Thursday 9 March 2017

What's up with Troy Brouwer?

Troy Bouwer not meeting expectations?



Its no secret Troy Brouwer has underperformed this year. He surely isn't playing like somebody who makes 4.5 million. Brouwer has 10 goals, 11 assists, 21 points in 58 games this year. He is also a -10 on the year. 9 of his points have came on the powerplay, but just recently Michael Ferland took over his powerplay spot. Brouwer missed 8 games because of a broken finger from a slap shot from Kris Versteeg. Brouwer has been all over the Flames lineup. He used to be on the first line with Gaudreau and Monahan, the he was moved to the Fourth were he only played a few games, than he was put with Bennett and Versteeg where he has been for the 7 game win streak. With the Curtis Lazar trade and Michael Ferland's
play of late. It has opened up many questions about if the Flames have any plan to protect Brouwer in the upcoming expansion draft. Because if the Flames use the format of 7-3-1 (which I think they will) One of Brouwer, Lazar or Ferland will be left unprotected, and Treliving wants Lazar to stick around. Whether Brouwer is protected or not will rely on his performance in the final stretch of the season and possibly the playoffs. Brouwer has had success in the playoffs, scoring the series winning goal against Chicago in the first round of last years playoffs. In St Louis's playoff run last year, Brouwer had 8 goals, 5 assists, 13 points in 20 playoff games, which are pretty good numbers. But still, Troy Brouwer has not played up to expectations in Calgary this year, so if he wants to stick around, he needs to up his game a lot in the final 16 games.  

Monday 6 March 2017

5 Reasons for Flames Fans to be Hopeful Heading into the Final Playoff Push

           The Flames are heading into a short break on a 7 game win streak, which has turned many heads in the NHL. The Flames before the win streak were fighting for the final Wild Card spot, now they are tied with the Anaheim Ducks for third in the Division and are comfortably holding the 1st Wild Card spot. Here are 5 reasons to be hopeful heading into the final playoff push.










3 M Line:
The Line of Mathew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michael Frolik has been the best and most consistent line all year. This line is tasked with shutting down the other teams top lines, and they still put up a lot of points. Here are the stats of the 3M Line:

Mikael Backlund: 20 Goals, 27 Assists, 47 Points and a +11

Mathew Tkachuk: 12 Goals, 30 Assists, 42 Points and a +12

Michael Frolik: 14 Goals, 23 Assists, 37 Points and a +10

They have stuck together all year, and when Johnny Gaudreau went down with a broken finger, this line carried most of that work load. Not only have they been outstanding offensively but they have been spectacular defensively. They combine a +33 and that is been played against every teams top line. There is no doubt in the last 16 game of the season, this line will be a big factor in this teams success.

Brian Elliott/Chad Johnson:


Consistent Goaltending has been hard to come by in Calgary since Mikka Kiprusoff. But this year the Flames have got solid goaltending at the right times. Early in the year, when the Flames season was slipping away from them, Chad Johnson stepped up and led the Flames to a 6 game win streak putting them ahead of multiple teams in the playoff race. Brian Elliott could not get the job done early in the year, so Johnson stole the starting job from him, but Elliott took it over when Johnson got very cold and Elliott stepped up and became the Goalie Flames fans thought they were getting in the off season trade. Here are the goaltending stats throughout the year:

Chad Johnson: 18-13-1 with a 2.54 GAA and a .913 Sv %

Brian Elliott: 18-13-3 with a 2.65 GAA and a .905 Sv %

Now these statistics aren't great but they are a big improvement from last year when the Flames had Karri Ramo and Jonas Hiller. What is different about last year is our goalies have stepped up at the right times this year. Consistent Goaltending will be key in the final push for the Playoffs.

