logo
FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
FlamesNation Mailbag: Kicking off a hectic December with reader questions
alt
Photo credit: Mike Gould
Ryan Pike
Dec 2, 2024, 14:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 1, 2024, 20:13 EST
Comments
It’s been an interesting, up and down season for the Calgary Flames. They got out to a great start, then went on a losing streak. And then they swept a four game homestand… and lost all four games on a road trip.
As we enter December and try to wrap our heads around this hockey team, let’s delve into the mailbag!
I think the answer to what happened on the road trip is sort of tied into the team’s trouble scoring goals. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the Flames lack high-end, elite scorers. They have a bunch of good players, but they don’t have anybody that can flip a switch and steal games with a few great shifts. So they need to play a fast, tight-checking, physical style that wears down their opponents… and they need to make fewer mistakes than their opponents, and capitalize when their opponents make those mistakes. It’s a tough style to play, and the margin for error is extremely thin. Until a high-end difference-making offensive talent arrives, goal-scoring will undoubtedly remain a concern for the Flames.
So what happened on this road trip? They stopped burying their chances, they made slightly more mistakes than their opponents, and their special teams weren’t up to snuff. They allowed eight power play goals over a four game road trip. That alone is enough to probably send you home unhappy if you’re part of that team.
As noted in the prior answer, the thin margin the Flames have between defeat and victory – because of their playing style and lack of elite offensive talent – means that if a part of their game dips, they’re prone to wild swings. If a line gets hot or the power play is going or one of their goalies is in the zone for awhile, that’ll lead to wins. But if something important goes cold, you’ll see a swing in the other direction.
I think Craig Conroy will take his cues from his team on what he does in the run-up to the March 7 trade deadline. But I also think he’s going to take a long-term view of things – trying to make decisions that will make sense when he looks back at them in two or three seasons – and so I think he’ll be trying to get picks for expiring assets like Dan Vladar and Andrei Kuzmenko, but otherwise he’ll be looking for value whether by trade or via the waiver wire. And that feels like what he should be doing given where the Flames are at right now.
Last season, both Craig Conroy and Ryan Huska inherited a lot of challenges from their predecessors. And apart from a pretty rough October, I think it’s tough to criticize how they navigated things given what they inherited. This season the Flames don’t have oodles of pending unrestricted free agents nor do they have to figure out the direction of the franchise in a single season. That’s all dealt with, so Huska can just run lines and try to win hockey games.
And while Huska hasn’t gone down the game sheet following games and called out tons of individual players by name, he has been quite pointed in some of his post-game comments after some of the team’s worst outings. He’s said that “nothing” worked on a recent five-on-three that resulted in one shot on goal. He’s benched several key players, including Jonathan Huberdeau for an entire period last season, and he’s called out his leadership group on occasion.
Huska wants to win hockey games, and he also wants to establish a baseline expectation for how the team needs to play every single game. And while he hasn’t been perfect – no coach is ever perfect – I think he’s been pretty fair and balanced in his public criticisms of his team.
In short: I think Huska’s going to be the Flames coach for awhile, especially if the group keeps showing growth.
Because of their cap hits and past performances, I’ve noted that the lightning rods for criticisms from the fanbase this season on social media are Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri.
I’ll give Huberdeau a lot of credit: he’s scoring a modest but consistent amount, but I’ve really liked his commitment away from the puck. He’s been blocking shots, killing penalties, and doing a bunch of little things that add up to his team having a better chance to win.
Kadri? He has stretches of play where it’s not quite clear what he’s trying to do – or his execution seems way off – but then he can have a monster shift and score a big goal. Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh is very representative of the 2024-25 edition of Kadri. He’s admittedly not much of an offensive powerhouse at five-on-five and his underlying numbers at even strength are pretty rough this season, but he shows flashes of brilliance fairly regularly that probably remind fans of the player he was for much of last season. (He’s always sort of been like this throughout his career, if we’re being honest.)
I would suspect he would be available if a team made a good enough offer, but he’s got five seasons left on a deal with a $7 million annual cap hit. It’s not an easy deal for teams to fit under the cap, even with the cap creeping up towards $100 million in the near future.
I would like to see moves made to potentially give Ilya Solovyov more of a look, as I think he’s done really well for the Wranglers and quietly been a really important player for them. But aside from that, I would be content for them to keep puttering along with the group they have on the back end, both at the NHL and AHL levels. (I am fascinated with what happens in a year or two, though, when Zayne Parekh and Henry Mews potentially go pro.)
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!)

The FlamesNation Monday Mailbag is presented to you by Village Honda

Looking to sell your vehicle? Village Honda wants to buy it. We offer complimentary, no obligation appraisals, payment in 24 hours, top value trade in values and best of all, no stress. Skip selling your vehicle privately and stop in Village Honda today. No appointment necessary.
Village Honda is proud to be your dealership for life in Calgary since 1987. We are located in the Northwest Auto Mall under the giant Canadian flag or online at www.villagehonda.com.

Editorials

Breaking News