Forward line options for the Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames enter the 2022-23 season with a number of new faces who will play key roles for the team.

One of the most intriguing stories from the start of training camp will be what the forward lines will look like. Darryl Sutter has many different options with new signings Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Kevin Rooney.

Let’s look at a few different options for how the Flames forward lines will look from September 14th.

option 1

Line 1: The Huberdeau-Lindholm-Toffoli trio makes a lot of sense. They’ve got Huberdeau, one of the best playmakers in the NHL, lined up with two of the forwards on the best-shot roster. Toffoli’s greatest asset is his ability to score goals. Playing him with Huberdeau would likely help get the best out of Toffoli and put him in the best position to succeed. The Flames need Toffoli to play at a high level, like he did in his first 22 games with the Flames last season. Lindholm has a great shot and could score 40 goals again if he plays in the same line with Huberdeau.

Line 2: Mangiapane-Kadri-Coleman could be a great shutdown line for the Flames. It could potentially achieve similar possession and defensive metrics as last season’s Mangipane-Backlund-Coleman line, but with a more offensive advantage. Kadri is a better offensive player compared to Backlund, which could help Mangipane and Coleman score more points this season than last.

Line 3: This is where it gets interesting. One has to wonder how the Flames intend to use Mikael Backlund. If you want to use him purely as a shutdown center, Dube and Pelletier might not be the best options to play with. If they want to use him in more offensive matchups, Dube and Pelletier could work. The interesting thing about Mikael Backlund is his ability to make his linemates better. He has done this throughout his career with former teammates such as Joe Colbourne, Lance Bouma, Michael Frolik, etc. Bringing young players like Dube and Pelletier together with Backlund could be very beneficial for their development.

Line 4: It’s obvious that Milan Lucic, Kevin Rooney and Trevor Lewis will all be healthy scratches in the Flames’ fourth row or in the press box. Lewis and Rooney can flip flop in the middle. But this will likely be Flames’ fourth line on many nights as the roster is being formed.

option 2

Line 1: The idea of ​​Huberdeau and Kadri as a couple on the top line is very intriguing. Kadri is enjoying the best offensive season of his career as he has had a 100-point pace in 82 games. Should the Flames try to capitalize on Kadri’s offensive outburst? Kadri’s most common linemates at 5 on 5 in Colorado were Valeri Nichushkin, Andre Burakovsky and Logan O’Connor. Imagine the kind of points Kadri could score with Huberdeau on his wing? Dillon Dube could fit well into this lineup. He has a good shot and his speed can be an effective fore checker.

Line 2: Mangiapane-Lindholm-Toffoli has the potential to become a strong shutdown route. Mangiapane and Lindholm are excellent two-way strikers. In the last three seasons, Lindholm and Mangiapane have played 451:25 in 5v5. In those minutes they had 53.97% CF%, 56.10% HDCF% and outperformed their opponents by 23-19. These results suggest this is a combination that could work. Toffoli could be a nice addition to this line. He’s a smart player who can also add a little more punch to this line offensively.

(All stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick)

Line 3: Pelletier-Backlund-Coleman could be used as a shutdown route. Playing Pelletier with two outstanding defensive forwards would put him in a good position to learn and not be forced to be a key defensive player down that line as Backlund and Coleman would do the heavy lifting.

Line 4: Ruzicka adds a skill element to the fourth Flames row. They could use this trio when playing against top offensive teams in the league like Colorado and Edmonton. Ruzicka proved last season that he can play in a limited role and score points. My only criticism of Ruzicka is that he needs to get a little tougher to play against him. He needs to use his size to his advantage more than before.

Possibility 3:

Line 1: I discussed this trio in option 1.

Line 2: The Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman line was outstanding last season. They were so good that they surpassed last season’s Gaudreau-Lindholm-Tkachuk line in a few key statistical categories.

The obvious difference between the two lines is skill level and finishing ability. Despite this, the Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman line dominated their competition when they were on the ice together 5v5. Darryl Sutter knows this trio works and can be counted on to take down top opponents.

Line 3: It would be difficult to get Nazem Kadri on the third line to start his time in Calgary. The Flames just gave him a massive seven-year, $49 million deal. I don’t think he would like to play in a third row with Dillon Dube and someone like Kevin Rooney or Jakob Pelletier. However, it might be in the Flames’ best interest to do so given the Mangiapane-Backlund-Coleman line was so good for the Flames last season. I also added Rooney to that third line to give fans an idea of ​​what the Flames lineup might look like without Jakob Pelletier.

Line 4: The Flames signed center Cody Eakin to a PTO. He has a good chance of making it to the Flames as a 13th or 14th forward. I have him center Milan Lucic and Trevor Lewis on a fourth line. This could be a very physical line for the Flames. But with a trio like this, there aren’t many advantages. The Flames need to pick another top-nine forward to round out the forward group and position the players in the best position for success.

I asked the fans to send me what I want the forwards to look like next season. Let’s see what they came up with.

10/28/88
20-91-73
49-11-29
17-63-21

— RICK (@CGYFLAMES8904) September 11, 2022

C-lindholm F-mangiapaine -Jonathan H : C kadri F-toffoli -Coleman : C backlund F-dube, lucic :Clewis F – Schwindt , bishop

— Texas’ son (@texascowboy92) 09/10/2022

Toffoli-Lindholm-Huberdeau
Coleman-Kadri-Mangiapane
Thornton-Backlund dube
Lucic Rooney Lewis

— Calgarian Sam/FlamesFan (@SamRitter8) 09/10/2022

Hunerdeau Lindholm Dube
Pelletier Kadri Toffoli
Mangiapane Backlund Coleman
Ruzicka Rooney Shrinks

Hanafin Andersson
Tanev Weegar
Mackey Kylington
Zadurov

Find out what you really have in Dube.
Maximize Weegar’s abilities by playing him with Tanev.

— Adam Ward (@wardo2020) 09/10/2022

Huberdeau-Lindholm-Toffoli
Mangiapane Kadri Coleman
Pelletier-Backlund Dube
Lucic Ruzicka Rooney

The 4th line is really hard to understand. I know Rooney isn’t a RW, but Ruzicka has shown he can play the last six minutes of the NHL. Maybe the big Czech won’t re-sign or get a deal?

— Josh Skapin (@scribeskapin) 09/10/2022

Let us know in the comments section what you want the forwards to look out for next season!