The Calgary Flames have been playing their best hockey in a very long time and Kuzmenko seems to have ignited a fire within this team. The team is 4–1–0 in their last five games, and have won against teams like the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils. Despite trading away their number one centre, the Flames seem to have improved, so is now the time to really be selling off assets? Should they maybe be buyers or stand pat instead? Let’s discuss.
Typical Stanley Cup contenders
To determine if the Flames are in the position to re-sign their players and buy (or stand pat) at the deadline, we should first take a look at what the roster for recent Stanley Cup contenders has usually looked like. Some things that are common between all of them? An elite superstar, an elite defenceman, an elite goalie, and other stars on the roster.
The Vegas Golden Knights had Jack Eichel, Alex Pietrangelo, and Adin Hill. On top of those names, they had stars in Mark Stone, Shea Theodore, and Jonathan Marchessault who was playing like the best player on the planet at the time. The Colorado Avalanche had Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Darcy Kuemper. And again, this team had more than those three players. Mikko Rantanen, Nazem Kadri, Devon Toews, and Gabriel Landeskog were all playing elite-level hockey for the team. The Tampa Bay Lightning had Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. Other stars on the Lightning included Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point.
Do the Flames fit these criteria?
The Flames should have an elite superstar. At least, that was the plan when they signed Jonathan Huberdeau to that long-term deal a couple of summers ago. And although Huberdeau has been a point per game since the new year, he is just not there yet. He’s been playing some great hockey, but Huberdeau does not have the ability to take over games and show up in a game’s biggest moments. At least not yet. Maybe he will find that ability again, but as of now, Huberdeau is a top line player at best, and the Flames are missing that elite piece.
What about an elite defenceman? This season, the Flames definitely have a version of that in MacKenzie Weegar. Is he a Cale Makar? Realistically, no, but who really is? Weegar is leading all defenceman in goals this year, and he has given the Flames fantastic play at both ends of the ice. He could very well be this piece for a contending team with his play this year. The defenceman is on pace for a 50-point season which would surpass his career-high, while also scoring 20+ goals.
That is some great production from Weegar, and you would think it would only be better with a top-of-the-league contending team around him. I don’t think I would say that Weegar is at the level that Makar and Hedman were at during their Cup runs, but at the end of the day he is one of the best defenceman in the NHL right now, and I believe his elite level of play would help lead a contending team to a Stanley Cup.
Onto elite goaltending, and wow do the Flames ever have that in Jacob Markstrom! After a horrible season last year, Markstrom is having an incredible bounce back. He might just be playing the best hockey of his career currently. He had a tough start to the season this year, but he then put up a .921 save % in December, a .931 save % in January, and is currently at a ridiculous .945 save % in February. He is playing like an elite goaltender, and he should be a finalist for the Vezina Trophy this year with this level of play.
Outside of those three, do the Flames have any other stars on their roster? Well, the short answer is no. They have some great players in Yegor Sharangovich, Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson, and Noah Hanifin, but they are very much a tier (or actually a couple of tiers) below the names of Steven Stamkos, Mikko Rantanen, and Devon Toews. These are all elite players who are capable of taking over games when necessary.
Sharangovich has been a great surprise this year, but he is not at that level, and he really shouldn’t be as that is an unfair expectation for him. The same can be said for Kadri, Andersson, and Hanifin. They are all great players, but the reality is that the elite star player is just not who they are supposed to be for the team, and that’s okay.
Calgary is not a contender just yet
The Flames have benefitted from some great play from their players as of late, but the team just is not in the position to stop their retool. Conroy has managed to make trades that have not only gotten the franchise great value for their pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs), but so far, these trades have also improved the team currently.
It’s a great situation to be in, and pivoting directions now would stop the progress that is being made and steer the franchise in a direction of more mediocrity. If the Flames sell their pending UFAs and end up making the playoffs like they did in 2014–15, that would be a dream scenario for many, from the management, the players, and the fans.
With the way this season has gone, and with how great the trades Conroy has made have looked so far, I would not be surprised if that ends up happening this year. But at the end of the day, Calgary should not rush this process.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
