So, Dave Shoalts has this article in the Globe and Mail. If we leave aside the headline, which he probably didn't write, I still think it is fair to summarize his overall point as the following argument is not true:

There’s a funny thing about the NHL – despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, there are still plenty of people who argue that finding a goaltender doesn’t need to be at the top of every general manager’s to-do list.

Put together a great team, they say, and a good but not great goaltender will do. Don’t waste a first-round draft pick on a goaltender. You can get a decent one in a trade any old time.

Surely with a thesis like that he will have "overwhelming evidence" that a team ought to go out and acquire a top-flight goaltender. Let's take a look after the jump.

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I was reading Ryan Lambert's latest at FN, and in particular his giving up on Jay Bouwmeester after having only scored 8 goals in 205 games. It occurred to me that this same feeling that a number of the Flames semi-recent acquisitions stepped into a shaft shooting wise after coming to Calgary did not only apply to Bouwmeester. I decided to put my perceptions to the test by looking at the shooting percentages of current Flames players with reasonably lengthy careers before coming to the Flames and with the Flames. Results after the jump.

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One of the best parts of sports is watching great players chase down statistical milestones. Some of these are records, but sometimes there are just benchmarks for a great season. For hockey fans, we all appreciate 50 goals, 100 points. For baseball, 50 home runs and 100 RBIs. Football, 1,000 rushing yards, 1,000 receiving yards are special for running backs and receivers respectively. I am sure there is something similar for every sport. For us NLL fans though I can’t definitively put my finger on what makes a superlative offensive season. A hat trick per game? 5 points per game? After the jump, I look at where us fans might consider that line to be drawn.

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This is a follow up to an earlier Fanpost here and Marisa's post here. There is no doubt that Jeff Shattler and Scott Ranger had excellent, unprecedented even, years last year. Shattler put up 75 points with 29 goals and 26 assists. That was up from his average over the previous 4 seasons (ignoring his one game in Buffalo) of 15.5 goals, 24.25 assists and 39.75 points. So basically double his prior career averages. Ranger put up 61 points with 29 goals and 32 assists over his previous averages (ignoring his prior part seasons in San Jose) of 23.5 goals, 29.25 assists and 52.75 points. After the jump I will delve into that data and posit some reasons for the increases.

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Marisa posted a couple of days ago about how the Roughnecks could suffer a setback next season. I have sifted through a little bit of data and think that the Roughnecks will probably be ok. 

Essentially, Marisa points out that Dobbie, Shattler and Ranger had great years that they would be unlikely to repeat, and that they were likely to miss the likes of Sanderson and Kelusky. Essentially, that the Roughneck offensive output of 2011 was a fluke and they will not be able to do it again in 2012. Sanderson and Kelusky are bona fide stars in the NLL and it is not an unreasonable prediction on its face. I have dug into some of the data and I would like to present some information that would suggest Sanderson and Kelusky were not that much more efficient on offense in 2010 than the players who replaced their offence in 2011. More after the jump.

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With the recent six game winning streak, the Flames bandwagon has almost filled back up again and most of the calls to "blow it up good" have quieted down. Short of the bookies assessment though, I wanted to take a closer look at what the Flames chances to get in the playoffs are so I know how crushed/elated to be in April. I will base my assement on a) how close they really are to a playoff spot and b) how good they are in relation to the teams they are battling for a playoff spot. For a) I am going to use the point percentage after the Atlanta game. For b) I am going to look at the Corsi% with the score close and score tied from this season from Objective NHL. Results after the Jump.

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