Does something drastic need to happen with the Calgary Flames right now?
It hasn’t been a great 2020-21 NHL Season for the Calgary Flames so far who, despite making a change behind the bench in order to try and get the best out of an underperforming group, are in very real danger of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs and that might mean major change could be on the way.
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If games were won on paper or won based on the strength of the lineup card, then the Flames would be one of the best teams in the entire National Hockey League more often than not given the abundance of riches they have at their disposal, namely superstar forward Johnny Gaudreau who is a magician with the puck on his stick.
Also boasting very good support pieces in the ilk of forwards Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan and Matthew Tkachuk, and defensemen Mark Giordano and Noah Hanifin, not to mention elite goaltender Jacob Markstrom who was signed to a six-year, $36 million contract in Free Agency, the Flames have enough talent to be a legit Stanley Cup contender.
However, this team has been guilty far too often of punching well below their weight and not living up to expectations, losing in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Dallas Stars in 2019-20, which was the third consecutive year that they had bowed out of the postseason in the opening round.
It could be time for the Calgary Flames to admit defeat and tear this whole thing down
That isn’t anywhere near good enough for a team that has the firepower to outlast most teams in this league, not to mention a genuine elite game-changer in Gaudreau who can make things happen with the puck on his stick at any given moment.
But the Flames, for whatever reason, just can’t seem to figure things out and after starting the 2020-21 season a disappointing 11-11-2, General Manager Brad Treliving decided to fire Head Coach Geoff Ward and immediately replace him with veteran Bench Boss Darryl Sutter.
Sutter was no stranger to Calgary having coached the franchise from 2002-06, leading them to the Stanley Cup Final in 2004 and carving out a record of 107-73-15-15, while he also served as the team’s General Manager from 2003 to 2010.
His appointment was an interesting one because Sutter is as old school as you can get but he’s known to get results and he also knows how to squeeze every ounce of potential out of a group of underperforming players, as was the case when he took over the LA Kings and led them to two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014.
Therefore, Sutter – who signed a three-year deal – was tasked with motivating this Calgary Flames team and demanding the very best from each and every player on a consistent basis, and things certainly got off to a good start with Sutter going 4-1-0 in his first games back behind an NHL bench.
Sadly, things have plateaued since then with the Flames having now lost seven of their last eight games after losing 4-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. They lack identity, direction and confidence having allowed three straight goals against Toronto just days after choking in a defeat against the Edmonton Oilers.
Now closer to last place in the North Division, five points ahead of the Ottawa Senators, than they are to the fourth and final postseason spot with the Montreal Canadiens six points ahead with five games in-hand, the Stanley Cup Playoffs look out of reach for Calgary who are now a franchise mired in mediocrity despite posing as a win-now team, and that could lead to some pretty significant changes.
While a full-blown rebuild is unlikely given that Sutter has a three-year contract, it is feasible to think that forward Sam Bennett, who has been wanting out of Calgary for a while, is dealt at the Trade Deadline and the same can probably be said of goaltender David Rittich, who would be an attractive option for those teams needing a reliable backup for the postseason.
Players like Michael Stone, Derek Ryan, Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund could all be shopped too given that there are plenty of teams out there looking to load up on depth ahead of the Playoffs, and it is probably way past time that the Flames look to shake things up in order to spark real change.
Granted, given the fact that we are still in a Pandemic, coupled with the realties that come with the salary cap being flat, huge, significant changes such as Captain Mark Giordano or even Johnny Gaudreau being traded will almost certainly not happen over the next week or so, but that day could soon come if the Calgary Flames can’t figure out how to win with this group.
After all, even adding a legit No.1 starter in Jacob Markstrom hasn’t helped their cause, with the 31-year-old 12-13-2 this year with a .901 Save Percentage and a 2.94 Goals Against Average to go along with two shutouts. The Flames are still ranked 19th in the NHL in Goals Against Per Game (3.03), and it just hammers home the point that this roster as it is currently constituted probably isn’t good enough to win.
As such, it would be a huge shock if the Calgary Flames aren’t sellers at next week’s Trade Deadline and we’ll likely see a number of their supporting cast get moved on for assets including draft picks and prospects, while a deep and detailed autopsy that will likely come should this team miss the postseason as expected could persuade ownership and the front office that it could be time to finally blow this whole thing up and start again come the offseason because, let’s be frank, things clearly aren’t working right now.