2023 Fantasy Hockey Team Previews: Calgary Flames
The 2023 DailyFaceoff Fantasy Hockey Projections has projected stats for over 650 skaters and goalies.
The Fantasy Hockey Team Previews have all the projections for that team and mini-bios for all the Re-Draft and Dynasty relevant skaters and goalies. We will release the previews from September 5th through September 14th.
In addition to the Fantasy Hockey Previews, Daily Faceoff is previewing all 32 NHL teams for 2022-23, with a new in-depth breakdown dropping every weekday! Click here to find every preview in one place.
Skaters
Jonathan Huberdeau
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 80.6 | 29.2 | 68.4 | 97.6 | 19.0 | 45.9 | 6.8 | 41.4 | 203.9 | 14.3% | 19.2 | 21.7 | 26.0 | 85.7 |
The Flames had an incredibly hectic offseason, and acquiring Huberdeau in a trade that sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers was at the forefront of their summer. Shortly after, Huberdeau signed an eight-year extension with Calgary and became the new face of their franchise. Huberdeau is coming off the best season of his career, leading the NHL in assists (85) and tying for second in points (115). He joins Sidney Crosby (2006-07) as the only two players in the last 20 years to score 30 goals with 80-plus assists. He’s a special playmaker who will replace Johnny Gaudreau on the top line with Elias Lindholm. Expect another season where Huberdeau is near the NHL lead in assists and close to 100 points.
Elias Lindholm
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 82.0 | 36.0 | 36.0 | 72.0 | 16.1 | 26.1 | 9.9 | 22.1 | 215.5 | 16.7% | 20 | 759.3 | 49.8 | 76.7 |
Lindholm played on the most dominant line in the NHL a season ago but lost both Gaudreau and Tkachuk in one offseason. It’s difficult to say precisely how things will go in 2022-23 but gaining Huberdeau helps offset the losses. Lindholm had a career-best 42 goals and 82 points but rode unsustainably high rates to get there. His 17.9 SH% was the highest mark of his career, and a 14.4 on-ice SH% isn’t even sustainable for players like Connor McDavid. The uncertainty of new linemates and potential regression means that fantasy owners must be careful when selecting Lindholm. He’s a lock for a 30-30 season but even when everything went perfectly; he topped out at a point-per-game, so don’t expect a sudden surge to 90-plus points.
Nazem Kadri
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 72.8 | 22.2 | 40.7 | 62.9 | 5.7 | 65.3 | 5.7 | 18.9 | 218.3 | 10.2% | 17.3 | 548.5 | 19.7 | 53.9 |
The other key addition the Flames made was signing Kadri to a seven-year deal. Kadri is coming off the best season of his 12-year career, registering 87 points (28G / 59A) in 71 games. It came out of nowhere; he had more points than he had in his first two years with Colorado combined and was aided by a massive jump in ice-time. In Calgary, his usage will likely come back down a bit. Elias Lindholm commands 20 minutes per game, and Mikael Backlund will probably be one of the most heavily utilized third-line centres, leaving Kadri back closer to the 16-17 minutes we saw in 2020 and 2021. He has bust potential depending on where he’s drafted, but Calgary has plenty of talented wingers to help support a 20-goal, 40-assist season.
Tyler Toffoli
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 77.3 | 27.7 | 27.7 | 55.3 | -0.7 | 22.8 | 8.3 | 15.5 | 220.2 | 12.6% | 17.1 | 18.7 | 22.1 | 85.3 |
Following a midseason trade to Calgary, Toffoli tallied 11 goals and 12 assists (23 points) in 37 games. He was mostly reserved to a middle-6 role, but with Tkachuk now in Florida, he could move up to the top line with Lindholm and Huberdeau. Monitoring Toffoli’s spot in the lineup during training camp will be necessary. If he locks down that RW1 spot, he has a ton of sleeper potential.
Andrew Mangiapane
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 81.5 | 30.0 | 20.4 | 50.4 | 10.7 | 33.1 | 5.0 | 8.2 | 164.1 | 18.3% | 16 | 15.5 | 36.3 | 76.2 |
Mangiapane is the other candidate for the Flames’ top line. He scored 35 goals a year ago and reminded everyone he was a 50-goal, 100-point player in the OHL. Like Toffoli, much of his value will depend on where he lands on the depth chart, although playing next to Kadri is a good consolation prize. I think we can safely project him for another 30-goal season; however, playing on the top line may be needed to support a full-fledged breakout.
Rasmus Andersson
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 82.0 | 6.8 | 35.5 | 42.3 | 10.7 | 40.2 | 0.7 | 12.9 | 153.3 | 4.4% | 22.2 | 0.0 | 114.5 | 68.1 |
Noah Hanifin took some PP1 time away from Andersson late in 2021-22, adding uncertainty over who will play there in 2022-23. Andersson seems like the front-runner, having spent far more time in that spot in recent years. The soon-to-be 26-year-old had a career-best 50 points (4G / 46A) last season and still has untapped goal-scoring potential. His shot volume isn’t elite, but it’s good enough to score double-digit goals. Andersson shot just 2.6 percent so we can expect positive regression this season–he shot 4.5 percent in the two previous years combined. He can be drafted as a low-end No.2/high-end No.3 defenseman but has legitimate top-15 D potential.
