Music: {allcanada} Calgary Flames preview: Backlund's time is now

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There have been plenty of concerns surrounding general manager Darryl Sutter and the Calgary Flames since they missed the playoffs last spring.

Many critics felt Sutter didn't deserve another chance to turn the NHL club around. After all, the Flames have gotten worse since they advanced to the 2003-04 Stanley Cup final in Sutter's first full season running the team.

He didn't exactly appease the Flames fan base in the summer, when he brought back into the fold former forwards Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay and kept an unproductive Ales Kotalik. There also was criticism that other than 21-year-old forward Mikael Backlund the prospect cupboard was bare in the organization.

But along comes 20-year-old defenceman T.J. Brodie, who has made a strong bid to crack the Flames roster in training camp. Forwards Greg Nemisz, 20, and Brett Sutter, 23, could be contributors to the cause at various points this season.

For Backlund, however, his time is now. The Flames raise the curtain on their regular season without two of their top three centres after injuries forced Matt Stajan (shoulder) and Daymond Langkow (neck) to the sidelines for an indefinite period. Jokinen also suffered an injury, although he's not expected to be out long term.

"There is no question that he will [Backlund] given an opportunity to play in our top six," Flames assistant GM Jay Feaster said. "One of the questions that we had going into camp was that if he continues to make a push to make this hockey team and make this team as a fourth-line guy, is that the right role for him or would it better for him to play as the No. 1 centre in Abbotsford [with the Flames AHL affiliate]?

"With the injuries, as it relates to both Langkow and now Stajan, it gives Mikael an opportunity to step up and demonstrate that he is ready to be a top-six forward in the NHL. That's what this process is all about, to see if he's ready for that. He has to earn that. He's not going to be given that just because we have injuries right now."

Backlund received a taste of NHL life last season. He played the final 23 games of the regular season, but scored just once and added nine assists.

The Swede isn't short on confidence, but he needs to develop consistency with his play, according to Feaster.

"He is a mature young man and he has started to figure out what he has to do," Feaster said. "He understands [coach] Brent [Sutter] and the coaching and their expectations and the demands they put on players. Now, it's a matter of him finding that consistency in his effort in his game from night to night.

"The fact that he has some confidence is a good thing. I think he is starting to recognize that he can play at this level and do more things. One of the things Brent has been doing in the preseason games is using Mikael on the penalty kill and he's done a good job there."

Off-season development - The Feaster hiring didn't get much attention. Is he in place to take over from Darryl Sutter if the Flames falter early? Of course, he was the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning when they beat Calgary in the 2003-04 Stanley Cup final. But as swift as Feaster was in building the Lightning into champions, he had difficulty in the salary cap world and his team finished in 30th in 2007-08.

Key player - Niklas Hagman has never scored more than 27 goals in a season, but the offensively-challenged Flames need at least 25 from the 30-year-old Finn. Hagman scored 25 times last season, but after checking in with 20 in 55 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he struggled to score only five goals in the 27 contests with the Flames.

Telling stat - The Flames have vowed to be a better team at home after finishing with a 20-15-6 record at the Pengrowth Saddledome. But the more distressing area was that Calgary scored a league-low 204 goals in 2009-10, a total that was 50 fewer than the Flames scored in the previous season.

Prognosis - Calgary has not won a playoff series since its appearance in the 2003-04 final and missed the postseason for the first time since then last year. The Flames will be in a group of teams that includes Phoenix, Colorado, Nashville, St. Louis and Dallas that will vie for the final postseason spots in the West. They have strong goaltending with Miikka Kiprusoff, a solid blue line and plenty of determination with captain Jarome Iginla. But can the Alex Tanguay, Olli Jokinen, Ales Kotalik, Hagman and Rene Bourque provide enough offence to propel Calgary to the playoffs? Not if last season was any indication.