In order for the Calgary Flames to have success, they need all four of their forward lines to contribute to victories. Whether it’s producing offence, preventing goals, or playing physical. Each line needs to bring something to the table.

The fourth line needs to bring energy, physicality, defensive responsibility and the odd goal to the table to be successful.

Unfortunately, that’s not happening as the fourth line has been getting badly outplayed over the last 15 games.

It’s time for Ryan Huska and Craig Conroy to seriously consider revamping their fourth line.

Before I dive into some of the numbers, I will say that Ryan Lomberg is not part of the problem. He should be a fixture in the Flames lineup.

It’s the other two slots that need improvement. And that starts at centre.

Kevin Rooney has struggled mightily since Dec. 1. There is an argument to be made that he is hurting the team more than he is helping them.

Since Dec. 1, the Flames get badly outplayed when he is on the ice at 5-on-5. Among 13 forwards to play at least 60 minutes at 5-on-5, Rooney ranks last in every major underlying number. And he is last by a large margin.

(Stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick)

As you can see by the scoring chance numbers, the Flames get crushed when Rooney is on the ice. Scoring chances are 56-28 for the opposition at 5-on-5. High dangers are 22-12. Shot attempts are 114-81.

Rooney has one goal and one assist in his last 15 games and is a -5. His face-off percentage is 47%, and he’s blocked 6 shots. The counting stats aren’t there, and the underlyings are ugly.

Rooney’s one saving grace is his work on the penalty kill. He’s played the most minutes on the PK among Flames forwards since December 1st and has some of the best shot suppression numbers on the team.

But despite the fact that he looks alright on the PK, the Flames rank 30th in the NHL in PK percentage. So it’s not like Rooney is a key cog in a top 10 unit.

Walker Duehr is the other member of the fourth line that has struggled over the last month. Similar to Rooney, the Flames get badly out chances when he is on the ice at 5-on-5.

Duehr has one point, six shots, and has 23 hits in 12 games since being recalled. He doesn’t play on the PK and isn’t much of a factor on the majority of nights he is in the lineup.

It’s time for the Flames to rethink their fourth line. Because what they have put together is not working.

There are a few ways to change up the bottom of their forward group.

First option is to call up a couple members of the Calgary Wranglers.

At centre, a guy like Clark Bishop deserves a chance to show what he’s got. Bishop has put up 14 goals and 12 assists in 32 AHL games this season. He’s a defensively responsible player who could play on the PK.

Dryden Hunt is 18th in AHL scoring with 29 points in 32 games. He played well for the Flames last year in his 28 games. Could he be an upgrade on Duehr?

Jakob Pelletier hasn’t been producing much in the top nine. Could you move him down to the fourth line and give William Stromgren a shot on the Flames third line?

Martin Pospisil only has two points in his last 15 games playing on a line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri. Could you move him down to the fourth line centre role and take advantage of his speed and physicality?

The other option is for Craig Conroy to claim a forward on the waiver wire. Or he could look to make a trade with a team who is looking to offload a “bad contract” and acquire a draft pick to take the contract.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter how they go about it. As long as there are changes. It’s time to send Rooney and Duehr to the American Hockey League and give some other players in the organization a chance to prove they can play in the NHL.

Normally a fourth line doesn’t have a big impact on the success of a team. But for the Flames, it does because they need to win by committee. The current fourth line isn’t helping them win games. They’re actually hurting them.