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FlamesNation Mailbag: Examining December’s ups and downs
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Photo credit: Mike Gould
Ryan Pike
Dec 16, 2024, 12:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 15, 2024, 22:32 EST
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Folks, we’re midway through December and what an odd month it’s been so far. We’ve seen the Calgary Flames play some really good hockey, and we’ve also seen them lose to Tampa Bay by five goals at home. They’re a group that’s shown immense potential, but they’ve also been a frustrating group at times.
As we grapple with December’s ups and downs so far, and the duality of this year’s Flames, let’s check in with the mailbag!
All indications thus far are that Rasmus Andersson’s camp doesn’t really want to talk turkey until the off-season, which makes since given that Andersson can’t sign a new deal with the Flames until July 1 anyway – the start of the final season of his current deal. He’s expressed a lot of admiration for the market and club, so waiting until then will probably provide a bit more clarity (for player and team) as to whether there’s a longer-term fit – and that will probably be based on how far away Andersson feels the Flames are from being a contender. Andersson’s a heck of a player and does a lot of good things when he’s on the ice, and he’s seen as one of the team’s tone-setters both on and off the ice.
If there is a mutual desire for a longer-term fit, then they’ll have to hash out a fair deal. The smart thing about waiting, for both player and team, is that we’ll have a better sense of what the salary cap’s growth will look like over the next while and how an Andersson deal would fit in. If you use Noah Hanifin’s recent deal with Vegas as a general framework and adjust for the expected adjustment of the salary cap, you’re looking at a deal with a cap hit north of $8.25 million annually.
(We’ll get more into market comparables for Andersson in the next little bit in a separate column.)
Looking at our summer prospect rankings in hindsight, there are a bunch of players whose performance is probably making an argument for a higher ranking in 2025. Among them: William Strömgren (8th), Henry Mews (9th), Jacob Battaglia (11th), Aydar Suniev (12th), Luke Misa (13th) and a couple of players that were ranked outside of the top 20 in Rory Kerins and Sam Morton.
Sportsnet’ Elliotte Friedman made an interesting observation on a recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast. How come so many players blossom after leaving Buffalo? (Friedman cited Ryan O’Reilly, Linus Ullmark, Sam Reinhart, Jack Eichel and Brandon Montour.) Friedman noted that teams have asked about Dylan Cozens. And you can kind of get why: he’s a recent first-round pick (2019), a right-shot centre and, in the Flames’ case, he’s a Western Hockey League product they’ve undoubtedly scouted a lot over the years. He’s not far removed from scoring 31 goals in 2022-23.
On paper, Cozens feels like a player that fits the Flames’ needs based on his age and position. If you’re the Flames, you’re tying to figure out if Cozens’ performance challenges are because he’s hitting some tough times… or the Buffalo of it all. And considering Cozens’ contract ($7.1 million over three more seasons) and likely acquisition cost, you’ve gotta be pretty sure you can help him turn things around.
The Flames are sticking around in the playoff mix in no small part because of their young players improving over time – we’ll single out Dustin Wolf, Brayden Pachal, Kevin Bahl, Matt Coronato, Jakob Pelletier and Connor Zary. And I’m sorry to say to the denizens of Team Tank: I think they have enough improving young players that they’re probably not going to completely fall off a cliff this season.
Two thoughts:
  1. When he’s on his game, Andrei Kuzmenko is a dynamic, creative, entertaining hockey player. He’s not on his game right now. (He’s also been nursing an injury based on the team’s recent announcement of his day-to-day status.)
  2. The Wranglers are an absolute wagon. They’ve cultivated an environment where they can be missing top players due to call-ups or injuries, and the players that remain can really take advantage of the chance to have larger roles. (Justin Kirkland called up to the Flames? Rory Kerins steps up, for example.) Given how crucial player development currently is to the club – and how crucial it will be to getting the team to the other side of their rebuild/retool process – do you want to risk sending Kuzmenko to the AHL team and upsetting that atmosphere?
If Kuzmenko’s going to get his mojo back this season, the NHL club may be the best place for him to do that.
I’ll direct your attention to our weekly Prospect Update and Paige’s fantastic Wranglers reports. But I’ll add that I’ve really liked how Sam Honzek is using his speed, size and skill in the AHL. And a ton of Flames prospects are excelling in major-junior this season. The cupboards look pretty full, and could get even moreso given the amount of picks the Flames have in the next two NHL Drafts.
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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