Ryan if you took the first five games away from each teams start of the season where would the flames be sitting in the standings? I’m feeling we won’t be in a position for a top 3 pick with the teams play of late, maybe I’m wrong . Thanks!
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FlamesNation Mailbag: Talking trades, arena amenities and more
Photo credit: Mike Gould
The Calgary Flames have won back to back home games and they’ve been playing pretty good hockey lately.
Nevertheless, the Flames are in a situation where perhaps they should be focusing more on the future and less on what they need to do to claw into a playoff spot. In this week’s mailbag, readers certainly seem to be focused on the future.
If you wipe out the league’s games up to Oct. 15, which would coincide with the first five Flames games of 2025-26, they would have a record of 10-11-4 and a .480 points percentage. That would put them… 30th. The Flames had a rough first 11 games, going 2-9-2. Even with the Flames playing quite well lately, they dug themselves a huge hole. To catch up with the Western Conference’s eighth-place team in points percentage, the Flames would need another 7.5 points.
The clock is not on their side, and the team will probably take a big hit when Rasmus Andersson is eventually moved.
Should flames pivot and re-sign Anderson and trade Weegar?
MacKenzie Weegar’s contract is so, so good and he can play both sides of a defensive pairing and every game situation. If you told me that Rasmus Andersson would sign for the same cap hit as Weegar, I would still lean towards keeping Weegar because of his versatility. I do not think that Andersson will sign for anywhere close to the same cap hit as Weegar.
Andersson’s been a flat-out excellent Flame. But as I wrote awhile back, it definitely feels like he and the Flames have simply out-grown each other.
Per Bobby Germany’s column this week, who do you see getting the best return, outside of the three top trade candidates (Ras, Kadri, Coleman)? And what return would said player get us?
Of the players I could see the Flames entertaining moves for, I think Joel Hanley could fetch them a mid-round pick. He’s smart, really versatile, and he can play basically with any type of defender as his partner and provide stability. If you’re a contender and you want inexpensive defensive depth, Hanley could be a really attractive, pretty low-cost option.
Do you have any line of sight to the increase in vendors or bathrooms in the new rink? Or even just concourse space?
They’ll have nearly twice as many bathrooms in Scotia Place as the Saddledome has. And there will be a “main” concourse at ground level, and an “upper” concourse on the second level with pretty much all of the amenities of the main level. That means that fans won’t need to wander down from the 200s to the main concourse to get beer or a snack or use the washroom.
What’s Santa need to bring to this Flames team?
A power play that can generate momentum consistently. Their penalty kill has been really effective lately. Their five-on-five play has really stabilized over the last while and is a net positive. But their power play flat-out needs to be better.
Got a question for a future mailbag? Contact Ryan on Twitter/BlueSky at @RyanNPike or e-mail him at Ryan.Pike [at] BetterCollective.com! (Make sure you put Mailbag in the subject line!)
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