For the last 22 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 23rd 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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Gone – Anthony Mantha, Tyson Barrie, Kevin Rooney, Dan Vladar

Incoming – Ivan Prosvetov, Nick Cicek

Impact Of Changes – What you see, is what you get. There was hardly any player movement surrounding the Flames so far this offseason, with the majority of their moves taking place in-house. This club was never really in the Nikolaj Ehlers or Patrick Kane market, but more in the Jonathan Drouin or Andrew Mangiapane reunion one, with little offseason spending taking place. While this club could have been a sneaky one to make an offer-sheet splash, the Flames kept things quiet and that might just be what they prefer. Keep in mind, this is a Flames club that was 15 points better in 2024 than they were in 2023.

Ready For Full Time – Zayne Parekh

Parekh is the one name that you should have a star next to coming into this season. It's only a matter of time until we hear rumblings of him having a big training camp and if that is indeed the case, then ninth overall pick in 2024 draft should be on your radar. Parekh had 33 goals and 74 assists in 61 games for Saginaw last season and got called up for the Flames final game of the regular season against Los Angeles. In a game that likely decided plenty of fantasy championships out there, Parekh didn't look out of place at all scoring his first NHL goal. He'll likely play for Calgary this season with the added potential of seeing time on the power play.

Fantasy Outlook – There is some decent fantasy value on this club, starting out with Dustin Wolf. Last season, Wolf became one of the young goaltenders to watch that quietly became one of the most dependable netminders in the NHL. He finished 6^th last season in GSAA and 7^th in GSAx over the 53 games he started for the Flames. Expect him to see more starts in net with Dan Vladar now off the roster.

Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau both had bounce-back seasons last year, with Kadri scoring 35 goals and Huberdeau reaching the 60-point mark for the first time as a member of the Flames. For Kadri, he'll shoot the puck close to 270 times a season, which off that volume alone, should land him again near the 30-goal mark. The center position is again deep in fantasy this season but having him on your draft board for center depth is a good decision. As for Huberdeau, his value lies more as an add/drop at points this season, as he shifted up and down the Calgary top nine last year. He's not a bad fantasy option, but we've gotten to a point to where fantasy players look to his 115-point season as a benchmark, whereas in reality, he's more of a 60-point player.

On the blue line the Flames give you plenty of options. Rasmus Anderson, MacKenzie Weegar, and Zayne Parekh, are all good options for your fantasy club's defense group. This will involve keeping tabs on which defenseman or defensemen, are seeing top power play time, but each should be good fantasy producers this upcoming season.

For a fantasy grade…The Flames were very quiet this offseason which makes them harder to grade. This club was four points out of a wild card spot on April 9^th of last season, so that would make one think that they're close to making playoffs. Still, there's a need for forward insurance if some of their top six regresses backwards this season and that puts pressure on Connor Zary, Yegor Sharangovich, and Matt Coronato to make strides. There were times last season where the lineup structure made sense and this club looked great at times from late March to the end of the season, but we can point to plenty of stretches over last season to where this club's offense stalled and it showed, as this team finished 27^th in GF/G.

Fantasy Grade – C (last year was a B-)