New blue Line:





Part of the Flames issues throughout the season was their depth on the Blue Line. Near the trade deadline they brought in 2 new defenders. Michael Stone(on the left) and Matt Bartkowski(on the right). Their Previous 2 defenders were Dennis Wideman and Jyrki Jokipakka. Jyrki Jokipakka was dealt at the deadline as a part of the Curtis Lazar trade and Dennis Wideman has been serving as a healthy scratch. The Flames D pairings are as follows:

Giordano - Hamilton
Brodie - Stone
Bartkowski - Engelland

Clearly these moves have worked as the Flames have gone 7-0-1 with their new blue liners. Here are their stats as part of the Calgary Flames:

Michael Stone: 2 assists in 7 games played and a +3

Matt Bartkowski: 1 assist in 8 games played and a +4

Since Michael Stone came along TJ Brodie did not need to play with Dennis Wideman which has helped Brodie a lot with his offensive and defensive game. TJ Brodie still sits at a -21 though. Matt Bartkowski was brought in to solidify the third d Pairing and has done a phenomenal job defensively alongside Deryk Engelland.

Production from their "Big Guns"





Its no secret this season has not gone the way Johnny Gaudreau would have liked it to go. In the past few weeks, these 2 players and also Michael Ferland have been playing their best hockey of the season. Here are the stats from Gaudreau, Monahan and Ferland the past 7 games:

Gaudreau: 2 Goals, 7 Assists, 9 Points and a +9

Monahan: 2 Goals, 6 Assists, 8 Points and a +9

Ferland: 5 Goals, 0 Assists, 5 Points and a +9
These stats were from @DarrenWHaynes on twitter.

While Gaudreau was not producing offensively, he spent lots of time at practice working on his defensive game, which translated into games. Many Flames fans have been very worried about Gaudreau throughout the season and I can see why, his offensive numbers are down from last year. But Gaudreau is getting plenty of chances, what is different last year from this year is that last year the chances went in the net. Gaudreau has been playing well all season but not getting rewarded with goals. As for Michael Ferland, 2 weeks ago he was playing on the fourth line, now he is a main contributor to the offensive game. But he never left his main style of play, a rugged player who hits a lot and gets player mad. The Flames "Big Guns" have played excellent recently and as a result their team is winning.

Their Remaining Schedule:









The Flames play 9 of the Final 16 games at home and of those 16 games, 7 are against division opponents that are also in the heat of the playoff race. The Flames haven't played great at home this year, but most of those home struggles were at the beginning of the year when they were loosing lots. Recently they have been playing well at home. 12 of their final 16 games are against western conference teams. The Flames also play every other day for the rest of the season, so if they can get on a role early after their break that could play a big effect in the results. All of these important division and west conference games will make or break their playoff hopes, so get ready, its gonna be a exciting finish to the season.



Wednesday 1 March 2017

After The Deadline: Calgary Flames



Before the deadline the Flames made 2 trades:
Flames acquired Michael Stone from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a third round pick and conditional 5th round pick.
Flames also acquired Curtis Lazar and Mike Kostka from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Jyrki Jokipakka and a second round pick.

The Michael Stone trade has worked out very well for the Flames, Michael Stone in 5 games with the Flames has 2 assists and is a plus 4, the flames have also won every game with him in the lineup. He was traded to be a rental, but if he keeps playing like he has recently it would be smart to extend him. The Flames gave up a third round pick, which is not worth that much considering this years draft class is pretty weak. Overall great trade for the Flames.

The Curtis Lazar trade was made about half an hour until the deadline. The Flames acquired Curtis Lazar who has struggled this year with the Senators, he has a lone assist in 33 games played and is a minus 10 on the season. Lazar had 6 goals, 14 assists for 20 points in 76 games last year. Now I know those aren't great numbers, but the Flames are getting a young fast forward with potential to be very good and dangerous. The Flames are giving up a second round pick, also not as much value because of the weak draft. They are also giving up Jyrki Jokipakka. Jokipakka had 1 goal, 5 assists in 38 games this year, He had 6 points in 18 games last year. Many Flames fans were disappointed he did not work out. Jokipakka was part of the Kris Russel trade, and when he was acquired people thought he could possibly be a top 4 Dman and have an established role on the team. He had just cleared waivers before he was traded. Overall the Flames are getting a young player with potential to be very good and he is very fast and smart with the puck. Many people think Lazar just needed a change in scenery to get back to his old self, and I think that is exactly what the former first round pick needed. Hopefully things work out with him.

