The Calgary Flames begin their regular season on October eight against the Edmonton Oilers. With the way the current roster pans out, there is no doubt that Craig Conroy wants to contend for a playoff spot. The Flames can make a serious playoff push if they can stay healthy. Since they have refused to trade Rasmus Andersson, they may as well go for it. Let’s take a look to see if the Flames will be better or worse than last year.

Players on the move

There are only a few players that the Flames have moved on from last season. They include:

Dan Vladar, signed with Philadelphia

Tyson Barrie, retired

Kevin Rooney, current free agent

The only key name that the Flames lost was backup goalie Dan Vladar. He was a fairly good backup goalie who stole some games for the Flames during his time in Calgary. However, consistency was a bit of an issue with him, as he often had a lot of highs and lows.

Vladar signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers worth $6.70M. An average salary of $3.35M is a bit expensive for a goalie like Vladar, although he will get a good chance at earning the starting role in Philly. He will compete with fellow netminders Ivan Fedotov and Samuel Ersson. The Flames could afford to lose Vladar, as Dustin Wolf is the clear starter now, while Ivan Prosvetov and Devin Cooley battle for the backup role.

Defenceman Tyson Barrie was signed from a professional try-out during last preseason. He only appeared in 13 games with the Flames and 11 games with the Calgary Wranglers. The defenceman was originally brought in to provide some depth in the defensive core. Unfortunately, Barrie was not needed much in the Flames’ roster. Guys like Brayden Pachal and Joel Hanley outplayed him for a spot with the NHL club. Barrie announced his retirement from the NHL a few days ago. He was most known for his time with the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers.

Depth forward Kevin Rooney remains an unrestricted free agent, just a few weeks away from training camp. The 32-year-old has spent parts of three seasons with the Flames. He was the main fourth-line centre who helped bring some energy, along with Ryan Lomberg. Rooney seemed to be well-liked by his teammates, although his time with the Flames has likely come to an end. Conroy re-signed forward Justin Kirkland, who will take the fourth line centre role full-time. He was much more valuable than Rooney in the time he played and had much more of an effect at both ends of the ice.

New faces

At this point, there are only two new faces who could be seriously considered for the Flames roster this year. They are Zayne Parekh and Ivan Prosvetov. Defenceman Parekh has been the Flames’ top prospect for the last two seasons. His potential is sky high, and he could easily become the next power play quarterback for the Flames. He tore it up throughout his OHL career and even won the CHL Defenceman of the Year award during the 2023–24 season. Now he must take his game to the next level and fight for a full-time role in the NHL.

Goaltender Prosvetov has had some previous experience in the NHL. He played 13 games with the Arizona Coyotes and 11 games with the Colorado Avalanche. Throughout his time in the NHL, he has struggled, posting a sub-0.900 save percentage every season. The Russian goaltender decided to take a break from the NHL and signed in the KHL last season. Here, he found his game again as he posted a 0.920 save percentage through 38 games. Prosvetov signed a one-year, $950k deal with the Flames in free agency. He has always been a goalie with NHL potential; he just needs to find a consistent role, which he may get in Calgary.

Thoughts going into the season

It feels as though the Flames have a better chance of making the playoffs this year. I say they will be a better team. This relies on a few things to go right in the near future. First, Dustin Wolf must continue to be the Flames’ best player; Connor Zary must sign; and multiple players need to bounce back. Yegor Sharangovich, Martin Pospisil, and Rasmus Andersson must have strong bounce-back seasons to increase the likelihood of making the playoffs.

Main guys like Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Matt Coronato need to build off their success from last season. The primary objective for the Flames’ general manager is to sign Zary before the start of training camp. This team cannot afford to have him sign late and miss part of the season.

Something that needs to improve from last season is the overall team performance in overtime. Honestly, if Conroy wants this team to be a playoff contender, that should be one of the top priorities. The Flames had 14 overtime or shootout losses last year, which was tied with the Vancouver Canucks for the most in the league. Part of the reason this team struggles in overtime is the lack of pure superstars on the team. The emergence of Parekh will help with this as he will be an excellent skater to have in overtime.

Do you think this team is better or worse than last year?

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