Calgary’s ‘win-now mode’ sparks Flames newcomer Rooney

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Last season, the Calgary Flames beat the New York Rangers in both games they played against the Blueshirts, outscoring them 11 to 1. Kevin Rooney, then the Rangers’ fourth-line centre, scored that lone goal. Being on the losing end of both blowouts (5-1 at Madison Square Garden and 6-0 in Calgary) made an impression on the Canton, Mass., native and in free agency this summer he chose to sign with the Flames.    “Playing against Calgary last year, I was just very impressed with the guys they have in this locker room and how hard they play every night,” he said.   “I felt like that could be a good fit for me and once free agency came around and they showed interest, I was super excited to have the opportunity to come here and play here. They have a lot of veteran guys in this locker room that are in that win-now mode and I feel like I’m in that spot as well…I’m excited to play for one of the best coaches of all time as well.”   The 29-year-old Rooney, who was not drafted, is coming off a two-season stint on Broadway where over 115 games he registered 26 points. Last season, he played mostly with Ryan Reaves and Dryden Hunt and was third among forwards in four-on-five ice time    In Rooney, Calgary has a very reliable depth centre behind Elias Lindholm, Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund who can kill penalties, assert himself on the forecheck, and be responsible defensively.   Initially at training camp, Rooney was skating with Milan Lucic and Trevor Lewis. Calgary has a vacancy on the right side in its top-nine, however, and moved Dillon Dube up to play with Andrew Mangiapane and Kadri, a line that has looked very good so far. Rooney was then tabbed to replace Dube on a line with Backlund and Blake Coleman,