What they didn't do: For a while the Flames were rumored of getting a top 6 forward and possibly a different goalie. That changed a lot in the last week. Michael Ferland was moved up to the top line and that line has been on fire since. They were also rumored about goalies, but with the emergence of Brian Elliott those rumors stopped as he has been lights out recently, going 8-1-1 in his last 10 starts. The Flames have won 5 straight, 6-0-1 in there last 7 games. I think it was smart for them to not do much at the deadline.




Tuesday 28 February 2017

The Future: Flames Prospects and how they are doing this year.


Tyler Parsons

A Look at the Flames prospects and how they are doing this year.

WHL:
Dillon Dube - Centre - Kelowna Rockets: 12 goals, 28 assists, 40 points in 31 games

Matthew Phillips - Right Wing - Victoria Royals: 43 goals, 36 assists, 79 points in 61 games

Eatu Tuulola - Right Wing - Everett Silvertips: 16 goals, 11 assists, 27 points in 51 games

OHL:
Riley Bruce - Defence - North Bay Battalion: 1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points in 41 games

NCAA:
Adam Fox - Defence - Harvard: 5 goals, 27 assists, 32 points in 28 games

Tim Harrison - Right Wing - Colgate: 11 goals, 6 assists, 17 points in 34 games

Brandon Hickey - Defence - Boston University: 4 goals, 10 assists, 14 points in 30 games

USHL
Mitchell Mattson - Centre - Bloomington Thunder: 12 goals, 16 assists, 28 points in 50 games

ECHL:
Brett Pollock - Centre - Adirondack Thunder: 12 goals, 16 assists, 28 points in 50 games

Stepan Falkovsky - Defence - Adirondack Thunder: 20 goals, 9 assists, 29 points in 44 games

Keegan Kanzig - Defence - Adirondack Thunder: 0 goals, 3 assists, 3 points in 25 games

Europe:
Pavel Karnaukhov - Centre: 7 goals, 11 assists, 18 points in 24 games

Linus Lindstrom - Centre: 2 goals, 4 assists, 6 points in 47 games

Adam Ollas Mattsson - Defence: 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points in 47 games

Rushan Rafikov - Defence: 1 goal, 11 assists, 12 points in 57 games

Goalies:
Nick Schnieder: 31-10-1 record with a 3.36 GAA and a .889 save percentage

Tyler Parsons: 17-4-5 record with a 2.25 GAA and a .926 save percentage

Mason McDonald: 11-7-2 record with a 2.81 GAA and a .894 save percentage 


Sunday 26 February 2017

Trade Deadline 2017: Calgary Flames



With the Trade Deadline in a couple days we look at what the Flames should or shouldn't do.

Forwards: The Flames could use a top winger to play with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Some potential rental players include:
Thomas Vanek
Radim Vrbata
Patrick Sharp
Brandon Pirri
PA Parenteau
Alex Burrows
The Arizona Coyotes have said that they were testing the market with forward Anthony Duclair. Duclair had an impressive season last year, posting 44 points in 81 games. Duclair is currently playing with the Coyotes affiliate team, the Tucson Roadrunners. Duclair could make a good fit in the Flames lineup, possibly play alongside Sam Bennett.

Defencemen: In the past week or so, the Flames have made changes to their blue line, including signing Matt Bartkowski to a 2 year 2 way deal. They also acquired Michael Stone from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 3rd round pick and Conditional 5th. With these 2 additions the Flames now have a few spare defenceman which they could sell off including Dennis Wideman and Jyrki Jokipakka. Dennis Wideman would need to waive his NMC before but they could possibly trade these players for draft picks or rentals.

Goalies: The Flames Goaltending has been inconsistent for a large part of this season, but in the past month and half or two months Brian Elliott has started to play like the Goalie we thought we were getting at the draft. With Ben Bishop just being dealt to the Los Angeles Kings I would see no reason for the Flames to change Goalies at the deadline.

You can follow me on twitter @CFlamesNews