The Fifth Liners

Ever since long time star, Jarome Iginla packed his bags and said goodbye to the circus, fans of the Calgary Flames have endured a bleak season in Alberta. Last season was truly one to forget because aside from surprising yet massively amusing line brawl that broke out against Vancouver, they finished only 6th in the Pacific Division with a depressingly low goal total of 209 and a whopping 241 goals against! Along with the retirement of hero goalie Miikka Kiprusoff , the atmosphere at the Canadian Tire Centre had turned barren and many experts wrote the Flames off as a lost cause. But in this off season, a few key acquisitions have paved the way for a possibly brighter 2014-15 season. The first step was drafting young star centre Sam Bennett fourth overall at the 2014 Draft. Touted by many as 1st overall pick, Bennett surprisingly was passed over by Florida in favour of defense-man Aaron Ekblad . Although he may have been disappointed at being denied this distinction, the Flames h...

Alex's question this week focused on what the Calgary Flames can do to have a productive 13/14 season. In perhaps fortunate coincidence, Bleacher Report recently named Flames' GM Jay Feaster as the NHL's worst GM . You can't swing a virtual cat on the internet without finding hatred for Feaster. His questionable trades have left a lot of fans scratching their heads. The Flames' trade policy has been about bringing in young players who haven't peaked yet. Except when old players become available, that policy goes out the window. This inconsistency in the boardroom will be reflected on the ice. The loss of Jarome Iginla left a huge gap in the Flames' roster and the club is still yet to announce its captain. Mike Cammalleri has his eye on the C but with after finishing on -15 last season, is he the best candidate? So what next? How do the Flames rebuild? Here's a few pointers: Appoint a new captain. The Flames have just resigned TJ Brodie to ...