2006-07 season: 43-29-10, 96 points.  3^rd in division/8^th in conference.  Lost in first round to Detroit Red Wings.

The Calgary Flames squeaked in the playoffs as the No. 8 seed last season, earning the right to face the conference-leading Red Wings. Detroit knocked the Flames out in a tough six-game series, sending Calgary home in the first round for the second consecutive season. Based on their off-season moves, the Flames must have been happy with the performance of their team, since they made several moves to keep the current core of the team together for the next few seasons. Calgary got strong performances from their stars (Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff in particular) and watched defenceman Dion Phaneuf move further along the road to stardom. Forwards Daymond Langkow and Kristian Huselius each scored over 30 goals, giving the Flames hope that they might have more weapons on offense than just Iginla. Kiprusoff enjoyed his second great season with the Flames, putting to rest any notion that he might be a 1-year wonder.

The Flames were not particularly active in acquiring outside players during the off-season, but they did make one very controversial move when they hired Mike Keenan as their head coach. The Flames are obviously hoping that Iron Mike will be able to lead the team deep into the playoffs, and how well he gets along with his players could go a long way towards determining how successful the Flames can be. Given the improvement that the Colorado Avalanche have made and the fact that the Avs missed the playoffs by a single point, the Flames have some reason for worry.

Depth Chart

Forwards

The Flames’ offence begins with Iginla, who scored 94 points in 70 games last year, but the Flames have added some firepower so that Iginla no longer needs to carry the entire load. Langkow and Huselius each broke the 30-goal barrier, and even Phaneuf added 17 from the blueline.  The Flames can also count on Alex Tanguay and Matthew Lombardi to chip in 20-plus goals again this year, and they added some veteran presence in Owen Nolan. Nolan could see a lot of time on the power play since he is the kind of player Coach Keenan is likely to favor.

Defence

While Phaneuf is just 22, he is already the heart of the Flames’ defence—a hard-hitting defender who is a force on both ends of the ice. He and Robyn Regehr will anchor the Calgary blueline that looks quite a bit different than last year’s defensive corps. The Flames lost Roman Hamrlik to the Canadiens and Brad Stuart to the Kings, but found two adequate replacements in Corey Sarich (5 years, $18 million to leave Tampa Bay) and Anders Eriksson (2-year contract to leave Columbus). The Flames also took a flier on oft-injured Adrian Aucoin, who was acquired cheaply from the Blackhawks.

Goaltending

Kiprusoff might be the best overall goalie in hockey now that Martin Brodeur is (supposedly) aging, but the presence of Roberto Luongo in Vancouver ensures that the debate will probably rage for years, with many wondering if he is even the best in his own division. Kiprusoff played in 74 games last season, posting a tremendous 2.47 goals against average (considering that the Flames play a relatively up-tempo game that requires him to face a lot of odd-man rushes) and playing very well in the clutch. The Flames are currently without a veteran backup, though Keenan could remedy that situation by the start of the regular season. Former first round pick Brent Krahn (9^th overall in 2000) had a strong season in the AHL last year and appears to be the front-runner for the backup job. Regardless of who the No. 2 goalie is, expect Kiprusoff to top 70 games again this year.

Outlook

With the Flames largely staying pat on the ice, their biggest off-season acquisition was behind the bench when Keenan was hired to coach the team.  Management obviously feels that the Flames have the guns to take them to the promised land, but hopes the coaching style of Keenan will light a fire under some players that underperformed last year.  Calgary has solid leaders at the forward, defence and goaltending positions, and if Keenan’s strategy works, the Flames could find themselves right where they were three seasons ago when they came within one game of the Stanley Cup.