The Flames are coming off two consecutive seasons of backing into the playoffs in the final days of the regular season, followed by a first-round exit from the Stanley Cup tournament.

Will we see more of the same or an actual improvement this time around? The burning question surrounding the Flames heading into the 2008-09 season is whether the big offseason changes will mean an actual step forward or simply more of the same from a squad that has under-achieved the past few seasons.

Gone are a couple of players with outstanding skill in Kristian Huselius and Alex Tanguay, but the Flames' brass firmly believes their lack of grit down the stretch and in the playoff series with the Sharks was a big reason for the team's downfall.

Those two have been replaced by ...More