Last year, the Flames got off to a great start, only to see things fall apart for them as they ended up in 10th in the West and out of the playoffs. Jarome Iginla had a slightly disappointing year with 32 goals and 69 points. Meanwhile, big offseason signing Jay Bouwmeester was outplayed by Mark Giordano. Giordano had 11 goals, 30 points, and was plus-17. Bouwmeester had three goals, 29 points, and was a minus-4. Not money well spent thus far.
This year? Get ready for more of the same, at least in terms of players. After trading him to the Rangers for their playoff push, the Flames re-signed Olli Jokinen to a two year, $6million deal. That particular signing got a lot of flak from people, but I think it is a reasonable deal for a good player. Also, Alex Tanguay is back after a couple of seasons elsewhere. He can maybe score 15 goals, which is something.
So basically, this is the same team as last season, but a year older, which isn't a good thing for a team in win now mode. Iginla is still a great player but for how much longer? Miikka Kiprusoff isn't getting any younger in net either. If the Flames are going to do anything, it has to be now, and they certainly don't seem to have the talent to keep up with the likes of San Jose, Detroit, Chicago, or the rest of the best in the West. Could Calgary make the playoffs this year? That's a definite possibility, perhaps even a likelihood if Iginla can score 40 goals and Bouwmeester bounces back. Will that do anything beyond that, however? It's always possible, in the playoffs any team can win any series, but I think Calgary's window of opportunity is closed. It may be time for a rebuild, but I doubt that is in the cards.
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