I think one of the rude awakenings awaiting the faithful next year is the effect Alex Tanguay's departure will have on the ice.
Let's put it this way: Owen Nolan is widely considered to be Sutter's most succesful former-star reclamation project to date. Beyond the various "intangibles" that made him popular (fighting, mean, etc.) I think the primary reason Nolan appeared to work out was the presence of Alex Tanguay on his line.
A lot of people are likely to read that and picture Alex Tanguay's 50-some points, his relatively un-physical style of play and his penchant for passing when shooting was the better option and think Im nuts.
The fact of the matter is, Alex Tanguay is a difference maker at ES. He was the second-best forward on the team, after Jarome Iginla, at 5on5 during his time here. He outscored whoever he played against, and he did it no matter who his linemates were. He made that 2nd line work last year. Absent Tanguay (or Iginla), Conroy/Nolan probably sink like a stone.
The Flames don't have a Tanguay to carry their reclamation project this year. The options for Keenan are, therefore:
1.) Play Bertuzzi with Iginla and hope he doesn't impede him.
2.) Play Bertuzzi with Lombardi against the softest possible competition.
Either way, I think Iginla will be seeing the toughest competition on the team (unless some kind of shut-down line can be soldered together out of Conroy, Moss, Bourque, Glencross, Nystrom). The probable result is a reduction in Iggy's outscoring since one of the inescapable truth of hockey is as the quality of opponent goes up, you tend to score less and tend to get scored on more (excepting Lidstrom).
The question will be: can the new 2nd line and re-vamped bottom 6 make up for the loss? Proposition one is, at best, a coin-flip, depending on how manic Iron Mike is with managing the bench. Lombardi, Boyd (?) and Bert/Cammalleri. You're basically betting on simultaneous growth from a couple of players (Boyd and Lombardi), not to mention the Bertuzzi injury/effectiveness uncertainty if he lands on that unit. Long odds, I'd say, for them to be anything better than even at ES.
The good news is the bottom 6 is much improved. Gone are total defectives like Godard and Smith. Gone too are offensive zone voids like Yelle and Nilson (probably). With the addition of Bourque and Glencross and the demotion of Conroy, the "lesser" forwards shouldn't be the black hole they were last year. There's also the possibility of Eric Nystrom improving (although I personally dont hold out much hope in that regard). In any case, the bottom of the rotation should be faster, more capable in the good end of the rink and less apt to get scored on this coming year.
Whether the Flames sink, tread water or improve will be mediated by how much the support staff can make up for the difference in Iginla's out-scoring. If nay, then sink. If yay (partial), then tread water. And if all coins land on heads, then the Flames could marginally improve.
