Calgary Flames are down to the final few cuts in training camp and right now are sitting with 25 players left in Calgary. Only two cuts remain and it seems likely that will end up being a goalie and a defenseman. The Flames made some solid roster moves this offseason are by my eye seem to be an improvement over their team from last season. The biggest issue is going to be goaltending but outside of that the Flames have one of the better rosters in the league this season.
The forward group added a few very important upgrades in the offseason to mix with another year of maturity of their talented young core. James Neal and Derek Ryan were signed as free agents and Elias Lindholm was acquired via trade. Neal and Lindholm will likely be the top two right wingers to start the season while Ryan looks poised to center the third line. When you consider that the only real loss the Flames suffered from the forward group is Michael Ferland, there has been major improvements made up front.
There are still some questions on where certain players will end up slotting in and that's something that will evolve as the season goes on, but the Flames forward group looks as talented as any other roster in the league. Gaudreau and Monahan will be the backbone on the top line and it seems like newcomer Elias Lindholm will start the season playing alongside the talented duo. Already one of the best lines in the league, adding a top end player to complement Gaudreau and Monahan is likely to pay major dividends for the Flames. The second line will be putting a large volume of pucks in the net for Calgary as well, Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund and James Neal will most likely start the season as the second line but Michael Frolik could find himself in the mix for one of the spots in the top 6 at certain points in the year. The talent doesn't stop there for Calgary as player like Sam Bennett, Mark Jankowski and Derek Ryan fill up half of the bottom six and all three are capable to putting up points throughout the season.
One interesting player who appears posed to claim on of the final forward roster spots is Dillon Dube. Dube has performed at a high level during training camp and is a smaller but very talented forward. At only 20 years of age he'd be one of the youngest players on the roster. If Dube finds himself as a regular in the forward group this season, you can expect serious firepower from all four lines in Calgary. For a club that's been known for it's defensive group, it's kind of scary thinking about what they can accomplish with this years forwards.
Overall the forward group is clearly improved from last season and the Flames could end up with one of the more high powered offenses in the league this year. This year could see a bit of a departure from what Flames fans are used to seeing in Calgary since for the first time in recent memory, the offense will be the featured area of the team. Very few team will be able to match the Flames skill depth this season and there could be a lot of high scoring games at the saddledome this season.
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