Calgary Flames in trouble. Big sell-off expected, stars looking to leave

The situation in the Calgary Flames is not good at all, even after slightly improved performances. Who would have thought a few years ago that a team that until recently had the greatest ambitions would soon have major performance issues?

In the memory of a fan of the famous NHL, there are probably the results of the regular season, for example, in 2019, when the Flames of Calgary ended the season with fifty wins and only twenty-five defeats, with seven defeats recorded by Calgary players only after set time. Thus, even from these games they got at least a point.

Back then, recently, the Flames really looked unbeatable and won the Western Conference, as the team around Johnny Gaudreau surpassed even San Jose and the other hungry wolves. The bunch, which in addition to Gaudreau also had players like Lindholm, James Neal, Mark Giordano, Sam Bennet, and a big name in Matthew Tkachuk, looked like a well-oiled machine. It was also very well coached by pilot Bill Peters. He had also coached the Carolina Hurricanes decently before, but eventually got burned in the playoffs, i.e. the Stanley Cup.

Calgary suffered a similar fate the year before last. The truth is that Canadian teams have not won the Stanley Cup in a very long time. If you look overseas, fans are often happy to argue this and write off Canadian teams before the season. The last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, a long thirty years!

Last year, however, it looked like the Calgary Flames were a bit better, as they managed to win the first round of the playoffs after an outstanding season. In a thrilling series and in seven tough games, they defeated the Dallas Stars. In the decisive seventh game, the elite line finally flashed more points and Johnny Gaudreau scored the winning goal to make it 3-2.

All signs pointed to better times ahead in Calgary. In the second round, the Flames challenged long-time rivals from Alberta, the Edmonton Oilers, led by McDavid and Draisaitl. This second round didn’t quite go as expected and the dream run to the Western Conference Finals didn’t come out of it. Once again, the confidants of the great Darryl Sutter couldn’t manage more than one win in the entire series.

What about this season and the Calgary Flames?

Instead of reinforcements, there was a decline in form and a fall so early on. Tkachuk quit the team. Matthew went to Florida and Huberdeau, nicknamed “Huby”, headed to Canada. While Tkachuk immediately caught on in his new position and is still rocking to this day, “Huby” is still looking for a new role and is currently playing third line. His productivity is poor.

To make matters worse, Johnny Gaudreau refused to sign a new contract. He left as a free agent for Columbus, where he said he was going to win.

Something has been wrong with the Calgary Flames for a long time. Nikita Zadorov requested a trade. It should go straight to Toronto. Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm and Chris Tanev will be free agents after this season. It looks like none of these good hockey players are interested in signing new contracts in Calgary anytime soon.

Additionally, star Nazem Kadri has informed the team that he has no interest in going into a roster rebuild with Calgary. The latter is becoming more and more imminent.

It’s as if the bad news for Flames fans is never ending. But it’s true. General manager Craig Conroy has his hands full trying to stop the big crash. Thinking of the Calgary Flames player sell-off that is almost inevitable.

Sources: NHL