For the last 18 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 19th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer…er, winter. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

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Gone – Mark Giordano, Derek Ryan, Josh Leivo, Dominik Simon, Nikita Nesterov, Joakim Nordstrom

Incoming – Blake Coleman, Tyler Pitlick, Trevor Lewis, Nikita Zadorov, Dan Vladar

Impact of changes – The Flames have a nice core that looks better on paper than it performs in reality. So as long as Johnny Gaudreau remains unsigned, there will be rumblings that they will try to make a major move, such as trading for Jack Eichel. The Flames could make a smaller move, like trading Sean Monahan. Matthew Tkachuk hasn't signed long-term either, so moving him isn't outside of the realm of possibilities either. So this offseason it's less about what has happened and more about what could happen. 

As far as the changes that have already occurred, the most significant departure is that of Giordano, their captain who once again led the team in icetime. Onetime top prospect Jusso Valimaki could pick up increased minutes as a result of Giordano leaving, as could newly acquired Nikita Zadorov. The roster will have more of a Darryl Sutter look to it, with power forward Coleman signed to a six-year contract with a cap hit of nearly $5 million. The 6-6 Zadorov will also bring some sandpaper to the lineup, as he should deliver 200+ hits over a full season.

Ready for Full Time – There will be several competitions in camp among prospects. The first should be between forwards Matthew Phillips and Glenn Gawdin. The talented Phillips has the higher upside, but he is also smaller (5-7). So Gawdin might be the preferred option in a Sutter lineup because he is more likely to play on a checking line.  

Although they play on different sides of the defense, Connor Mackey and Johannes Kinnvall will also be battling for spots on the NHL roster. Mackey is another Sutter-type of player who should rack up both the penalty minutes and hits. Kinnvall has more offensive upside, so he's more likely to be in the lineup full-time if the Flames can't generate much scoring from their blueline.

The final battle will be for the backup goalie job behind Jacob Markstrom. Daniel Vladar, who was acquired from Boston, should have the inside track on Adam Werner. Vladar is not only the slightly better goalie, but he also has to clear waivers to be sent down while Werner does not. Jacob Markstrom will still start the vast majority of the time, but whoever wins the backup job will have their first full-time taste of NHL action.

Fantasy Outlook: The Flames have decent value on the forward lines, even if it seems as though their scoring could be better. Gaudreau again leads the attack with point-per-game-plus upside. To shake things up, Sutter decided to break up Johnny Hockey and longtime linemate Monahan, who has been in decline for the last two seasons even though he is only 26. Gaudreau scored 17 points in 14 games over the fourth quarter while spending more time alongside Elias Lindholm than Monahan, so that could be the direction Sutter goes again. Lindholm finished just one point behind Gaudreau in scoring and provides underrated value. Tkachuk's scoring rate has also dropped for two consecutive seasons, but he provides additional value in bangers leagues. The speedy Andrew Mangiapane‘s production has been on the upswing for the past two seasons, so he will be worth adding in a lot of fantasy leagues if that trend continues.

The Flames may finish the season without a defenseman that scores at higher than a half point per game. Rasmus Andersson tailed off in the second half (seven points in 28 games), so Noah Hanifin could push Andersson for the first-unit power-play role. The defense situation might take a while to get settled, as Valimaki could also factor in but will probably need time to reach his upside. Now that Giordano is gone, expect shutdown defender Chris Tanev to lead the team in minutes. Tanev doesn’t hold any fantasy value beyond blocking a ton of shots, and he’s always an injury risk based on his style of play.

In net, Markstrom is a high-volume starter who should help your team with wins at the very least. Since his first season with the Flames was the COVID season, he might be more settled in now and could provide decent value for your fantasy team compared with the cost of acquiring him.

Fantasy Grade: B- (last year was also B-)

2021 Offseason Fantasy Grades

Anaheim

Arizona

Boston

Buffalo