While we wait to see if Calgary makes significant changes to their roster, it appears a slight philosophy shift is already underway. It’s my belief the Flames are targeting a younger group for next season, with a couple depth doors opening up this month. If this is how the summer continues to play out, training…
Wednesday’s NHL Draft Lottery kicks off what could, and should, be a fascinating offseason for the Flames. Between now and the end of July, Calgary has a crucial expansion decision to make and multiple others in player personnel. Add in some interesting contract negotiations and a weird draft and you’ve got the makings of a…
For Flames fans, the final month or so of this season was a mostly miserable slog to an inevitable playoff elimination. One positive and important trend emerged from that awful procession, though: Calgary’s new top line of Elias Lindholm, Matthew Tkachuk, and Johnny Gaudreau. The team’s three best forwards combined to form a consistently dangerous…
It’s not an exaggeration to call the 2021 season for the Flames one of the biggest failures in a long, long time. New coach Darryl Sutter might have been correct on locker clean-out day when he said expectations were miscalculated for this team. Even still, Calgary fell painfully short of the bar. The Flames entered…
Virtual or not, this year’s locker clean-out was as revealing as any I can remember. After a mostly miserable 56-game season, Flames players were honest and open in their assessments, while general manager Brad Treliving admitted his roster isn’t good enough as currently constructed. It led to a number of interesting tidbits, with three in…
The Flames are 87.5% through this 56-game schedule, which means the body of work is more than enough for our annual countdown of the team’s best value contracts. Will Andrew Mangiapane take the number one spot for a second straight season? And how many new faces find themselves on this list?
This has not been a good year for Matthew Tkachuk. He has struggled offensively and hasn’t been the regular driving force we’ve come to expect. So… is Tkachuk just having a down year? Or is this a concerning trend? Knowing he’s the team’s highest paid player and due a $9 million qualifying offer in just…
The main benefit of selling off players on expiring contacts at this year’s trade deadline is simple: additional picks and/or prospects in the system. It also allows something else to happen, which might be just as important in the immediacy for frustrated Flames fans. By moving roster players out, it clears space in the lineup…
Less than a week from the 2021 trade deadline, Calgary’s position should (hopefully) be clear. Sure, there’s a remote possibility of some miracle run, but that pipe dream can’t be enough to deter the Flames from aggressively attempting to sell off what they can. If that’s indeed what the team is thinking, I’ve split things…
The Flames have slim postseason odds with 20 games remaining. At 16-17-3, Calgary is technically two points back of Montreal for the fourth and final North Division playoff spot. A slightly closer look will reveal how difficult the team’s situation really is. We know this: the Flames need to go on a run to make…
With 22 games remaining, the Flames are already in their 2021 stretch drive, which is hard to wrap your head around. Calgary’s playoff math is ugly and they’re a long shot to make it, which will likely take away most of the buzz in final third of the season. But, for the dedicated Flames fan,…
The April 12 trade deadline is less than three weeks away and the playoff math continues to look bad for the Flames. Monday’s 2-1 loss in Ottawa was another setback on an already difficult uphill climb and didn’t inspire a ton of confidence this group is ready to go on a run. The deadline has…
