Dobber’s Offseason Fantasy Grades – Calgary Flames
Grant Campbell
2024-08-09
For the last 21 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy hockey standpoint and graded them.
The 22nd annual review will appear here on Dobber Hockey 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 considered when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.
Enjoy!
** Be sure to pick up your copy of the 2024-2025 Fantasy Hockey Guide **
Gone – Andrew Mangiapane, A.J. Greer, Dennis Gilbert, Jordan Oesterle, Oliver Kylington, Jacob Markstrom
Incoming – Anthony Mantha, Ryan Lomberg, Jake Bean, Devin Cooley
Impact of Changes – The Flames traded their number one goalie in Markstrom and second-line winger Mangiapane who had 35 goals in 2021-22, replacing them with Mantha and from within, Dustin Wolf.
Bean could be a useful addition to the backend and could see top-four minutes but took a step back a little over the past two seasons while in Columbus. He is 26 years old now and will need to prove himself in Calgary very quickly to get 18-20 minutes per game.
The Flames haven't moved the needle much in external or internal changes to their lineup other than in goal. If Wolf can play to the level that most think he can, he could be the starter for the Flames for several years.
Lomberg was a curious addition at $2 million AAV for two years as they might have been able to add a similar player from within at the league minimum.
The Flames are a team going in reverse which is unlikely to make the playoffs.
Ready for Full Time – Dustin Wolf, Jakob Pelletier, Matt Coronato, Adam Klapka, Ilya Solovyov.
Wolf is the one player from above who is the readiest for a full-time role in 2024-25. Conservatively, he could get 35-45 games, but if he plays well, it could be 45-55 with 20-25 wins.
Some people had Pelletier pencilled into the Flames lineup in 2022-23, but he managed just 24 games that year and 13 in the NHL in 2023-24. Once again, he should be ready for a regular spot, but he had an injury-plagued last year and could start the season on the fourth line.
Coronato played 34 games with the Flames in 2023-24 but managed just three goals and six assists. He did produce 42 points in 41 AHL games and should start the season in Calgary in the top nine.
Klapka led the Calgary team in the AHL in points with 46 in 65 games last year. His value in the NHL will be in hits as he had 21 in six NHL games when he had a brief stint with Calgary. Klapka is 6-8 and 235 lbs as a forward and could be a regular on the fourth line this campaign.
Solovyov played 10 games for Calgary in 2023-24 and had three assists, 14 hits and 17 blocks. He might not produce many points if he was a regular but he has a chance to put up 100 hits and blocks if he plays more than 70 games.
Fantasy Outlook
The Flames were 19th in the NHL in goals with 253 (3.09/GP) in 2023-24. They were 26th overall with a 17.9 percent power play, 13th overall in shots on goal per game (31.4), 11th overall in drawing penalties (3.07/GP) and 20th overall in winning faceoffs (49.6%).
The team was led in goals by Yegor Sharangovich (31), followed by Blake Coleman (30) and Nazem Kadri (29). Kadri led the team in points (75) and Mackenzie Weegar led the defensemen with 20 goals and 52 points.
Martin Pospisil led the team in hits (238), followed by Weegar (194) and Coleman (128). Weegar led in blocks (200) followed by Rasmus Andersson (186).
The Flames have not added much help in offense and could struggle to match last year unless their power play somehow improves.
After two seasons of less-than-stellar play, the Flames will hope that Jonathan Huberdeau can produce at a better rate in 2024-25 over the 12 goals and 52 points he had in 2023-24.
Andrei Kuzmenko is set to become an unrestricted free agent and had 14 goals and 11 assists in 29 games with Calgary. They should be looking to build him up to sell him before or at the trade deadline.
Overall, the team should have a goal scorer at or just over 30 goals once again but might struggle to have Kadri or anyone else duplicate 75 points.
Fantasy Grade: B- (last year was a B-)