[NHL 15] The Calgary Flames: A Dynasty

[pbbm]

This is going to be my dynasty for the Calgary Flames. I'm familiar with hockey to an extent, having played it for most of my life, but haven't followed the NHL for the last couple of years. Sorry in advance for inaccuracies or continuity errors.

In this GM mode I will be playing the role of the GM, having taken over instead of Brad Treliving in April, 2014.

The presentation of this dynasty will be as a series of articles centered around the Flames throughout the regular and (hopefully) playoff seasons. The articles will be accompanied by box scores and other charts and tables will likely pop up throughout the year to document the Flames' season in as much detail as possible, without hopefully overwhelming anyone to the point of madness.

If there's anything anyone would like to know at any point of the year (e.g., in game statistics, trades, deals, standings, etc.) please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate you.

This is played on medium difficulty, with medium trading difficulty as I'm not good at this type of game and it will present enough of a challenge to me as is.

Thanks for your interest!

[pbbm]

Re: [NHL 15] The Calgary Flames: A Dynasty

Reserved for things and such.

[pbbm]

Re: [NHL 15] The Calgary Flames: A Dynasty

New players breathe hope into Flames
SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

Calgary, AB — The Calgary Flames (1-0-0 in the preseason) came away with a hotly contested 3-2 win on Sunday, going head-to-head with their much despised provincial rivals the Edmonton Oilers (0-1-0 in the preseason). Though the Flames accrued no points for the regular season in their preseason win over the Oilers, you can be sure that neither team was looking to come away with anything less than a win.

“I’d say it’s as important winning tonight as it would be in the regular [season]. These guys were really hungry for that first win, and getting it early is going to really pump up the locker room,” said Flames captain Mark Giordano.

Teammate Brandon Bollig, new to the team this season, agrees. “Winning that first game is big. I think we feel ready to take on the world now. But we just have to keep playing our game.”

“Yeah, losing sucks. But it’s not even the regular season yet. I don’t expect the next time we meet the scoreboard will look anything like it did tonight,” said Oilers winger Jordan Eberle. “We had a lot of chances tonight that we just didn’t make happen. We just have to keep practicing, keep skating and keep getting better.”

The Calgary Flames took the lead early in the first period with two goals from Mason Raymond and Jiri Hudler. Though Edmonton closed the gap with a goal in the second period from Will Acton, a short-handed goal by Mikael Backlund propelled the Flames’ lead back to two. Edmonton struck back early in the third with a goal from Mark Arcobello, but Backlund’s goal proved insurmountable for the Oilers, as Flames netminder Jonas Hiller proved his worth in between the pipes, stopping 13 shots in the third period.

“I have only good things to say about Calgary,” said Hiller. “I think I will love playing here for as long as they will let me.”

And if Sunday is any indication of his abilities in the crease, Hiller is likely to be around for some time. Though the netminder posted what he described himself as a ‘mediocre’ 0.917 save percentage on Sunday night’s game, Hiller proved his worth on the penalty kill, stopping 12 shots while down a man throughout the game and not letting in a single goal on the penalty kill.

“He’s a great goaltender,” said Flames coach Bob Hartley of Hiller. “We needed a good solid backstop to play the game we wanted to play this year, and he’s it.”

Hiller was, along with three other players on Sunday night’s roster, added to the team during the 2014 Free Agency period as a move by the last Flames GM to bring new life to the team. Mason Raymond, another one of the Flames new additions, earned himself the honour of second star of the game, scoring a goal and tallying one assist in 20:30 on the ice.

“We need everyone to produce this year, especially the guys we picked up in free agency. We got them to help produce, so that’s what they have to do this year,” said coach Hartley.

If Sunday night was any indication, the new Flames will be producing in bulk this year.

The Flames go on a three game road trip next, stopping tomorrow night in Anaheim to face the Ducks, and then back to Vancouver to play the Canucks on Saturday.

[pbbm]

Re: [NHL 15] The Calgary Flames: A Dynasty

Flames continue to play main roster in preseason
SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

ANAHEIM, CA — The preseason has been, for some number of years, a place to display upcoming talent in the NHL; a place for young prospects to earn a spot on an NHL team and to get a taste of the big time. That’s not to say the players from a team’s main roster are forbidden from playing in the preseason, but there is a code among NHL GMs that the preseason is a time to play more youngsters than veterans.

For the second consecutive game the Calgary Flames have added none of their AHL prospects to the team, choosing instead to field the team you’ll likely be seeing come the regular season.

