should be better in goal, if only for the fact that they can't get any worse than last season. Scoring from their best players doesn't figure to be a problem, but it will be up to the depth players to step up on some level.
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