Bob Frid-Imagn Images
The Calgary Flames are undefeated, and they’re exciting to follow right now in a season that’s quite important for their future.
They’ve been off to a terrific start to the season, winning their first four games and outscoring opponents by a 19-10 combined total.
But if we’re being honest, we see the Flames’ current hot streak as a double-edged sword. Because from this writer’s viewpoint, the last thing Calgary needs is another finish in the “mushy middle” – a place they’ve been very familiar with for years.
Don’t get us wrong – there is some benefit to having a handful of veterans now and for the foreseeable future, such as Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman and MacKenzie Weegar. It also has to feel good for Flames fans to see youngsters like goalie Dustin Wolf and skaters Martin Pospisil, Connor Zary and Matt Coronato garnering important experience that will help Calgary in the long haul.
But Flames GM Craig Conroy says the team’s done having a fire sale after last season and that their remaining veterans are part of the solution, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.
There are advantages of going that route, but we’re going back to something we say fairly regularly – we don’t believe in the management philosophy that prioritizes a re-tool rather than a full rebuild. Teams can talk about not wanting to endure losing – and a lot of losing – for years before they’re able to challenge the best teams in the NHL. But the mushy middle – the place where a team isn’t good enough to make the Stanley Cup playoffs and also not bad enough to finish with the best odds at winning the NHL draft lottery – is about as bad as a place a team can be when trying to build depth through the draft.
The Chicago Blackhawks (with Connor Bedard), San Jose Sharks (with Macklin Celebrini), Toronto Maple Leafs (with Auston Matthews), Buffalo Sabres (with Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power) and Montreal Canadiens (with Juraj Slafkovsky) all had to take it on the chin for at least a couple years before the hockey gods rewarded them with the top pick in drafts. The Edmonton Oilers wouldn’t have had Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl if they didn’t embrace a lengthy rebuild, either. We’d bet if you asked them whether it was worth losing to get that generational type of talent, they’d enthusiastically tell you it was worth it.
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Flames fans are mature enough to acknowledge how the hockey business works, and they would understand completely if Conroy announced to his colleagues that Calgary would trade Weegar, Coleman, Kadri or others for the right offer. You’d better believe they could get a sizeable haul for Kadri and Weegar if Conroy put them on the trade block.
Right now – and even when you consider their current hot streak – the Flames aren’t going to be elite soon, barring a miracle. So, if you’re not going to be the best, why not grit your teeth as an organization, trudge through a couple of regular seasons and come out the other end with a high caliber of stars?
The Flames know as well as anyone what it takes to bring in a foundational talent and strong depth. Better to take a step back and focus on the future than try to be a first-rate group. That’s the best decision we see for Calgary, and while we’re happy to be proven wrong, we really don’t see it.
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