theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
Despite having relatively the same roster over its last two seasons, the Calgary Flames have gone from reaching the second round of the playoffs in 2014-15 to finishing with the fifth-worst record in the league.
The club addressed its need for a legitimate goaltender, while also adding veteran leadership up front with Troy Brouwer.
The Flames remain a young squad, and it will be interesting to see how they fare this season.
Here's how the team shapes up:
Forwards
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Johnny Gaudreau | Sean Monahan | Troy Brouwer |
| Hunter Shinkaruk | Sam Bennett | Michael Frolik |
| Michael Ferland | Mikael Backlund | Alex Chiasson |
| Lance Bouma | Matt Stajan | Linden Vey |
- Johnny Gaudreau is certain to be signed and it should simply be a matter of when.
- First-round pick Matthew Tkachuk could state his case for a spot, though at just 18 years of age, don't be surprised if he spends some - if not all - the year back with the OHL's London Knights.
- Veteran Chris Higgins, who signed a professional tryout contract, could be in the mix for a bottom-six role.
Defensemen
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| T.J. Brodie | Mark Giordano |
| Jyrki Jokipakka | Dougie Hamilton |
| Deryk Engelland | Denis Wideman |
- Ladislav Smid announced last week that he would not dress this season due to his lingering neck injury.
- Outside the six defenders, Nicklas Grossmann enters camp on a PTO and could challenge for a roster spot.
Goalies
| G |
|---|
| Brian Elliott |
| Chad Johnson |
- The Flames used this offseason to retool their goaltending by adding Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson. This will unquestionably be the duo between the pipes going forward, and no one is expected to contest them.
NHL Depth Charts
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF | CGY
CAR | CHI | COL | CBJ | DAL
DET | EDM | FLA | LA | MIN
MTL | NSH | NJD | NYI | NYR
PHI | PIT | OTT | STL | SJ
TB | TOR | VAN | WSH | WPG
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