Sergei Belski – USA TODAY Sports
The Calgary Flames will have a lot of work to do in the offseason after missing the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. With veteran leaders Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester gone, one of the first things to address is naming a new captain. Iginla had served as captain for many years, and in his absence the Flames finished the season with Mike Cammalleri, Mark Giordano and Curtis Glencross shared leadership duties as alternate captains to finish out the season. With a proven track record of leading, and after leading the Flames in scoring this season, Cammalleri would be an excellent choice for the Flames’ next captain.
Cammalleri was a college standout at the University of Michigan, where he was an assistant captain and twice led the Wolverines to the Frozen Four. He started his NHL career with the Los Angeles Kings, before playing for the Flames and Montreal Canadiens. He experienced the best offensive season of his career as a member of the Flames in 2008-09, while playing alongside Iginla. His time with the Canadiens was productive, but ended badly. After criticizing teammates for not practicing hard enough and having a losing attitude, he was traded back to Calgary. While players often take a lot of heat for comments like this, it also shows the frustration a player like Cammalleri feels when others aren’t pulling their weight, and that alone should make him captain material. Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Colorado Avalanche made similar comments about his team this season, which resulted in one of the most successful stretches of their season afterwards.
Cammalleri scored 13 goals and had 32 points this season, which left him tied with Lee Stempniak for the team scoring lead. He has been a great addition since returning to the Flames, and could be the next great leader for the team if given the chance.
