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Calgary Flames
Overall: 83
Title track: 48
Ownership: 55
Coaching: 104
Players: 61
Fan relations: 70
Affordability: 106
Stadium experience: 109
Bang for the buck: 99
Change from last year: -27
The Flames are rolling off a disappointing season considering all of the talent that they have, finishing with just 77 points, but credit Calgary GM Brian Treliving for addressing the biggest concern in the offseason by trading for goaltender Brian Elliott. Still, poor performance mixed with an aging arena and exorbitant ticket prices contributed to the Flames dropping a full 27 spots in our rankings this season.
What's good
Despite missing the playoffs in 2015-16, Calgary still ranks 48th in title track, the team's best ranking in any category (it's still good for just 14th in the NHL). Despite a few bad years, hopes are high that the Flames can return to the glory days on the backs of 23-year-old speedster Johnny Gaudreau, who netted 30 goals last season, and Sean Monahan, Mark Giordano and Mikael Backlund, who added 27, 21 and 21 respectively. The defense is magnificent with Giordano, Dougie Hamilton and T.J. Brodie, and the addition of Elliott will shore up the weak goaltending that contributed to the team's 2015-16 demise. Despite falling 44 spots in these standings, Calgary's players rank a modest 61st this year. Expect this group of young finesse players to make some noise this season.
What's bad
The Flames sit outside the top 100 in coaching, affordability, and stadium experience, all heavily contributing to the team's bottom-third overall rank. The Scotiabank Saddledome, built in 1983, is the oldest arena in the NHL now that the Edmonton Oilers have moved to the Rogers Place, and commissioner Gary Bettman said in January that a new arena in Calgary "needs to happen." What's more, despite the older building, lackluster fan relations and a non-playoff performance, the Flames were still in the bottom half of the NHL in affordability. Tickets averaged $63, while the average cost per game was $85. Calgary has much to address, but that stadium and its costs might go down a bit easier if the team returns to the postseason this year.
What's new
One year after jumping nearly 50 spots to 14th overall and third in the NHL, coaching plummeted 90 spots to 104th overall. Bob Hartley won the Jack Adams Award as the league's best coach in 2014-15 after going 45-30-7, but last year Hartley finished with 10 more losses, good for just fifth in the Pacific Division. Hockey analytics folks will tell you the advanced numbers suggested a regression, but that didn't save Hartley's job -- he was fired in May and replaced by Glen Gulutzan. The former Dallas Stars head coach spent the past three seasons with Vancouver as an assistant. It remains to be seen whether Gulutzan can continue the Flames' roller-coaster coaching ranking by jumping back into the top third once again.
Next: New York Islanders | Full rankings