5 Flames in Need of a Comeback Season in 2021-22
5. Jacob Markstrom
Jakob Markstrom came to the Flames as a sign of hope for their long-line of goaltending troubles. He signed a large six-year contract with the Flames last summer and definitely earned his paycheck in the first couple of months of the season. However, towards the second half of the season, he lacked the edge you would expect out of an all-star goaltender. It was revealed at the end of the season that this was largely due to a concussion he suffered earlier in the year and ended up missing some games for.
Markstrom himself wants to be better for the Flames. However, It is hard to be at your best when you are not physically at 100%. Markstrom wants to be the go-to guy for this team and showed it on and off the ice last year. You could tell by his in-game reactions that he knew when he needed to be at the top of his game to earn a playoff spot, he just couldn’t do it. This bothered him quite a bit.
It wouldn’t be out of line to expect Markstrom to come back strong and refreshed for the regular season, hoping to lead this team back into playoff contention.
4. Noah Hanifin
Noah Hanifin is one of the young guys on the team that still needs some time to sprout and grow into his full potential. Hanifin typically doesn’t always get top minutes but is still an integral part of the blue line. He played a lot of time alongside Chris Tanev and really seemed to learn from his veteran defensive partner. This is something that will be great to leverage in this season with some new faces joining the team.
Hanifin wasn’t the most productive points-wise last season. Only 15 points in 47 games, but that is not the largest part of his game. He appeared to be finding his game a little more later in the season but suffered an injury in April that took him out for the rest of the season for shoulder surgery. What the Flames need him to be is consistent. After some summer recovery, we will see if Hanifin is able to fit in with the top defensive pairings on this team.
3. Rasmus Andersson
Andersson got the big promotion to the top defensive pairing with Mark Giordano for the majority of the last season. Before play kicked off, Andersson was being referred to as the new quarterback of the power play. Expectations were high and the pressure was much more than he would have faced in previous seasons.
Andersson had an exceptional breakout season in 2018-19 and secured his spot as a full-time NHLer. With a little bit of a slump season, the young d-man himself is taking responsibility for his play and setting a better standard for himself. Andersson showed up and did his job last season, but that was about the extent of it. He was not making the most of his higher time on ice that showed much of a difference in this role change.
That being said, he is not worth writing off as a player. He will still very likely see top minutes this season and will have to fill more of a gap with the Flames losing Mark Giordano to the Seattle expansion draft.
2. Sean Monahan
Monahan was one of the long-time Flames fans weren’t so sure they would see back. He has a big enough contract and a solid enough player that he would have made for a decent trade piece in the offseason, but clearly, the team-friendly offers were not there.
The top center has just not been the same as he was a few seasons ago. He has faced a plethora of nagging injuries and revealed at the end of the season, that he needed surgery and missed the last few games of the year as a result. It is expected he played about half the season injured and seeing his play, that is not super hard to believe.
Being on a line with a playmaker like Johnny Gaudreau, the two would seemingly read each other’s minds when it came to scoring. Passes were tape to tape and Monahan would bury the opportunities he was given. That chemistry definitely lacked last season and it was clear Monahan was the weak link.
Monahan and Gaudreau were split up quite frequently this season and this left Johnny playing alongside other point producers such as Elias Lindholm, Matthew Tkachuk, and Andrew Mangiapane. The way Gaudreau was able to produce with the other forwards on the team showed that something was seriously lacking on his line with Monahan.
Monahan appeared slow not only skating-wise but also shot-release-wise. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion for number 23 and had they made a run in the postseason, he likely would not have been a huge scoring asset. Hopefully, after some injury recovery and training this summer, Monahan comes back with fresh legs and a new desire to make something happen for his team.
1. Matthew Tkachuk
And Matthew Tkachuk. Once a pest in the league, now a missing presence on the ice. He still gets it done scoring-wise but he was not the same for the last half of the season as far as on-ice agitations go. After he blew up on Jake Muzzin for flipping a puck at him after their loss to Toronto, the team just seemed to have a different view of him.
What once seemed to be antics that would motivate the team, now seemed to annoy and deter them. Especially with the mid-season coaching change, Matthew Tkachuk just didn’t seem to be himself. Last year, he would have been in talks as a frontrunner for the next Flames captain and now that seems like a long shot given the current circumstances. Rumors of his interest in being traded over the summer also surfaced but no further action appeared to be necessary.
Whatever happened behind closed doors is hopefully not as much of an issue going into this season. Regardless of whether or not he returns to his aggressive style of play, it is very important he finds a way to make his game work for him this season.
Must Read. Worst Trade in Each Team's History. light
A Clean Slate
What was expected to be an offseason to shake things up for the Flames roster, turned into some minor changes and re-signings that didn’t drastically change up the core of the team. That being said, if the Flames want to be a competitive team this year, they have to work on who they’ve got and these five are a really good place to start.