Merry Christmas to everyone! As we all our spending time with our loved ones and hopefully opening some gifts that were on your wish list. Let’s give a gift to each and every Calgary Flames player before they start ramping up for the second half of the season!
#88 Andrew Mangiapane
A spike in shooting percentage.
Mangiapane currently holds a shooting percentage of 12.0%, which would be the second lowest of his career. He has been getting looks this year, but hopefully, a few more bounces for him to get his scoring touch back.
#28 Elias Lindholm
A trade.
Lindholm is going to be a free agent at the end of the year, and with the Flames and Lindholm struggling, he would probably be getting better offers for a new contract if he were to be moved to a contender to increase his (poor) stat line.
#17 Yegor Sharongovich
Continued consistency.
Sharongovich has had a phenomenal December where he has played his best and most consistent as a Flame, the hope is for him to keep this play up for the rest of the year.
#47 Connor Zary
The Calder Trophy.
There is still plenty of time between now and the NHL awards, but Calgary’s rookie sensation has been red hot since his call-up putting him at 0.73 points per game. If he continues at this rate, Zary will be right in the thick of Calder voting come the end of the year.
#91 Nazem Kadri
More prospects to play with.
Since joining the Flames, Kadri has played his best when he has kids on his line. From Walker Deuhr, to Connor Zary and to Martin Pospisil, they have elevated his game to another level. While I wouldn’t break up the Zary-Kadri duo anytime soon, I wonder about a potential match with either Matt Coronato or Jakob Pelletier (when healthy).
#76 Martin Pospisil
Energy energy energy.
Pospisil has been some sort of a revelation since his call-up, and as of late, we have been seeing him getting in all of his opponent’s head driving them all insane. A dose of that in that second half will be well-needed if the Flames want to continue their push for a playoff spot.
#10 Jonathan Huberdeau
Any sort of confidence.
Huberdeau is playing the worst hockey of his career, passing off clear shots, making bad plays, and not looking engaged in the slightest. I know he is feeling the pressure, but one bounce his way may be what he needs to spark his confidence, and a little bit would go a long way. Someone just please give him a hug and tell him we believe in him.
#11 Mikael Backlund
The “Backlund Bump” for others.
The captain has been known for propping other players up, with the experiment of Huberdeau not going the way the coaching staff may have planned, it could be worth giving Coronato another opportunity with Backlund to get his game going at NHL level. It worked pretty well when Matthew Tkachuk was just a rookie.
#20 Blake Coleman
Powerkill dominance.
Coleman has been arguably the Flames’ best player this season, as he notched his 11th and 12th goals Saturday night, one of which was on the penalty kill. He has been on a roll scoring goals down a man, and hey, why not continue to dominate when down a man. It’s not like the power play has been good this year.
#29 Dillon Dube
Back to his former self.
For the past two years leading up to this, Dube was a solid depth player for the Flames, this season though he has been anything but. It would be for the Flames if they could get the version of Dube that was using his speed to create chances, and for the player that had back-to-back 18-goal seasons.
#63 Adam Ruzicka
Solidify himself as a full-time NHLer.
I still don’t know what Ruzicka is at the NHL level, is he someone who can be a depth contributor? Or someone who could be on waivers at any given moment? Whatever the answer is, this may be the last season for Ruzicka to prove he can hang at the NHL level, and he has to go out there and take it for himself.
#18 A.J. Greer
A contract extension or a trade.
Greer has been a nice story for the Flames since being scooped up on waivers before the year kicked off. It may not be wise to sign a career fourth liner like Greer to an extension, but if the number is right there is no harm. Although, Greer is the type of guy contending teams are always looking for, and with a career year going, the Flames may be able to net a decent return for someone they got for free.
#71 Walker Deuhr
A game—literally just one game.
Deuhr hasn’t played much since the beginning of November with the emergence of Zary and Pospisil, but Deuhr was solid last year but has yet to find that form thus far this year. One game in the near future could be all of the difference for him though.
#4 Rasmus Andersson
The power play quarterback spot.
The Flames’ power play has been a mess this year, and Andersson has bounced between both units. It is time for him to take back control of the first unit like he has done for the past couple of years to get it going.
#52 MacKenzie Weegar
Goals goals goals.
Weegar is still on pace to be a 20-goal scorer by the end of this year, he is one goal away from breaking his career high of goals. So, for Weegar it is simple, keep those goals coming.
#8 Chris Tanev
A full bill of health.
Tanev’s one blemish through his career has been his inability to stay healthy. He missed quite a bit of time last year and some time this season with injuries. For the Flames’ sake of either being competitive or facilitating a trade involving Tanev, he will need to stay healthy.
#55 Noah Hanifin
A contract extension.
I have been back and forth on extending Hanifin for a while, but he has been rock solid this year for the Flames, and even if they plan on going through a re-tool, you will need a guy like Hanifin when you get to the other side.
#48 Dennis Gilbert
A full-time NHL job.
Gilbert has done everything that has been asked of him in a third pairing role this year and he has more than held his own. With Nikita Zadorov gone and no imminent return for Oliver Kylington, Gilbert should have no problem securing that spot on the roster for the remainder of the year.
#57 Nick DeSimone
Keep the good times going.
DeSimone has been extremely solid since being re-called in November, and after notching his first career NHL goal against the Ducks last week, it is only fair to him to keep that train rolling of good vibes.
#25 Jacob Markstrom
Get his groove back.
Markstrom at times this year has played well, and other times he has played poorly. Since returning from injury though, he has been outstanding and he looks like the Markstrom the Flames thought they were getting when they signed him. Let’s keep it consistent now.
#80 Dan Vladar
An opportunity… somewhere else.
Like Markstrom, Vladar has been very up and down this year and with Dustin Wolf knocking on the door to become a full-time NHL goaltender, it would be wise to send Vladar elsewhere to give him a shot at a larger workload. He is not going to get that in Calgary.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
