Fansided

Each NHL team’s biggest burning question in 2018

By Simon Vacca

EDMONTON, AB - OCTOBER 23: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers lines up for a face off against Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 23, 2018 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
EDMONTON, AB - OCTOBER 23: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers lines up for a face off against Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 23, 2018 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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CALGARY, AB – NOVEMBER 3: Calgary Flames Right Wing Garnet Hathaway #21 and Calgary Flames Right Wing James Neal #18 look on from the bench during an NHL game against the Chicago Blackhawks on November 3, 2018 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)
CALGARY, AB – NOVEMBER 3: Calgary Flames Right Wing Garnet Hathaway #21 and Calgary Flames Right Wing James Neal #18 look on from the bench during an NHL game against the Chicago Blackhawks on November 3, 2018 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Calgary Flames: Are hopes of postseason contention realistic?

The Calgary Flames are one of the most interesting organizations in the NHL, primarily because of the extent to which they epitomize what it means to be a fringe playoff team.

For starters, it’s important to note that the Flames will absolutely be in the running for a postseason berth — albeit in a manner that is predicated on the notion of the cards that are in Bill Peters & Co.’s hands being maximized from the outset of the upcoming campaign.

Much of the Flames’ hopes shall be rooted in the assumption that the team’s latest acquisitions from the Carolina Hurricanes — Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin and Derek Ryan — will serve as avenues through which the franchise manages to blur the lines between ‘pretender’ and ‘contender’ status. But while few would doubt that the prospect at hand is of the promising variety, the notion that familiarity breeds contempt is surely a matter of concern. The players in question are talented, but is it reasonable to assume that a mix of hardship in Carolina will translate into triumph in Calgary?

Another subject that is worthy of closer examination is that of Mike Smith. The 36-year-old netminder is still one of the NHL’s top players between the pipes, but widespread injuries have an unsettling tendency to sideline the veteran goaltender. As such, worries of a crisis from the crease continue to run rampant, as a battered Smith would all but ensure that the burden falls on the shoulders of Jon Gillies, who has struggled in the past when tasked with filling in for the club’s starter.

And then there’s the aura of doubt surrounding James Neal. Having signed a five-year, $28.75 million contract with the Flames on July 2, 2018, the veteran winger is the most obvious signifier of the organization’s willingness to take risks — with the hope that (potential) rewards silence cries of the speculative sort.

Make no mistake: the Flames have something to prove. Absent from the most recent race for Lord Stanley’s trophy, the present season is one of great opportunity for Peters’ men.

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