For the last 20 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 21st annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer. 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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Calgary Flames

Gone – Tyler Toffoli, Trevor Lewis, Milan Lucic, Michael Stone, Nick Ritchie, Troy Stecher, Matthew Phillips

Incoming – Yegor Sharangovich, Jordan Oesterle

Impact of changes – For the second consecutive season, the Flames have had no shortage of drama surrounding player personnel decisions. In fact, the players listed above may not be the only players to leave Calgary once all is said and done – either before the season or by the trade deadline.

The issue for the Flames is the number of players they have on their roster that are projected to become unrestricted free agents, and whether they plan to re-sign in Calgary. They've already gotten ahead of one situation, trading Toffoli to New Jersey for Sharangovich and the 80^th overall pick in the 2023 draft (Aydar Suniev). Sharangovich should be projected to be a downgrade on Toffoli, but teams likely weren't offering full market value anyway when they learned Toffoli wasn't planning to stay in Calgary beyond his current contract. The right side looks rather thin for the Flames, so Sharangovich should easily fill a top-6 role, if not first-line minutes.

Other potential UFA for the Flames include Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov, Oesterle, Dennis Gilbert and Oliver Kylington. The Flames will want to know sooner rather than later whether these players intend on re-signing with the Flames, since an answer one way or the other will determine whether to start shopping these players around. Don't expect an outright rebuild, even if multiple players make it known that they would like to continue their careers outside of Calgary. Historically, Flames ownership has preferred to retool on the fly.  

Ready for Full Time – Jakob Pelletier is back in this spot again this season because he wasn't called up from the AHL until January. He has nothing left to prove there, as he has been a point-per-game player there over two seasons. Darryl Sutter wasn't particularly kind to rookies last season, notably Pelletier. Fortunately, Sutter is gone, along with other inefficient veterans like Lewis and Lucic who were blocking Pelletier by taking up valuable roster spots. Pelletier will have something to prove this season, as he finished with just seven points in 24 games. If you're looking for sleepers, he's one player to keep in mind, since he could be used on a scoring line and even the first-unit power play.

Matthew Coronato isn't as likely to make the Flames as Pelletier, but his odds are still very good. Over two seasons at Harvard, Coronato has been a point-per-game player and has scored 38 goals in 68 games there. He also projects to be a top-6 forward with the Flames, where his heavy shot should be an asset. Keeper leaguers should also be looking into the availability of the 13^th overall pick of the 2021 draft, who has a shot at being a Calder sleeper.

Dustin Wolf could make the Flames' goaltending situation very interesting. He's been named the AHL's top goalie for two consecutive seasons, so what more does he have to prove in order to reach the NHL? Of course, Jacob Markstrom's contract stands in the way, so Wolf won't win the starter's job outright to start the season. He could force his way onto the roster if the Flames can trade Dan Vladar, and another ineffective season from Markstrom could pave the way for Wolf to start. However, Wolf will find himself in the AHL again this season if nothing changes above him.

Fantasy Outlook – The main question for fantasy teams is whether Jonathan Huberdeau can bounce back to an elite level, or at least something substantially better than 2022-23. In his first season with the Flames, Huberdeau's production was cut in half from 115 points in 2021-22 to just 55 points in 2022-23. He was reportedly unhappy under Sutter, and his production really couldn't have been any worse. The 115-point season is likely an outlier, although reaching the point-per-game mark should still be considered a realistic possibility.

After the Johnny Gaudreau – Matthew Tkachuk – Elias Lindholm line carried the Flames in 2021-22, the forward lines with new Flames Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri didn't quite seem to gel. It will be up to new head coach Ryan Huska to take what he learned as a Flames assistant and generate some combinations that work well together. Although Huberdeau and Lindholm didn't click at the start of the season, perhaps they will with another opportunity. Huberdeau was a bit more productive with Kadri, which is something to keep in mind.

The defense has changed very little this offseason, but it could have a completely different look next season with the number of potential UFA. Perhaps one or more blueliners will have a bounce-back season considering how many of them are in a contract year. The defense is expected to be bolstered by the return of Kylington, who missed the entire 2022-23 season due to personal reasons. Kylington will be especially important to the Calgary D if Hanifin is traded. At least Mackenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson are signed long-term, though. Weegar's production improved as the season went on (13 PTS in last 19 GP), while Andersson should continue to cover the first-unit power play.

This will be an important season for Markstrom. The workhorse starter provided good return on investment in the first two years of his six-year contract, but last season was a disaster. Only seven goalies in the entire league had a worse goals-saved above average than Markstrom (-17.97 GSAA). Not only will he need his new coach to show confidence in him, but he will also have both Vladar and Wolf competing for starts. 

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

Check out the rest of the Dobber team previews here.