Looking at the point production of Calgary Flames players

Throughout the course of the season I have been posting on my Twitter account the Calgary Flames players 82-game point pace. The number of points each player would produce over 82 games if they were to keep up their current scoring pace.

It’s an interesting way of looking at who has been exceeding expectations, who has met expectations, and who has fallen below what we expected.

Here is the latest up to date 82 game point production for Flames players who have suited up for at least 50 games this season.

(All stats courtesy of HockeyDB)

Let’s see where each player ranks in terms of their expectations for production in terms of goals and assists.

Tyler Toffoli: Toffoli has been one of the few Flames players to have a career year. He’s already set a career high in assists and has 15 games remaining to break his career high in goals of 31. Toffoli’s natural goal scoring ability has made him arguably the most important forward on a Flames team that has a difficult time scoring goals.

Dillon Dube: Dube is another Flame who has surpassed his career highs. He is on pace for 21 goals and 26 assists, both numbers would surpass is previous totals. The most impressive part of Dube’s offensive game has been his wrist shot. He is one of the most lethal players on the Flames coming down the wing in a shooting position.

Mikael Backlund: I put Backlund on the list because he is on pace to have his best statistical season since the 2016-17 campaign. He is doing all this at 33 years old. A lot of players tend to slow down once they hit the age of 32-34, but that has not been the case with Backlund. He continues to produce at a solid rate and remains a critical member of the Calgary Flames.

Trevor Lewis: The Flames veteran forward is on pace to hit the double-digit goal and assist mark since the 2017-18 season. You can’t ask for anything more from the 36-year-old. However, his underlying numbers have been a different story…

Elias Lindholm: Lindholm has taken a large step backwards in terms of his goal scoring. That is bound to happen when you no longer play with two elite play makers in the NHL. But he has made up for that production with his own playing making as he is on pace to record 45 assists, which would be the second highest mark of his career.

Nazem Kadri: Kadri is on pace to be close to his career averages in terms of point production. His average season 82 game point total across his first ten seasons was 59 points. That includes his 100-point projection from last season. Kadri is currently on pace for 60 points as of March 14. Right where he needs to be for the Flames.

Rasmus Andersson: Andersson proved last season that he can be a 50+ point defenceman in the NHL. He followed up his 2021-22 50-point campaign with a 53 point pace this season. He should be producing at that pace with his skillset and amount of ice time he has played on the first power play unit.

Blake Coleman: The offensive expectations for Coleman have been lowered since coming to Calgary in the 2021 off-season. He scored at a 20+ goal pace in each of the last three seasons before arriving in Calgary. He was only able to score 16 goals in the 2021-22 season. The 15-20 goal range is probably where Coleman should be moving forward. And right now he is as he is producing at a 17-goal pace. He’s where he should be.

Noah Hanifin: Hanifin has never been a high end point producer in his NHL career up until last season where virtually every Calgary Flame had a career year. But I don’t think it was fair to expect Hanifin to put up 48 points again. He’s on pace for 36 which has been slightly above his career norms.

Chris Tanev: Tanev is known as a shut down defender. He prides himself on playing excellent defence, getting pucks out of his own end, and blocking shots. Any point production you can get out of him is an added bonus. His 18-point pace puts him right around his career average.

Nikita Zadorov: Zadorov has set a new career high in goals with nine which is fantastic for the Flames. However, his assists have fallen off as he is on pace for only six of them, which would be the lowest assist total since entering the NHL.

Milan Lucic: Expectations for Lucic were very low heading into the 2022-23 season. Especially considering he hadn’t scored a goal using his stick since Jan. 22, 2022. The fact he is on pace for 19 points is a slight win considering where he is at in his career.

Jonathan Huberdeau: It’s been an extremely disappointing season for Huberdeau. As many have pointed out on Twitter, Huberdeau is on track to have the biggest drop off in points from one season to the next in NHL history. 115 points to 57 points. Flames fans can only hope and pray things get better as his eight year, $84 million contract kicks in next season.

Andrew Mangiapane: You could make the argument that Mangiapane has played well, but has been snake bitten offensively. His underlying numbers have been very good. But the finish and production is no where close where the Flames need it to be. He scored 35 goals last season. He is on pace to score 16 this season. Almost a 20 goal drop off.

MacKenzie Weegar: Similar to Mangiapane, Weegar has played well this season but doesn’t have the production to back that up. He has been one of their better defensive players which is great. But for him to earn the 50 million dollar contract he signed, he will need to produce more goals and assists. He is on pace to score only one goal this season, the worst of his career. And he is on pace to put up 28 assists, which is a major drop off compared to his last two seasons in Florida.