Mackenzie Weegar
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 73.1 | 7.8 | 31.3 | 39.1 | 17.3 | 60.5 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 159.3 | 4.9% | 22.4 | 0.0 | 126.7 | 151.1 |
Weegar came over with Huberdeau in the Tkachuk trade. The deal probably hurts his fantasy value. He loses Aaron Ekblad as his D-partner and will likely be fourth in the pecking order for power-play time behind Andersson, Hanifin and Oliver Kylington. Still, the Flames are a highly talented team, and Weegar should continue to find success at 5v5. He’s fifth among defensemen in 5v5 assists (42) over the last two years, and he’ll continue to command the big minutes that make that sustainable. However, his early ADP (80.5) is highly alarming and should be avoided.
Mikael Backlund
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 81.5 | 12.7 | 27.1 | 39.7 | 6.3 | 30.6 | 1.1 | 7.9 | 187.2 | 6.8% | 15.8 | 527.3 | 23.1 | 53.9 |
Backlund was already on the fringe of fantasy relevance with his 15 goals and 31 assists per 82-game averages over the last three years and the addition of Kadri moves him out of the picture. It’s hard to imagine he continues to play over 17 minutes per night, and he’ll likely no longer be without the Toffoli’s or Mangiapane’s that help make him valuable.
Noah Hanifin
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 78.7 | 8.1 | 29.5 | 37.7 | 10.5 | 21.0 | 1.3 | 5.2 | 168.4 | 4.8% | 21.2 | 0.0 | 83.4 | 66.2 |
In 2021-22, Hanifin hit double-digit goals for the second time and 40-plus points for the first time in his seven-year career. He saw more significant power-play usage than ever before, but that same deployment isn’t guaranteed for 2022-23. As a result, finding a path for him to get back to near-50 points is challenging, and his ADP is currently higher than Andersson’s, which should not be the case.
Jakob Pelletier
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 71.4 | 10.3 | 15.9 | 26.3 | 4.8 | 12.9 | 1.9 | 5.0 | 100.9 | 10.2% | 13.3 | 0.0 | 29.9 | 31.5 |
Pelletier was the No.26 overall pick in 2019 and made an immediate impact in his first professional season with Stockton (AHL). Pelletier finished second on the team in goals (27) and points (62) in 66 games. He should have no issues cracking the Flames’ roster in 2022-23, but he’ll likely be in a bottom-6 role behind much more proven wingers. The 21-year-old is an exciting dynasty option, but likely won’t factor in in re-draft leagues until there’s an injury in the top-6.
Goalies
Jacob Markstrom
| GS | W | L | T/O | SV% | GAA | SO |
| 62.0 | 36.6 | 17.9 | 7.5 | 0.915 | 2.51 | 5.4 |
Since Darryl Sutter took over as the Flames’ head coach in March 2021, Calgary has given up the second-fewest xGA/60 (2.51). Markstrom played exceptionally well behind them, ranking top-3 in GAA (2.22) and SV% (.922) while going 37-15-9 with an outrageous nine shutouts. The Flames should be every bit as good defensively in 2022-23, and Markstrom has a stranglehold on the starting role. The 32-year-old should start 60-plus games and has a chance to finish top-5 in all major categories for the second year in a row. He’s a sure-fire No.1 fantasy option.
Remaining Flames Projections
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| Blake Coleman | LW/RW | 80.1 | 18.7 | 18.1 | 36.7 | 11.7 | 56.7 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 202.3 | 9.2% | 15.3 | 10.3 | 40.5 | 166.1 |
| Dillon Dube | RW | 77.5 | 15.9 | 14.9 | 30.9 | 1.5 | 21.4 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 131.6 | 12.1% | 13.1 | 62.7 | 18.5 | 89.5 |
| Oliver Kylington | D | 71.3 | 7.6 | 18.6 | 26.2 | 9.7 | 17.1 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 121.2 | 6.3% | 18.2 | 0.0 | 73.8 | 49.7 |
| Milan Lucic | LW | 81.5 | 10.0 | 13.0 | 23.0 | -5.2 | 67.2 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 92.2 | 10.8% | 12.4 | 17.5 | 20.7 | 199.5 |
| Chris Tanev | D | 78.4 | 4.4 | 18.6 | 23.0 | 12.7 | 22.8 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 80.9 | 5.4% | 20.6 | 0.0 | 149.9 | 48.3 |
| Nikita Zadorov | D | 77.4 | 3.5 | 13.8 | 17.3 | 6.7 | 64.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 90.1 | 3.9% | 16.9 | 0.0 | 69.1 | 196.9 |
| Trevor Lewis | RW | 77.1 | 6.2 | 8.3 | 14.5 | 1.3 | 11.7 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 102.9 | 6.0% | 11.8 | 60.2 | 34.0 | 131.3 |
| Kevin Rooney | C | 68.5 | 7.5 | 6.7 | 14.2 | 1.7 | 31.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 75.5 | 9.9% | 12.6 | 209.6 | 45.1 | 101.9 |