Flames Go Big Game Hunting: Add Chris Tanev and Jacob Markstrom

The Calgary Flames went big game hunting and came up with an all-star goaltender. They seem to like the Canucks players and circled back to pick up Defencemen Chris Tanev. The choice of Tanev, $500,000 cheaper than Brodie, is an interesting one. It calls into question whether Brodie wanted to stay a Flame. I think the Flames made a statement about why they lost last year, putting it on the defensive core as a whole. 

With Tanev, the Flames get a nasty stay-home defenceman who will make a difference in the defensive zone coverage. There is no doubt the Flames lose on the offensive side with Brodie, but maybe they have addressed a massive defensive hole in their own end. The Dallas Stars exposed the Flames' inadequate defence unmercifully; the Flames felt they had to address it in the offseason. No, this was not all on Brodie, but you have to start somewhere, and this was the first step. 

Game 6 cost Talbot his chances of coming back to Calgary for sure. The Flames have been having trouble with consistency in goaltending for years, and game 6 was the last straw. Enter Jacob Markstrom, all-star extraordinaire from the Vancouver Canucks. Jacob is cashing in from his (put in non-family-rated classifier here) extraordinary year. He was outstanding—superhuman even. He had his best save percentage in his career ringing it in at 918. Talking about Mr. Consistency, Markstrom has a save percentage of 913 for the previous five seasons, compared to Rittich, who has a 908 save percentage. Markstrom was outstanding in the playoffs giving the Canucks a chance to win every night. The Flames have not had a goalie who gave them a chance to win every night since Kipper. 

There is still work to be done. The Flames still have not addressed the top six issues. We lack a top sniper who could match Gaudreau. Everyone has put the responsibility on the shoulders of Gaudreau, which happens when you're the best player; it is par for the course. In his defence, we have not really given him a number one centre. What really worries me is that Brad might be done. If he is, then this is a considerable failure. 

Randy