“We’ve got a handful of new players coming in and coming up this year. We need to make sure our team has the experience playing together that some of these other teams in the league have. For us, right now, this is more important than the playing time of the younger players,” said coach Bob Hartley in an interview early Monday. “Training camp is great for getting to know one another, but the only way you can tell how a team will perform is on the ice, working as a unit.”

The Calgary Flames (2-0-0 in the preseason) won their second game straight in Anaheim on Monday night, beating the Anaheim Ducks (1-1-0 in the preseason) 4 – 2 in regulation time. Flames’ starting goaltender Jonas Hiller continued to play well in his second straight start in as many nights, extending his win streak to two games. Hiller faced 33 shots, allowing only two goals against the Ducks as he continued to prove himself a welcome addition to the roster.

Alternate captain and Flames veteran of the last six years Curtis Glencross also had a strong game for the Flames, posting two goals and an assist for three points in 20:33 on the ice. Though Glencross took a penalty for tripping early in the first that allowed Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler to score a power play goal and take an early lead in the game, Glencross came back less than two minutes later and scored his own power play goal to tie the game. Less than a minute later Glencross notched his second of the game, sending the Flames into the second period with a one goal lead.

“I was just in the right state of mind tonight,” said Glencross after the game. “I was working on a few things in the off-season this year, puck possession and shooting, and it just clicked for me tonight. It’s a great feeling to see it pay off like that.”

Jiri Hudler was another veteran Flame who had a strong night, accruing three assists in 23:01 of ice time.

But while the Flames have come out of the gate at full gallop this year, the question on everyone’s mind is this: is it sustainable? Can we expect to see similar results in the regular season when other NHL teams are putting their best lines on the ice too?

“I wouldn’t say we’re putting our best lines out there,” said coach Hartley after the win. “We’ve still got some tinkering to do with the lines, still have some prospects that might fill them out in the coming games. So no, I wouldn’t say we’ve even put our best foot forward yet.”

The Flames continue their road trip in Vancouver on Saturday night against the Canucks.

[nuka]

Re: [NHL 15] The Calgary Flames: A Dynasty

followin

[Edmontonoilersfan70]

Re: [NHL 15] The Calgary Flames: A Dynasty

Definitely following! Sweet setup!

[pbbm]

Re: [NHL 15] The Calgary Flames: A Dynasty

Thanks guys! It's always great to hear from people.

[SENS_AK27]

Re: [NHL 15] The Calgary Flames: A Dynasty

Great stat tables. I know the work that goes into the level of detail so it's much appreciated.

[pbbm]

Re: [NHL 15] The Calgary Flames: A Dynasty

Special team letdown
SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

Vancouver, BC — The Calgary Flames (2-1-0 in the preseason) suffered their first loss of the preseason against the Vancouver Canucks (2-1-0 in the preseason), losing 4 – 2 in a game that can be described as an offensive collapse. The Canucks went down a man on six penalties throughout the game (one a double minor), but the Flames were unable to capitalize on any of the six chances. Canucks netminder Eddie Lack closed out the game with 30 saves on 31 shots, allowing only a goal from Curtis Glencross early in the first period.

“We cycled [the puck] pretty well, kept our heads up and got a few shots off. I don’t know why we didn’t score more,” said Flames center Matt Stajan.

While the Flames were struggling to generate offense on the opposite end of the rink the Canucks were having no trouble scoring. Nicklas Jensen scored two goals on the hapless Flames’ defence, while Zack Kassian and Radim Vrbata joined in to give the Canucks their four goals.

“You win a couple games and everyone forgets what it’s like to lose,” said coach Hartley. “Obviously our special teams need some tweaking, but it wasn’t a bad game for us. We got our shots and held onto the puck. We just couldn’t put it in the net tonight.”

But there are some who chalk up tonight’s loss to more than just not being able to score. The Flames defensive corps has long been the source of questions when it comes to its efficacy on the ice. The Flames have a strong first pairing in Mark Giordano and Dennis Wideman, but their second and third pairings are noticeably weaker. In the first three games played by the Flames the top two defensive pairing of Giordano and Wideman have already been averaging 25:00 and 25:39 respectively, or about four minutes more per game than the next most-played D-man, T.J. Brodie. This wide berth in ice time is mostly a result of the arrangement of the team’s special teams, which use Giordano and Wideman much more than any other defensive pairing.

“On the power play, you want to score. And to score, you put the best assets you have out there to do it,” countered coach Hartley when asked about his defensive corps.

