In spite of a challenging regular season in which they just barely squeaked into the playoffs, the Calgary Roughnecks were leading the tie-breaker of the West Division Final with less than seven minutes remaining on the clock. The Edmonton Rush would go on to win the tie-breaker 4-1 and then sweep the Champion’s Cup.
All things considered it was a bittersweet ending that still has to be considered a success, but it was still a far cry from what was expected of this team before the season started. After all, the Roughnecks came just a whisker away from winning the Champion’s Cup in 2014 and were returning almost the exact same lineup in 2015.
So where do they go from here?
If they play in 2016 the way they finished the 2015 season—winning four of their last five regular season games and two of four in the playoffs—they should be fine. If, on the other hand, they play like they did in the first half—winning just one of their first eight—they’ll once again be in a life-or-death scenario to make the postseason.
My biggest issue with the team for several years has been their tendency to take bad penalties. To their credit, the Roughnecks led the league in powerplay kill percentage in 2015 (64.36 percent). But they also led the league in times shorthanded (101). It’s hard to sustain offensive momentum when you’re constantly killing penalties.
If Calgary is to make one big change in the offseason, it might be to address this issue by moving one or two of the worst offenders on the bad penalties front.
Dane Dobbie led the NLL in goals scored in 2014 (51), but he’s a regular offender for letting his emotions get the best of him and has wound up suspended for his antics as well. Late in West Division Finals tie-breaker, he did it again, blasting Kyle Rubisch in the ear hole with a shot after the shot clock had expired and earning a delay of game minor for his troubles that essentially ended Calgary’s bid to get back in the game.
Dobbie is a pure goal scorer and a maximum effort guy, someone I usually love watching play. He can also sabotage the team with his emotional outbursts. His talent should earn Calgary some serious talent in return, or a draft pick or two in this year’s talent-loaded draft.
They could also think about moving the Harnett brothers who do a fine job defensively, but who both spend too much time in the Sin Bin. If they can’t stay in their own shoes, maybe they need to be replaced with someone who can.
Beyond that Achilles Heel, it’s tough to find weaknesses on the team. Curt Malawsky and the coaching staff continue to do a good job getting the team deep into the playoffs. Shawn Evans will likely win his second MVP in three years. Curtis Dickson keeps getting better every year. Frankie Scigliano proved himself to be capable of being the No. 1 goaltender after Mike Poulin had a shaky start; Poulin then had what might have been the best game of his life in Game 2 of the West Division finals in relief of Scigliano, showing he still has game when it counts. Geoff Snider is another guy on the roster who has a tendency at times to take some bad penalties, but he’s still the best faceoff man in the NLL which gives Calgary a huge possession advantage every night.
