Flames Off Season Overview

Well what looked like it was going to be a quiet draft followed by a slow summer turned into something special. Leading up to the draft the Flames had a variety of offers for the first overall pick but by the time it came to make the pick the Flames stuck to the Plan. To build from the net out.

With that being said, the Calgary Flames selected the next generational defencemen in Rasmus Dahlin with the 1^st overall pick of the 2018 draft. With the selection of Dahlin the Flames have added a significant piece to an already deep blue line that includes Cal Makar and Samuel Morin.

Dahlin will no doubt be playing within the EHE within 2 years. After Dahlin was selected the Flames next pick didn’t come until the second round where at pick 56 the Flames selected another defence man and went with local boy Jonny Tychonick.

Tychonick played for the Penticton Vees last season but is headed off to the University of North Dakota where he will hone his puck moving skills and be a key contributor on the team. Some of his key skills are solid crisp puck passer, has a decent shot but would rather pass, and creates speed through the neutral zone.

Adding Tychonick to the roster just further adds quality depth to the organization. Defensive depth is something you can never have enough of.

Moving into the 3rd round the Flames had 2 picks to use where they were hoping to see a particular goalie slide however that wasn’t the case as Colton Point was selected late in the 1^st round. As the round started the Flames were involved in multiple conversations for these two early picks however things didn’t work out and the Flames selected Jan Jenik at pick 66 and Kody Clarke at 67.

Both players are intriguing players and with the right development will have bright futures. Clarke is also a familiar name to some as he is the son of Wendl Clarke who had a very productive career himself. If Kody is anything like his dad he’ll have a good career himself.

As for Jenik he brings flexibility to the team as he can play both Center and Right Wing.  Jenik is the youngest in the draft and brings a competitive two way edge to his game. Flames fans will love his determination and willingness to get into the dirty areas to help the team succeed.

With no pick in the 4^th round the Flames watched the Rangers waste Calgary’s own pick as it was forfeited. Not sure what happened there but boy if you didn’t want it you could have always just given it back to the Flames organization. Guess the Rangers were in deep thought about life or something LOL.

So the Flames had to wait until the 149^th pick. When the time came they didn’t use the pick but rather got into some intense discussions with the Chicago Blackhawks.

With the expiration of the 4 hour time limit to pick about to end, a deal was struck, and the Calgary Flames sent defenceman Andreas Englund, pick 149, and a 2019 5^th round pick to the Hawks. In return the Flames got forward Josh Ho-Sang, defensive prospect Brandon Crawley, a 2019 4^th rounder, and 750k. Polling hockey insiders around the league, it appears the Flames actually won a trade for a change.

Englund became expendable after a trade earlier in the off season brought in Andreas Borgman along with Brandon Saad from Carolina.

During the summer GM Stephen Gough was quietly going about trying to improve the team with deals bring in Ryan Dzingel, Brandon Saad, Andreas Borgman, and Justin Faulk. Along with the players was a total of 1.75 million dollars and 2- 2019 4^th round picks.

To end the off season, GM Stephen completed another deal that had been bounced around for some time over the summer with the New York Rangers. The Flames were able to add to the defence by bringing in young Jaccob Slavin, forward John Hayden, a 2020 3^rd round pick and 750k. Unfortunately Logan Brown, Jakub Zorbil, Tage Thompson, and Ben Hutton were sent away.

Add in the players drafted or traded for during the draft and throughout the summer the Flames future looks a little brighter this week than it did last week.  

Currently GM Steve has put out several RFA offers to players in the orginazation and hopefully those players believe in the direction the team is going and sign on for a very bright future in Calgary. Up next is Unrestricted Free Agency where the Flames will need to fill some holes throughout the line-up. There is no one area but multiple positions need to be addressed and there are a few players of interests that could help push the team forward and with the right additions the Flames will be able to rise from the ashes.