The Calgary Flames are one of the more disappointing teams in the NHL over the last two of years. They were a big-time Stanley Cup contender three years ago but they have fallen off.
It doesn't help that they lost Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk but they did bring in some other good players to replace them like Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri. It just hasn't worked.
They were hoping to rebound this season but that doesn't appear to be the case. They are 11-14-4 for 26 points. That has them ten points out of a top-three division spot and two points out of a Wild Card spot.
They aren't far out of the race but there is a large cluster of teams right in the bubble of the Western Conference. The Arizona Coyotes are currently in that final Wild Card spot and there are seven other teams within four points of it.
The Calgary Flames have been going through some changes lately
We can only hope that the right moves are made to get this team back into contention. When they are a good team, the NHL is a better place. When they played against the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs, it was must-see TV. The NHL needs the Battle of Alberta to be strong.
Over the summer, the Flames shipped Tyler Toffoli out of town. At the beginning of this season, Nikita Zadorov requested a trade and he was eventually sent to the Vancouver Canucks. It seems like more could be on the way. These three could be following Zadorov out the door: