The Flames preseason leaves a lot of questions unanswered

CALGARY — After a summer of napkin scribbling, the Calgary Flames’ preseason goal was to sort out line combos and build chemistry.

Let’s just say both are still considered work in progress.

With very few of the coaches’ most relevant questions answered in pre-season, the challenge now is to see how quickly the lads find regular linemates who can help the club capitalize on their nine home games in their opening ten games.

Aside from Michael Stone and Dan Vladar, there were no standout performances at camp, resulting in lines that look very similar to most inside and outside the organization predicted over the summer.

“I think in the dressing room we’ve got[the lines]handled pretty well,” said Sutter, whose club ended a 4-4 preseason with a 3-5 loss to Winnipeg on Friday that showed just how far from Sutter removed -style hockey they still are.

“The way you get that (chemistry) is on the ice and the only way to do that is to play.

“The key is that there’s a lot more to it than just what’s on the ice. There’s the dressing room and relationships that are just as important.

“There are a lot of changes at the top of our team in terms of personality and player types.”

Sure, because more than a third of the current line-up wasn’t with the organization a year earlier.

“I think there are two big changes in defence, Erik (Gudbranson) and Shilly (Kylington) who aren’t here,” said the coach.

“It’s a big change. It takes time and you just want it to be consistent.”

The defending Stanley Cup champions from Colorado are calling for Thursday’s season opener, adding even more urgency to the situation.

“It’s a work in progress for everyone,” Toffoli said.

“We’re all trying to figure out where we are as a team and time is running out and the season starts here in four or five days.”

Here’s a closer look at where everyone sits, as well as a few tough decisions about which depth players they need to risk losing on waivers ahead of Tuesday’s squad statement.

THE Strikers (14)

Jonathan Huberdeau – Elias Lindholm – Tyler Toffoli
Dillon Dube – Nazem Kadri – Andrew Mangiapane
Radim Zohorna – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman
Milan Lucic-Adam Ruzicka-Trevor Lewis

Extra on Friday: Brett Ritchie, Kevin Rooney

The top line struggled early on to find any semblance of chemistry, although Huberdeau’s “Huberama” twist as he left the zone on Friday to launch a brilliant onslaught that was ended by Toffoli was a sight to behold.

“We have to get better, be at the top,” said Huberdeau, the club’s $84 million man.

“It’s not about points now, it’s about scoring chances. I think we just need to get closer and support each other a little bit more.

“In practice, it is difficult to get this chemistry right.

“It’s more about the feeling. I personally don’t play well. I have to be faster.

“We know what we can do and we will do it.”

There’s definitely a lot to do with that.

PTO hopeful Sonny Milano failed to fill the top six openings announced by the team, prompting the club to promote Dillon Dube to the second tier with Andrew Mangiapane and Nazem Kadri.

This line has the potential to bring tremendous energy, tenacity, and its fair share of offense.

However, with Friday’s game out of reach, Sutter traded Mangiapane for Toffoli, who set up Kadri for a nice finish.

Sutter said the only combination currently set in stone is Coleman and Backlund on the third unit, leaving a rotating cast to compete for space on their wing and fourth line.

Assuming the Flames don’t want to keep more than one additional forward when rosters are announced on Tuesday, it’s almost certain that Zohorna will be the one facing waivers to send him down as he has done little to impress on his two outings here.

Asked about him on Friday, Sutter was gruff: “I think he really struggled.”

You’d love to look at him more, but he has the least risk of being claimed if he doesn’t.

DEFENSE

Noah HanifinRasmus Andersson
MacKenzie WeegarChris Tanev
Nikita Zadorov – Connor Mackey

extras: Jusso Valimaki, Nicolas Meloche, Michael Stone (unsigned on PTO), Oliver Kylington (missed for personal reasons), Dennis Gilbert (injured)

No NHL team is deeper into the backend than these Flames, which has some tough decisions to make going forward.

While the coach hasn’t been keen on several of his pairs’ games, he keeps Andersson and Hanifin together by default while pairing Tanev with Weegar, who likes to play on his offside.

You can’t go wrong with either combination.

It looked like Sutter’s preseason favorite Zadorov would open the year with Mackey, the club’s top AHL defenseman.

“It’s clear who our five defenders are when they’re healthy,” Sutter said when asked about his reasons for giving left-hander Mackey the final spin on Friday while playing on his offside where he was in college and played a lot in the minors.

“But who the next two or three are was a challenge so it’s always better to have guys who can play on either side. This is of value to the player and the team.

“He’s working on his consistency and maturity.

“I want to give him every opportunity to show that.”

Stone had a great pre-season as a PTO hope who will no doubt be signed in some way, be it now or later.

Meloche will almost certainly be sent down, unlike Valimaki, who is a first-rounder the club have invested too much in to risk losing for nothing on waivers.

GOAL CLOSURE

The last thing anyone would worry about in Calgary is the goaltender.

The team that conceded the third fewest goals last season should be battling for the Jennings Trophy with an even deeper blue line ahead.

The only question here is whether Markstrom will be asked to play fewer than the 63 games he played in last year.