The calendar has officially switched over and 2022 is now in the history books. With that in mind, we wanted to take a look back at some of our favorite articles from the past year. Our talented team of writers took on topics like the Nazem Kadri acquisition, the ongoing Hockey Canada saga, the War in Ukraine, and so much more, and we wanted to highlight some of the ones that were special to us this year.
The wild offseason
Of course the story that dominated the Calgary Flames in 2022 was their summer acquisitions and departures. From the additions of Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Nazem Kadri and more to the subtractions of Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and others, here are some of our favourite takes on those moves:
- September 1: Nazem Kadri bringing the Stanley Cup to his mosque is an incredible moment in hockey history
- July 23: Breaking down the Matthew Tkachuk trade for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar
- August 19: A tribute to Sean Monahan’s Calgary Flame career
- September 1: Nazem Kadri talks about his day with the Cup and what he can bring to the table in Calgary
- July 16: A deeper look at the financial differences between the Flames and Blue Jackets contracts for Gaudreau
Hard hitting analysis
Of course, there had to be some analysis of the Flames and what made them so good (and so mediocre) for stretches of the past year. Here are a few of our favorite posts really diving into the way the Flames played on the ice:
- November 20: Adam Ruzicka has been a bright spot in the Calgary Flames’ mediocre start
- January 21: Negative passing has been a key factor in the Calgary Flames’ success
- March 2: Flames Film Room: The finer aspects of Tyler Toffoli’s game
- September 13: Breaking down Dan Vladar’s current value with the Flames
Beyond the game
As incredible as the game is on the ice, it doesn’t stop when the final buzzer sounds. The world of hockey is far bigger than just the game, touching everything from geopolitics, to law, to government and beyond. We tackled a few of the tougher stories that hit the hockey world this year as well. Take a look:
- June 23: Details on the Hockey Canada investigation
- August 16: Hockey mechanics and the significance in Huberdeau pledging his brain for medical research
- March 4: Breaking down the hockey world’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Some of the fun stuff
Of course we had to have fun this year, and our team of writers had that in spades. Take a look at some of the lighter articles we took on this year:
- June 7: The best of Darryl Sutter 2021–22
- September 30: The Calgary Flames puppy roster
- April 1: Breaking: Calgary Flames announce new arena deal, first NHL team with open air arena
- June 14: Predicting the 2022 Reverse Retro Jerseys for every team in the Pacific Division
- November 25: CapFriendly Friday: Looking at Calgary’s quarter-season Airchair GM trade proposals
From our family to yours, wishing you a very Happy New Year! Thank you for being along for the ride this year, and Go Flames Go!
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
