Friends, for years we’ve heard National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman tout the importance of building rivalries via the league’s division-heavy playoff system. The irony is that a division-heavy playoff system has built a pretty big rivalry… for the Calgary Flames’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, and few for the NHL club.

On Tuesday, for the third time in three seasons, the Wranglers began a playoff series against the Coachella Valley Firebirds. For a few reasons, the Firebirds have carved out a niche as perhaps the Wranglers’ most bitter rival through these post-season meetings.

Before we delve into the Wranglers and Firebirds of it all, it’s worth going back in time to 2005. After running out of NHL-ready bodies during their run to the 2004 Stanley Cup Final, the Flames decided to bite the bullet and go back to having their own farm team after sharing an affiliation with Carolina for a few seasons.

Starting with 2005-06, here’s how the nomadic Flames’ farm team wandered:

Now, aside from how often the Baby Flames moved, it’s worth noting two things: they weren’t in the same division for very long, and the team only occasionally made the playoffs. In the 17 seasons before they became the Wranglers, the Flames’ AHL team only made the playoffs six times. (They deserve a pass for two of their seasons in Stockton, as the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 and 2021 playoffs, but that’s still only six appearances and nine misses over 15 seasons.)

As a result of their lack of on-ice success and how often they moved, the Flames’ minor league teams simply didn’t have an opportunity to build lasting animosity with other teams in the playoffs. Prior to becoming the Wranglers, the Flames’ farm teams played 10 playoff series against 10 different opponents.

But that’s changed with their relocation to Calgary. First off, the Wranglers have qualified for the playoffs in every season since relocating, which has been aided by the AHL’s expanded playoff format over the past few seasons. The Wranglers’ current series with the Firebirds is their fifth playoff series since moving to Calgary, and their third against Coachella Valley in three seasons.

As a result of this familiarity, there seems to be legit animosity between the two clubs at times, especially given how physical, tight-checking and lengthy their clashes have become. (Y’know how sick the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings seem of each other? That’s sort of how the Wranglers and Firebirds are getting…) Heck, the Wranglers have been eliminated from the playoffs by Coachella Valley in back-to-back seasons, and will be attempting to prevent a three-peat on Saturday night when they face off in Game 2 of their series.

There’s probably no perfect playoff format – if we’re being honest, the 1 versus 8, 2 versus 7, and so on, conference-based method is probably our preference – but for what the strictly division-based format is trying to accomplish, it’s doing so in spades in the AHL for the Wranglers. As it stands, if they keep qualifying for the Calder Cup playoffs, they seem destined for an annual meeting with Coachella Valley.

And one of these years, they’re probably bound to beat them, too.

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