Calgary Flames NHL Hockey Odds to win the 2012 Stanley Cup

Thursday, October 06, 2011

by WagerWeb Sportsbook

Jarome Iginla - Calgary Flames NHL Hockey Odds to win the 2012 Stanley Cup

The Calgary Flames always seem to be a very competitive team, but they haven’t won a playoff series since losing in the Stanley Cup Finals back in 2004 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After his club got off to a 14-18-3 start to the season, Calgary general manager Darryl Sutter stepped down and the Flames hired Jay Feaster as his replacement. The team went on a 27-11-9 run the rest of the way and nearly snuck into the postseason, missing out by just three points.

Their opening-day roster likely will be nearly identical to the one that finished last season, which means the Flames again will be a veteran-laden squad. Last season’s second-oldest team with an average age of 29.35, the Flames’ top three scorers were at least 30, and of the 19 players who had at least 10 points, only one was younger than 27. So the Flames will remain dependent on their veterans, but might look to one or two prospects to make their imprint on the team.

Even at 34-year-old, Jarome Iginla remains one of the NHL’s top players. After all, he’s scored 86 points or more in four of the last five seasons, making him one of three players in the league (Alexander Ovechkin and Joe Thornton are the others) to hit that threshold four times in the last five years.

Only four teams in the Western Conference scored more goals last season than Calgary, so rather than try to add new pieces to their attack, the Flames were content to re-sign two of their own veterans in Brendan Morrison and Alex Tanguay, whose 69 points in 2010-11 were his most since the 2006-07 season.

Iginla and Tanguay are entrenched as the club’s top-line wingers and youngster Mikael Backlund is penciled in as the No. 1 center. Backlund, 22, had his first full season as an NHLer in 2010-11 and recorded 25 points (10g, 15a) over 73 games.

The biggest difference for the Flames this season is the departure of Robyn Regehr, who was traded to Buffalo this summer along with forward Ales Kotalik. A stay-at-home defenseman, Regehr had been a steadying force on the Calgary blue line since his rookie year in 1999-2000 and the Flames will be hard- pressed to replace his physical play.

Defenseman Mark Giordano continues to improve and scored a career-high 43 points last season. He’s also played all 82 games in each of the last two seasons. But the club needs more from high-priced Jay Bouwmeester. He has been a major disappointment since signing a five-year, $33 million deal with the Flames in the summer of 2009. Bouwmeester had only 24 points last year, his fewest since 2003-04.

Miikka Kiprusoff is also getting up there in age (35) but there is every indication he will continue to be a workhorse in Calgary’s crease. He started 71 games last season, the sixth straight season he’s hit that mark. The 1,935 shots Kiprusoff faced last season were also seventh-most in the League, but his six shutouts were the most he’s had in a season since 2006-07.

Additions: RW Lee Stempniak, D Scott Hannan, C Paul Byron, D Chris Butler, LW/RW Pierre-Luc Letourneau-LeBlond.

Subtractions: C Daymond Langkow, D Robyn Regehr, D Adam Pardy, LW Fredrik Modin, RW Ales Kotalik.

Wager Web Sportsbook odds to win the Northwest: +325

Wager Web Sportsbook over/under points total: 90.5

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ales kotalik - alex tanguay - brendan morrison - calgary flames - darryl sutter - jarome iginla - jay bouwmeester - jay feaster - mark giordano - miikka kiprusoff

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