I think we all know Flames captain Mark Giordano is having an outstanding season, and some around these parts have started throwing around the words “Norris Trophy”. We’re not even halfway through the year, but those whispers aren’t off base. Not only has Giordano been one of the league’s best defensemen through the first two…
A quarter of the way through the season, the Flames are carrying three rookies as NHL regulars with no signs of that changing. Dillon Dube, Juuso Valimaki, and Rasmus Andersson are all forging identities as first year players with very similar results. We’ve certainly seen growing pains thus far, but all three players have high…
Have you looked at the Pacific Division lately? If not, you might want to take a closer look at the NHL’s worst grouping of teams. If things continue the way they’ve started, this could be the worst showing from any division since the league switched to its current alignment for the 2013-14 season.
Much was expected when the Flames acquired Travis Hamonic from the New York Islanders in the summer of 2017. Considering the price Calgary paid (a first and two seconds), high expectations go with the territory and Hamonic didn’t deliver. The start to this season is a completely different story, though; Hamonic looks like a different…
Give TJ Brodie credit, because he’s completely flipped the narrative on his season. Following a couple difficult seasons on the left, Brodie was switched back to his more comfortable right side to start the 2018-19 campaign. The hope was Brodie’s return to the top pairing with Mark Giordano would help him return to form from…
Of all of Calgary’s new additions over the summer, no one has made a bigger impact than Elias Lindholm through the first month of the season. Lindholm has fit like a glove on the team’s top line and has also gotten the job done when shifted to centre. Unfortunately, the gap from Lindholm to the…
Ten games into a new season, the Flames are bleeding scoring chances all over the place. Of all the trends we’ve seen early this year, Calgary’s defensive issues lead the way. It’s not all bad, though, despite Thursday’s ugly loss. As we take a look at three of the biggest trends I’ve noticed so far,…
The question above is perhaps the most frequent one asked by Flames fans to start this season. With one goal and two points in his first eight games, it’s fair to say early returns on James Neal in Calgary have been underwhelming. The Flames shelled out $28.75 million over five years to land Neal in…
The Flames are expected to start David Rittich Saturday night in Colorado, which would get their backup goaltender into action in the Flames’ fifth game. It’s an important decision, mostly because it shows the team is serious about managing Mike Smith’s workload. Who knows if the team will stick with that commitment over 82 games,…
Flames general manager Brad Treliving made a concerted effort heading into this season to improve his team’s depth, specifically at forward. At least on paper, it’s safe to say he’s accomplished that goal. Not only does Calgary look like a deeper group up front, they also boast a number of interchangeable parts. It’s that potential…
With 10 preseason games behind us and a Tuesday afternoon roster deadline looming, the Flames have some decisions to make. Based on what we’ve seen thus far, I don’t know if those decisions should be overly difficult, though. All three of Dillon Dube, Juuso Valimaki, and Rasmus Andersson have played well enough to start the…
David Rittich is thought by many to be the favourite for Calgary’s backup goaltender job. Now in his second season with the Flames, Rittich had some really strong moments last year playing behind Mike Smith. Unfortunately, Rittich and Jon Gillies both faltered when Smith went down in February. Even knowing that, there’s a reason Rittich…
