After last night’s hard-fought loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Calgary Flames concluded the Battle of Alberta in 2023–24 with a 1–3–0 record. With only six games remaining and the Flames mathematically eliminated from the playoffs on Thursday at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets, it’s time for the team to look forward to next season.
It appears Flames Head Coach Ryan Huska doesn’t share the same mindset, scratching Connor Zary for Thursday night’s game against the Jets. The rookie bench boss had this to say when asked about his decision.
“I don’t believe in giving free games to people just because they’re young,” had Twitter reminiscing of Darryl Sutter’s tenure in Calgary.
Sure, it’s a strong message. But I think the reaction it got is more in response to Ryan Huska delivering such a stern message. The rookie head coach is soft-spoken and maintains a level head in the media. On top of that, he’s given young players opportunity all season; why stop now?
But Huska wanted to send a message, and you can’t argue with his rationale either. Although these are throwaway games in the standings, they’re crucial for setting the culture moving forward.
Mackenzie Weegar is a perfect example of that “everything is earned” mentality. It’s been a running theme this season and has largely been a success. The emergence of Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil has been crucial to the team’s decision on their direction moving forward, while Dustin Wolf, Dryden Hunt, Dennis Gilbert, etc., have all been given expanded opportunities this season.
The leadership core took a hit this season on the trade front, and all the young talent and fresh faces still have to play Calgary Flames hockey. Although Calgary Flames hockey hasn’t been that successful as of late, you absolutely have to maintain a level of competition within the roster.
Despite a loss, Huska’s statement on Thursday sparked a strong game from the lineup Saturday night and inspired our poll this week. With all this discussion about lineup decisions to close out the season, we wanted to know what fans are prioritizing to finish the year. We asked, you answered.
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What’s important to fans in remaining games?
We presented the below poll to our readers: What’s the most important thing fans want to see in the Flames’ remaining games? The options being: Development for rookies, New line combos, Maximum Wolf starts, and AHL callups.
Development for rookies
Over half of respondents want to see the young kids’ development. With 52.9% of the vote, developing the rookies was our number one response this week. Much like Ryan Huska, Flames fans are hopeful to see more of Dryden Hunt, Matt Coronato, Martin Pospisil, and Connor Zary. Fans just might be more likely to throw all four in the lineup at once. Matt Coronato was a victim of the healthy scratch in Saturday’s loss to Edmonton, with Connor Zary making his return and playing centre for the first time this season.
The Flames are back in action on Tuesday in San Jose to begin their last multi-game road trip of the season. Markstrom started Saturday’s game (still winless against the Oilers since 2022 playoffs), setting up Dustin Wolf to start against his childhood favorite team. With six games left on the schedule, it will be interesting to see how much opportunity the rookies will get. Certainly, no free games.
New line combos
Collecting only 6.4% of votes, new line combos was marginally lower than AHL callups for the lowest response. The Flames have moved out four of their everyday players this season, and with new faces come new lines. It’s not easy to replace a Chris Tanev or Elias Lindholm, but Ryan Huska has done his best.
Huska seemed to read our minds Saturday night, splitting up Backlund and starting Connor Zary at centre between Dryden Hunt and Jonathan Huberdeau.
With Andrew Mangiapane out of the lineup and a carousel of rookie healthy scratches as of late, it seems lines will continue to be shaken up to end the season.
Maximum Wolf start
Max Wolf starts was the second highest response this week, with 33.8% of votes. The Wolf storyline continues and will seemingly not lose any media traction going into the offseason. Jacob Markstrom’s future in Calgary still seems eerily uncertain, and Wolf hasn’t been phenomenal this season—although still being a rookie. If the retool continues to progress and the team parts ways with their Swedish stopper in the offseason, they need to be sure a tandem of Dustin Wolf and post-hip-surgery Daniel Vladar will give them a fighting chance.
Wolf’s numbers have improved across the season. His latest start on Thursday night was far from an easy day at the office. Dustin stopped 40 of 44 shots against the Jets, who had just broken a six-game losing streak. Thursday’s loss marked the fourth of Wolf’s last six starts with a save percentage of at least .900.
Ryan Huska seems to be evenly distributing starts to finish the season. Tuesday, however, will almost certainly be Wolf’s start, returning to his home state. Wolf has faced the San Jose Sharks once already this season on February 15 in Calgary. The game was one of Wolf’s worst this season, giving up six goals and posting a measly .806 SV%. Wolf was noticeably emotional after the loss, disappointed in his performance. You can’t help but cheer for a guy with that much desire to be great. Hopefully, Tuesday’s return home will come with a bounce-back performance in a rink he attended as a kid.
Whether it’s a 1A/1B tandem in Vladar and Wolf next season or a starter/backup pairing of Markstrom and Wolf, the common denominator is clear. Although Markstrom is still the bonafide number one in Calgary, the future of the Flames crease lies in the hands of a California dreamer chosen in the seventh round.
AHL callups
Finishing slightly above line combos, AHL callups was the third-highest response on our poll this week. It seems most fans are interested in seeing what the current rookies have to offer rather than breaking up the momentum of the AHL Wranglers’ lineup.
The Calgary Wranglers clinched their second consecutive playoff birth and third as a franchise (final season in Stockton). Although the team isn’t dominating the AHL Pacific Division this season, they’re headed into the playoffs strong. The team will regain Dryden Hunt, Matthew Coronato, and Dustin Wolf for a Calder Cup playoff run in the coming weeks.
Rather than calling up Jakob Pelletier, Jeremie Poirer, or Sam Morton, GM Craig Conroy is probably more concerned about ramping up the AHL squad. A Calder Cup is a great thing for an organization and further fosters that culture in the young guys that we discussed earlier.
There are only so many roster spots, after all.
18 periods left
The theme of the week is The Future.
Over 85% of respondents wanted to see the team give Dustin Wolf as many starts as possible and focus on developing the rookies to finish the season. The Flames have six games and 18 periods of hockey remaining in 2023–24, but after Saturday’s final Battle of Alberta, the opportunity for meaningful wins is long gone. It’s been a long and tumultuous season filled with new faces behind the bench, in the front office, and on the lineup card.
After a final dump of snow in Calgary this week, it seemed only fitting to stay in the hockey spirit, but after this weekend, we’re all looking forward to golf and the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
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