But neither Giordano nor Wideman have proven themselves to be notable scorers from the point in the past, and it looks like little is on the verge of changing this year. What the Flames need is more offensive output on the blue line, someone who can really control a power play from the point to complement Wideman (who is a natural on the power play) so that Giordano can be better utilized on the penalty kill.

The Flames are currently ranked 14th in the preseason league on the penalty kill and 18th in the league on the power play. If the Flames are to be a playoff contender this year, like we were promised when GM Doucette took office in August, special teams are going to have to perform a lot better come the regular season.

The Flames play one more game on the road in Arizona against the Coyotes on Monday night, then return home to finish off the preseason against the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks.

[pbbm]

Re: [NHL 15] The Calgary Flames: A Dynasty

Great stat tables. I know the work that goes into the level of detail so it's much appreciated.

Thanks Sens! It took a lot of work to get the code right. I was a little disappointed I couldn't plug it in to the site and have it work properly, but the screenshots seem to be working just fine.

Thanks for reading!

[pbbm]

Re: [NHL 15] The Calgary Flames: A Dynasty

Preseason Recap: Week 1
SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

Calgary, AB — Hockey’s back!

The preseason began last Sunday with a bang, featuring 14 games from around the league and has continued all week long. So let’s talk about what we saw this last week and what we expect to see in the last week of preseason, and our projections for the Flames this year.

Top Headlines

Flyers Undefeated
The Philadelphia Flyers are the last team standing in the preseason, having gone 4-0 so far, the best record in the preseason league. Buoyed by the team’s first line of Simmonds, Giroux and Voracek (who have already amassed an astounding 17 points in four games between them), the Flyers have come to play this year. [Read More…]

No wins for Washington
The perennially ill-fated (so it’s come to seem) Washington Capitals have posted an abysmal 0-4-0 record thus far in the preseason. After missing the playoffs last year the Capitals do not look to have made any strides to realign themselves with the club they used to be. In fact, it seems the Capitals have slid into an even deeper slump. [Read More…]

Bishop Leads NHL in GAA and Save Percentage
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop leads the NHL with the lowest Goals Against Average at 2.00 and the highest Save Percentage at 93.62%. (The statistics were calculated based on goalies who have played three games.) [Read More…]

How the Flames Stack Up

The Calgary Flames finished 26th in the NHL last year, amassing only 77 points in 82 games played. This year the Flames are looking to change their fortunes and realign themselves in much the same way that the NHL itself has recently been realigned. Having brought in a couple of key players in the offseason (including now-starting goaltender Jonas Hiller) the Flames believe they can be a contender for a playoff spot this year.

So how do they stack up so far in the preseason? How close are they really to that ever elusive playoff seed?

In net Jonas Hiller is the only Flames’ goalie who has played thus far in the preseason, posting two wins in three games, putting him in an eight-way tie for first in the preseason league for most wins. Outside of wins, Hiller has posted a Goals Against Average of 2.67 and a Save Percentage of 91.11%.

So how does that compare to other goalies? Out of the league wide total (numbering 77 goalies who have played a game), Hiller ranks above the league average of 2.956 GAA and 90.22 SV%. But of goalies who have played three games (of which Hiller is one) Hiller ranks only 6 of 8 in GAA and 7 of 8 in SV%, which is not at all as flattering as the stats first tell us. If the Flames want to be contenders this year, Hiller will have to post better numbers than he has been thus far in the year.
But he’s not the only one who’s going to have to improve if the Flames want to be a playoff contender. The Flames are ranked 18th in the league on the power play and 14th in the league on the penalty kill, two statistics which cost them dearly in their first loss against Vancouver last night.

On the plus side, the Flames are producing in five-on-five play. Curtis Glencross is tied for 7th in the league for goals (with 3), while Jiri Hudler is tied for 7th in the league for assists (with 4). Hudler also leads the Flames in points in the preseason with 5.

Kris Russell and Deryk Engelland lead the team in plus/minus with a plus/minus of +4.

It’s true that these are not the Flames of last year. They’re a little more mature, a little more serious this year, and they have a few extra pieces of the puzzle that they were missing last year. Still, if nothing changes from now until the end of the year, we project the Flames will place 6th in the Pacific division, putting them short of a playoff berth.

But it’s not even the regular season yet, so we’re still holding out hopes that the Flames of this year don’t repeat the mistakes of last year.

Projected result: 6th in the Pacific Division.

Free Agent Signings

Team Breakdowns

Week 1 Results