NHL analysis

Major Additions: Adrian Aucoin, Owen Nolan, Cory Sarich, Anders Eriksson

Major Subtractions: Roman Hamrlik, Brad Stuart, Byron Ritchie, Mark Giordano

Analysis

Should Mike Keenan’s name be added to the list of additions or subtractions? I must admit I was terribly surprised Keenan resurfaced in an NHL job. His last major claim to fame was trading Roberto Luongo for what turned out to be a (very) few spare parts. Alex Auld was not tendered a qualifying offer, Todd Bertuzzi missed nearly the entire year and was moved for peanuts to Detroit at the deadline. Even if we can’t fault Keenan for Bertuzzi being injured, that trade looks even worse today than it did when it was announced.

And the bad news continues! Hamrlik will be sorely missed. So will Giordano, who felt squeezed out of the Flames’ defensive depth chart by the likes of Anders Eriksson. Whoopey.

The good news is the core of this team is still together (at least until Mikka Kipprusoff hits unrestricted free agency next summer) and that Keenan, for all his faults, is nearly legendary for getting short term results. Dion Paneuf should be even more fun to watch and perhaps, with less pressure, Alex Tanguay will have a better year.

The West will be another dog-fight this year, as will the Northwest division. Calgary has the tools to improve on its 8th place finish but will need the pieces to fall into place quickly, as they could very well see Kipper depart next summer. I hope Iron Mike has enough left in the tank to squeeze everything he can for one more year.

Key players for Calgary: Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff, Kristian Huselius

Key players for Detroit: Dominik Hasek, Pavel Datsyuk, Todd Bertuzzi

Analysis: It all comes down to Hasek.  Is there a single Red Wings fan - anywhere - comfortable with that situation?

The Wings won this year by holding their opponents to an average of under 25 per game.  Can they do that in the playoffs?  If not, can Hasek keep his antics under wraps enough to stop that much rubber?

In the end, the Wings have the same problems they’ve had year after year: they’re not built for the playoffs and their opponents most certainly are.  Before the next few weeks are done, there are going to be major regrets over Datsyuk’s contract.

Of course, Detroit won’t go down easily.  But the longer this series goes, the more the balance will tip in Calgary’s favour.

Prediction: Calgary in six

NHL standings as of March 19, 2007 show the Colorado Avalanche a mere 4 points below the 8th place Calgary Flames, with each team having 10 games left to play.

The Denver Post and the Calgary Sun each take a closer look at the Avs run, which has brought them within striking distance of a playoff spot that looked out of reach even a week ago.

Too much pressure. That sums up the problems of the Calgary Flames.

It’s not that they lack scoring depth. It’s not that they lack a number one centerman to play with Jarome Iginla. It’s not that they rely too much on Miikka Kiprusoff.

Calgary, from head-to-toe, is under intense pressure from the media, from the fans, from themselves, from everyone. The early pressure has focused mostly on newcomer Alex Tanguay, who was apparently supposed to turn last year’s third lowest scoring team (the worst two were the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues, who finished 28th and 30th overall) into an offensive powerhouse. Pressure!

The pressure has also been focused on Iginla, despite having 9 points (5 goals 4 assists) in 9 games. In fact, Iginla generally starts off very slow, picking his pace up more and more as the season progresses. If that trend continues, Iginla could have a career year. But when the team ain’t winning, the captain can expect to face pressure no matter how well he’s doing.

The pressure has especially been focused on new headcoach Jim Playfair, who walks into really unfair circumstances. Is there anyone out there who would want to follow up a Suter? Even worse than his predecessor (and still boss) is the expectations he faces. With his team “expected” to compete for the Conference title, not to mention the Stanley Cup, what can Playfair do but disappoint?

Calgary will improve. They’re too stingy and too deep on the blueline for anything else to happen. And Kipper has proven himself to be the steadying influence every team wishes it could have between the pipes. But the team will improve faster if the expectations weren’t so high. The division, the conference, the league that Calgary plays in is tough! Very tough! And they are quite simply not a powerhouse. I still wouldn’t want to face them in the playoffs.

And that may be the best thing anyone can say about any team in the NHL these days.

Additions: Jamie McLennan, Alex Tanguay, Jeff Friesen, Andrei Zyuzin, Brad Ference

Subtractions: Shean Donovan, Jordan Leopold, Craig MacDonald, Chris Simon

Analysis

For the past few years, Calgary has been well known as a nearly impregnable team, with stalwart Miikka Kiprusoff in net and a very strong defence in front of him. Little has changed on the back half of the team, as Kipper will of course return as Calgary’s starter, and the defence, though thinned by the loss of Leopold, still bosts Hamrlik, Warrner and Regher. Calgary will continue to be a very difficult team to score against.

Where Calgary was lacking the past few years has been at the opposite end of the ice. Scoring goals may have been a specialty of Jarome Iginla, but the power forward didn’t have much help in that department. Cue the arrival of Alex Tanguay, one of the most promising young stars the Western Conference has to offer. While it is not yet certain if GM Sutter will use Tanguay as a centerman or seek to acquire someone to play between him and Iginla, Calgary should also be a more difficult team to defend against next year.

A candidate for the Calder Trophy last year, Dion Phaneuf will be given more responsability this year and should continue to pile up points, especially on the power play. He’s fun to watch and an absolutely spectacular defenceman, especially for a young man only entering his second season. As if Calgary needed another star defenceman.

A few other minor moves should help in small ways, as well, Jamie McLennan is a pretty solid backup goaltender, especially for a guy like Kipper, who likes to play plenty of games. McLennan can and will play a very few games but can always be counted on to be on his game - not easy to do with frequent lengthy waits between games. He won’t have a major impact, but he isn’t recquired to. Similarly, Jeff Friesen adds speed to the front lines, even if he won’t break games open by himself. As many teams learned last year, speed wins games in the new NHL.

Calgary was a top contender last year and should continue to be so for the forseable future. They didn’t make major upheavals, but rather tinkered with a successful, if imperfect lineup. Playing in arguably the toughest division in the league, Calgary will have a big challenge to relaim the Northwest titile, but making the playoffs should not be too tough. I wouldn’t want to meet the Flames in the playoffs next season.