My wish list for the 2009-10 Flames

Hockey season is rapidly approaching, my friends. Starbucks has reintroduced their pumpkin spice latte, the leaves are beginning to turn, and season preview magazines are hitting the shelves harder than a Robyn Regehr body check. As we all know, 99.9% of these are, well, crap. So, with pre-season less than a fortnight away, I present to you my list of hopes and expectations for the 2009-10 Calgary Flames:

• I hope for lots and lots of wins against division rivals
• I expect lots of wins against division rivals
• I hope the Flames are able to avoid one of their trademark slow starts
• I expect Dion Phaneuf to return to form as the promising young defenceman he once was
• I hope Bouwmeester lives up to lofty expectations
• I expect Jokinen to live up to lofty expectations
• I hope Kiprusoff manages to curb his downward trending stats
• I expect similar (if not better) levels of production from Bourque, Glencross, and Moss
• I hope the kids are alright. Increased production from the likes of Boyd, Dawes, and Nystrom and the continued development of Adam Pardy. Maybe an appearance or two from Backlund
• I expect team defence to improve. Lots of blocked shots, sound defensive positioning, you know the drill
• I hope McElhinney starts 20 games
• I expect McElhinney to appear in at least 10 games
• I hope Iginla finally reaches the 100-point plateau (and goes about it more consistently)
• I expect Iginla's production to remain about the same
• I hope special teams improve
• I expect special teams to be practiced on a regular basis
• I hope this team finds its elusive "identity" and sticks to it
• I expect a consistent effort, every game, no matter the score
• I hope key players stay healthy
• I expect a playoff berth
• I hope that Daymond Langkow and Cory Sarich finally get the respect they deserve instead of constantly having their names tossed around as trade fodder
• I expect this season to be challenging
• I hope Brent Sutter and Co. are able to rally the troops and exorcise their collective playoff demons once and for all

And, last but not least, I hope for a Stanley Cup championship.

Here's hoping.