‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the Saddledome, Hubedeau was not scoring, not on the road or at home. The locker room stalls were set up, and handled with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. Craig Conroy was nestled all snug in his office, While the performance of this team was making him nauseous. He sprang from his chair and had a great thought, “I bet Santa could help us a whole lot.” Conroy grabbed his pen and titled it “My wish list”, and thought long and hard about what this team had missed. As time went on, he was unsure about what he wanted most, so he contacted The Win Column to put this to a close. We decided to poll our readers to have them assist, so what should be the first thing on the Flames Christmas wish list?
We asked, you answered.
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Calgary Flames Christmas wishlist
We presented the below poll: What should be the first thing on the Flames’ Christmas wishlist? The options were 1) picking a direction, 2) Huberdeau is elite again, 3) Anthony Duclair, and 4) someone to save the power play.
Picking a direction
The Flames have been a mediocre team for what feels like an eternity now. Every year fans can count on the team to either just miss the playoffs, or just make the playoffs, and either get eliminated in the first or second round. Flames fans have seen this film before. With Conroy officially in his first year as the Flames GM, is now the time that he makes the franchise pick a direction? We have seen a hint of the Flames being ready to rebuild, whether it was the Zadorov trade, or the constant reports from insiders saying that Lindholm and Hanifin are more likely than not going to be dealt. If Conroy starts to sell players, fans on Team Tank might just have to thank the big man in the North Pole for the gift.
Huberdeau’s resurgence needs a miracle
The falloff of Jonathan Hubderdeau needs to be studied, and it has to be in every school textbook. Nobody saw this coming when he was traded to Calgary. Fans were expecting a big bounce-back year from the $10.5M man, and so far, he seems to be on track to put up even less production than he did last year. More than half of our voters think Huberdeau becoming elite again should be at the top of the Flames wish list, and who can blame them? We have yet to see the point-per-game elite left winger show up consistently. Can Santa drop off a bottle of Michael’s Secret Stuff and make the player elite again?
Anthony Duclair
If the Flames would like to trap themselves even more, this would be a great option for the long-term future of the team. This isn’t a knock on Duclair at all, I actually really like the player, but this Flames team does not look like it will make the playoffs, and spending assets to acquire him makes no sense right now. Shane Stevenson said it best:
Someone to save the power play
Previously, Flames fans suffered through the “Muller Play”, and they were begging for change regarding the team’s power play. Marc Savard has now taken over the reins in running the power play, but the team still can’t seem to figure out how to be effective 5-on-4. Their penalty kill has looked more dangerous than their power play, and that’s not even an exaggeration. The Flames currently have the third-worst power play percentage in the league at 11.5%. They are ahead of only Philadelphia and St. Louis. Can Santa gift the Flames anyone to save the power play? Will it be a healthy Kylington, Pelletier, or Poerier? I’m sure this is the #1 thing that Marc Savard has put on his wishlist.
‘Tis the season for mediocre hockey
Now is the time of the year to turn on the fireplace, make some hot chocolate, gather around with family, and all yell at the TV while watching the Flames game. Happy Holidays from us at The Win Column! We hope you all have a great holiday, as we also hope Santa has a great gift for the franchise.
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