We’re gradually creeping up on the first quarter mark of the 2024-25 Calgary Flames schedule. So far, the Flames have played 18 games and they’ve looked pretty good in 16 of them. A good amount of the credit for that has to go to the coaching staff and their goaltending, as between systems and key saves, they’ve managed to keep their heads above water so far.
As we approach the club’s 20th game later this week, let’s delve into the mailbag!
The Saginaw Spirit loaded up last season, as they were slated to host the Memorial Cup and teams tend to load up in an effort to make a big splash at the tournament. It worked and the team won, in no small part to Zayne Parekh and his pretty stacked slate of teammates. But the Spirit lost six of their top 10 playoff scorers from last season, so it’s natural that the team would take a bit of a step back to start the season.
But don’t sleep on Parekh. He’s been really strong offensively for them this season.
The Vezina Trophy is voted upon by the NHL’s 32 general managers. Dustin Wolf is working his way onto the radar, most likely, but because the Flames are probably destined to be a non-playoff team and Wolf is currently in a starting rotation with Dan Vladar, he might not get the games-played numbers to become a serious contender relative to the NHL’s established top guns at that position.
The Calder Trophy is voted upon by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. I did a bit of a rundown earlier this week, but in short I’ll say that similar issues could emerge for Wolf with the Calder – rookie goalies often don’t get enough games-played to really compare favourably with forwards or blueliners. But give Wolf credit: so far, he’s looked fantastic. He’s starting to build buzz for the Calder, at the very least.
We’re going to delve into this in more detail in the next week or two, so stay tuned!
Right now, the Flames have three goalies they really like in Dustin Wolf, Dan Vladar and Devin Cooley. Cooley’s off to a fantastic start in the AHL. But the Flames aren’t in any hurry to move anybody, and in an ideal world perhaps a team needing goalie help makes them a crazy offer for Vladar or Cooley and their hand is forced. I wouldn’t expect the Flames to do anything rash in the short-term, but I’m sure they’ll entertain offers if they’re sent something impressive.
We’ll delve into this in more detail in the near future, but fair market value is likely something around $8 million on a long-term deal. (Maybe more.)
Rory Kerins has emerged as a really good offensive player in the AHL this season. As of Sunday night’s game, he has 13 goals (and 17 points) through 16 games. He’s a superb offensive AHLer, but the big question mark is how well he can defend. Last season, he struggled a bit in the second half of the AHL season because he wasn’t scoring and he wasn’t really contributing consistently when he wasn’t scoring (to the point where he was an occasional scratch). But his skating and offensive execution has taken a big step this season, so we’ll see if that’s helped the other parts of his game grow as well. He’s making a great case for himself with how often he’s lighting the lamp.
Russia’s not included in the 4 Nations Face-off, or in any IIHF-sanctioned events since 2022, due to the Russian military’s invasion of Ukraine.
Got a question for a future mailbag? Contact Ryan on Twitter/BlueSky at @RyanNPike or e-mail him at Ryan [at] TheNationNetwork.com! (Make sure you put Mailbag in the subject line!)

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