There are always plenty of interesting storylines that come out of the NHL season, whether it’s about a player, coach, or team. We picked some of our favourites and narrowed them down to two finalists and one winner for our biggest surprise of the 2014-15 NHL season:
WINNER: CALGARY FLAMES
After the Flames drafted Sam Bennett fourth overall in the 2014 NHL Draft, fans assumed the rebuild would continue this season. But with the way coach Bob Hartley is able to get the absolute most out of his players this Flames team has proved all the doubters wrong.
A .500 team in the month of October, the Flames went on to have an impressive November with nine wins in 13 games. Calgary started to show this stretch wasn’t just a brief hot streak and kept finding ways to win games, whether by coming from behind, or creating some type of magic that numbers weren’t been able to predict.
Much credit can be given to their captain, Mark Giordano, who was a strong candidate for the Norris Trophy until he went down in March with a torn bicep tendon – and some think he still should be in contention. In 61 games, Giordano had 37 assists and 48 points and was also a plus-13.
Entering the season, there were questions around who would/should play in Calgary’s net and how they would fare. Jonas Hiller came over as a free agent from Anaheim looking to prove himself after a down year with the Ducks. Karri Ramo has platooned with Hiller and the two have formed a strong goaltending duo that has helped keep the Flames in the playoff hunt.
And how could you forget the emergence of young stars such as Johnny Gaudreau? A year removed from winning the Hobey Baker Award with Boston College, Gaudreau was surrounded with a lot of hype and high expectations for a 21-year-old who was picked in the fourth round of the draft. He didn’t disappoint and scored 24 goals and 64 points in 80 games to sit in a tie with Ottawa’s Mark Stone for rookie scoring. Two other young players, Sean Monahan and T.J. Brodie, have also impressed for the Flames.
With advanced statistics such as Corsi catching on in the mainstream for the past two years and being integrated into everyday analysis, the Flames have bucked the odds. According to hockeyanalysis.com, Calgary ranks 28th in Corsi for in the NHL, but they still managed to clinch a playoff berth and knock out the defending champion Los Angeles Kings.
All of these factors are what make the Calgary Flames the greatest surprise of the 2014-15 NHL season.
Honourable mentions:
Devan Dubnyk — After a Jan. 14 trade to Minnesota from the Arizona Coyotes in what Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher called “an act of desperation“, Dubnyk has turned heads in 2015. Dubnyk posted a 27-8-2 record with the Wild, and posted a .938 save percentage and 1.78 goals-against average. He is the main reason why Minnesota is headed to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Andrew Hammond — The man nicknamed the “Hamburglar” has generated plenty of hype over the last two months for both his nickname and performance on the ice. The 27-year-old goaltender had a huge hand in Ottawa’s miraculous run to a playoff spot. He went 20-1-2 with a .941 SP and 1.79 GAA in 24 games and even had Don Cherry call him “absolutely sensational” on Coach’s Corner. Sure, the whole Senators team is a huge surprise and Mark Stone deserves a mention for his late charge for Calder Trophy consideration, but without Hammond, it’s unlikely the Sens would be where they are.
