Jarome Iginla is looking to rebound from a difficult 2005-06 season. (Niklas Larsson/Associated Press)
Backgrounder | 2006-07 NHL season
Calgary Flames
Last Updated Fri., Sept. 29, 2006
Doug Harrison, CBC Sports
2005-06 record: 46-25-11, third in the Western Conference. Lost to Anaheim 4-3 in a best-of-seven conference quarterfinal.
Arrivals: G Jamie McLennan, D Andrei Zyuzin, LW Jeff Friesen, LW/C Alex Tanguay.
Departures: G Brian Boucher, D Cale Hulse, D Jordan Leopold, D Bryan Marchment, RW Shean Donovan, LW Mike LeClerc, LW Chris Simon, C Craig MacDonald.
Offence: Captain Jarome Iginla's wishes were answered on June 24 when Flames general manager Darryl Sutter acquired elite playmaker Alex Tanguay from the Colorado Avalanche.
Tanguay, who collected 78 points in 71 games a year ago, is expected to centre Iginla on the top line and bolster a power play that finished 12th in the 30-team NHL.
Iginla struggled with a bevy of centres last season and finished with 35 goals, far off his 52-goal explosion in 2001-02.
Sutter also added veteran left-winger Jeff Friesen to a unit that scored the third-fewest goals in the NHL in 2005-06 (218).
Bigger seasons will be expected from youngsters Chuck Kobasew (31 points), Matthew Lombardi (26) and Jamie Lundmark (29).
Defence: Calgary possesses enough depth on the blue-line that Sutter was able to deal the promising Leopold in the Tanguay deal.
Led by Robyn Regehr and Dion Phaneuf, the Flames allowed just 27.6 shots per game last season, sixth best in the league.
The physical Phaneuf led the way, finishing sixth in the rookie scoring race (49 points) and tied for second in power-play goals (16) among first-year NHLers.
Roman Hamrlik enters his 13th NHL season and will pick up Leopold's minutes, along with Andrew Ference, who nearly doubled his career best offensive output (31 points) in 2005-06.
Goaltending: Sutter's acquisition of Miikka Kiprusoff from San Jose for a second-round pick in 2005 (Marc-Edouard Vlasic) could go down as one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history.
After leading Calgary to within one win of the Stanley Cup championship in 2004, the Finnish goalie played 74 games in 2005-06, posted a league-best 2.07 goals-against average and won his first-ever Vezina Trophy as the league's top netminder.
Kiprusoff managed a franchise-record six shutouts in the season's first half, while his 42 victories set a team mark.
Former Florida Panther Jamie McLennan, 35, will serve as Kiprusoff's backup.
Coaching: Former Flames assistant coach Jim Playfair takes over from Darryl Sutter, who will focus on his general manager's duties.
Before arriving in Calgary, Playfair, was head coach of the American Hockey League Saint John Flames from 2000 to 2003 and led the team to a Calder Cup title. He also spent a combined six seasons coaching in the East Coast Hockey League (Dayton Bombers) and now-defunct International Hockey League (Michigan K-Wings).
Rich Preston and Rob Cookson return to assist Playfair, while Wayne Fleming joins the Flames after three seasons as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Scott Morrison's take: In the past two springs in which the NHL was actually open for business, the Stanley Cup paid a visit to Alberta in June, but it never stayed.
Calgary addressed last season’s offensive shortcomings in the off-season with acquisitions of sniper Alex Tanguay, left, veteran winger Jeff Friesen and speedy defenceman Andrei Zyuzin. (John Ulan/Canadian Press)
There is a very good possibility that could change this season, however. The Flames, who lost in Game 7 of the 2004 final to Tampa Bay prior to the NHL turning out the lights for a year, could finally win the big prize.
Their biggest shortcoming last season, after all, was a lack of offence, though even with the 28th-best attack in hockey they were still able to win a division title. But come springtime it took a severe toll as the Flames were beaten in the first round by Anaheim, managing just one goal in the final two games.
It would appear, however, that Sutter has potentially fixed the problem by adding Tanguay and signing Friesen, who has scored in bunches in a former life, to already a formidable group of youngsters such as Kobasew, Daymond Langkow and Kristian Huselius, who should continue to improve and put up decent numbers. Playfair replacing Sutter, will lead to a greater emphasis on offence, too.
Apart from the goal-scoring issues, the Flames were excellent in all facets of the game, and their defensive numbers were the best in the NHL.
The defence itself was excellent, with Phaneuf terrific, while goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff is arguably the best in the league.
It would appear that all the pieces are in place for the Flames to make a run at the Cup and this year it just might make southern Alberta home.
