The Calgary Flames are currently ranked 32nd in the NHL, which puts them in last heading into their sixth game of the season. There’s still a lot of hockey to be played, but the playoffs could certainly be out of reach well before game 82. Craig Conroy and the Flames management have made minimal changes to the roster this season. Running back a veteran-heavy team that finished 29th in scoring doesn’t seem like the right approach to ending the playoff drought.
Starting on the wrong foot
For a team that started this season expecting to make the playoffs, the 1–4–0 start has to be a bit discouraging. It’s not about how you start, but how you end. The great 5-0-0 start to last season set the tone for the coming season. It’s a little harder to collect when there isn’t much excitement.
In times like these, management emphasized culture, right?
The limited roster turnover exacerbated a logjam with the wingers and the blueline. The Flames lost Ilya Solovyov off waivers. They still have Jake Bean and Daniil Miromanov as extras, with Justin Kirkland joining them. Is it possible the Flames will make adjustments if the season continues to go downhill?
Down in the defensive dumps
The entire defensive core was not exactly spectacular. Five games is a small sample size, but this group is somehow worse than last year’s.
One thing has remained the same: Head Coach Ryan Huska insists on keeping Rasmus Andersson and Kevin Bahl together. The pair is just not good, and I believe last year’s performance with a franchise-worst -38 for Andersson sets the precedent.
Regardless of who he teams up with, having Andersson on the ice is a risk. The pending unrestricted free agent is one heavy hit or collision with the board away from missing significant time and ruining any chance of a trade.
The Bahl is in his court
In Bahl’s defense, he faced the challenge of adjusting to a top pairing role from a sheltered role with the New Jersey Devils. Huska should consider playing Bahl with MacKenzie Weegar. Both have earned that top pairing role, and there is no good reason for a worse defender than Weegar. Huska needs to explore and experiment if he wants to get more out of his selection.
The most anticipated addition to the Flames group is Zayne Parekh. Parekh was drafted ninth overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. He made his season debut in the home opener against the St. Louis Blues and was paired with Brayden Pachal on the third pairing. Slow and steady wins the race, or so they say.
It’s way too early to worry about Parekh’s transition to the NHL.
Another transaction on the horizon?
The Flames have too many defensemen. They could work on integrating players like Hunter Brzustewicz or Jeremy Porier when the time comes. That’s not possible when you have players like Bean and Miromanov waiting in the wings. It’s great for younger players to get consistent reps with the Calgary Wranglers. That’s exactly what you want, but when the time comes, don’t you think there are better options?
Bean and Miromanov’s battle from last season has continued. They’re in the press box more often than not. Is there a world where Conroy can free up their spot, whether it be with a trade or waivers?
Early injury problems
Jonathan Huberdeau returns to the lineup after missing the first five games. He collided head-onwith Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen in the final preseason game and hasn’t played since. He returns to the lineup on Saturday night against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Huberdeau is coming off a 28-goal season, his best since joining the Flames. The Flames could certainly take advantage of his offense to get back on track.
Martin Pospisil was also on IR with an upper-body injury. He has yet to resume skating. The second-year crisis has hit Pospisil hard and hopes to bounce back after signing a two-year extension.
Pospisil has yet to resume skating.
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What will it take to get some wins? Is moving Connor Zary from the fourth line part of the solution? His skills could be used elsewhere. The Flames could scratch Yegor Sharangovich and move Zary into a slightly higher role.
On the plus side, Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost look like brand new players. Farabee’s glaciation has also increased. Breathing confidence back into Farabee might be exactly what he needs. Frost also struggled after being traded by the Philadelphia Flyers. So far this season he has looked stronger and faster. He is currently shooting 57% from the spot, which will be a huge help as the Flames get their offense in order.
Maybe luck will be on their side and they’ll turn things around tonight against the Golden Knights. The Flames need to make a statement, not for their opponents, but for themselves.
We know that this management group has made morale and culture a core value. Is that what gets the season going?
Are we heading for a fire sale?
This team is playing exactly how most people expected them to: low scores, poor defense and of course Dustin Wolf is their saving grace. This is not what the people making decisions wanted. Should the season go ahead, Craig Conroy, who is in the final year of his contract, could be forced to make some decisions before the trade deadline. Would it be the worst thing in the world if the Flames traded Blake Coleman and acquired some draft capital to free up a roster spot? Probably not. It would be a step in the right direction.
There’s still a lot of hockey left, but you know the saying: 85% of the teams that are in the playoffs on American Thanksgiving make the playoffs. That should be the first benchmark of the season to evaluate how much they want that first season at Scotia Place.
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