The Year of Disappointment

That pretty much sums it up in a nutshell. Whatever could go wrong did go wrong. The Flames could not or did not want to show up. It certainly left a bad taste in our mouths; like drinking a full bottle of Buckley's—except that it didn't work.

Where do you place the blame? With every stick except Mike Smith, who came to play but was deserted by his teammates. The defence was playing loosey-goosey, with forwards taking a stroll down the ice and forgetting to return.  And of course, the famous back pass to the other team. It seems the Flames forgot who their teammates were. The Calgary Flames were basically the Keystone Cops.  When it comes down to it, the Flames were not playing off the same page.

From my perspective, the biggest problem was the Avalanche speed. The Calgary defence was often caught flat-footed and did not have the legs to catch up. Too many times, the forwards would lose track of the position in the zone.

There were some bright spots during the year. The first offensive line was at its peak. The second line is led by Tkachuk, one of the best pests in the league, who is going to get paid.  Unfortunately, the Flames may have to pay the piper to keep him. He may very well be the next captain on the team.

Brad Treliving made two acquisitions to be proud of. First, Elias Lindholm, who had a career year 27 goals and 51 assists for a total of 78 points. The second might surprise you:  Derek Ryan, who matched his career points with 38 and had a career year of 25 assists. But he did so much more. Derek was outstanding in the penalty kill, one of the best defensive players on the team.

The defence was led by the Norris trophy candidate Mark Giordano, or as I like to call him,  Mr. Everything.  A career year at the age of 36—who does that?Mark was the leader of this team in every sense of the word. When they needed a play, Mark made it.  Mark had support on the defensive play: Travis Hamonic really came into his own. He arrived this season as a rock in his own zone and soon became the dman the Flames knew he would be. I love the fact that he knew how to stand up to an opposing forward, outstanding in his own zone.

The goaltending was a concern most of the year.  At his best, Smith is one of the unparalleled in the league. Unfortunately, Mike at his worst is a nightmare.  To give Mike credit, he was an anchor in the playoffs. David Rittich is still young as an NHL calibre goalie. My concern is that he is still a little rough at the edges. He is very good at his angles, capable of making the big save as his nickname indicates (BSD). I am just not sure he is experienced enough to take the reins as a number one goalie.

Going into the offseason, finding a number one goalie must be the top priority. Smith was that in the playoffs.  The second is finding a right winger for Backs and Tkachuk. That second line has to be a support for the Flames to be successful.