If you’ve spoken to a fervent Calgary Flames fan over the past few years, you may have noticed a change in their demeanour over the past several months.
After seeing Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk head for the exit following the 2021-22 season, and a disastrous 2022-23 campaign where new faces didn’t quite mesh with the existing group, the Flames hit the reset button in 2023-24 and began what the club is calling a “retool.” (Some fans are calling it a rebuild, we’re calling it a re-‘verb’.)
Whatever label you want to use, the decision to retreat and reload seems to be music to fans’ ears in Calgary. Over at The Athletic, they’ve conducted their annual front office confidence survey, asking their subscribers to rate their confidence in their home team and teams across the league.
In the 2024 edition, published this week, the Flames ranked 18th out of the NHL’s 32 clubs.
Last season, the Flames finished 24th overall in the NHL standings, and based on the departures since – Andrew Mangiapane and Jacob Markstrom now play elsewhere – there’s an understandable gap between how Flames fans see management’s performance and how subscribers outside the market see it.
The Flames were given a B+ by their fans, good for seventh in the overall rankings. From outside the market, they were given a D+, which would place them 29th. The overall rankings split the difference to a C+, good for 18th. The selected fan responses included a lot of positive feedback about the club deciding to move on from older players, though there was a bit of a mixed response to the returns they received in some of their trades.
Dom Luszczyszyn, writing the piece, summarized the dichotomy by noting the fan enthusiasm for the team’s change in direction, and finished his discussion of the Flames like so:
The teardown is the easy part and while fans may be a little overzealous on that front, it does feel like the public is grading the Flames on the sins of the former regime. The new group led by Craig Conroy has felt like an improvement — for this step at least.
Among the other Canadian teams, Vancouver finished fifth, Montreal sixth, Winnipeg 9th, Ottawa 22nd, Edmonton 25th and Toronto 30th.
Do you agree with The Athletic fan survey’s assessment of Flames management? Let us know in the comments!

ARTICLE PRESENTED BY PRO SKATE SERVICE CALGARY

As a 3rd generation, family-owned business since 1972, Pro Skate Service Calgary has an extensive history of expert advice and service that shapes our core values today. We prioritize understanding our customers’ wants, needs, and experiences to tailor solutions that enhance their hockey or figure skating journey. Fortunate to collaborate with outstanding local partners, we serve as a hub of hockey knowledge, offering more than just products, but also valuable learning and development opportunities for players and parents. With goalie, figure skating, and hockey services all under one roof, we deliver the best experience for customers, regardless of sport, position, or skill level. Check us out https://www.psscalgary.com