The 2023–24 season has finally come to an end for the Calgary Flames. As a whole, it was a pretty miserable season—major pieces were moved, the team played worse than they did a year ago, and the team missed out on the playoffs for a second straight year. They fell way short of the expectations that the management team had put on them.
While that isn’t necessarily the worst thing to happen to the franchise as they will hopefully draft in the top ten this season, it was still not a fun season in its entirety on a night-to-night basis.
There were some positives, there was some young blood inserted into the lineup that we had not seen for the past couple of years and we were given a glimpse into what the future could hold. Today, let’s take a look at the team as a whole and grade each player on their season. For the purpose of this post, I will only be grading players who played a minimum of 20 games for the team.
Jonathan Huberdeau: C-
It was another disappointing year for Jonathan Huberdeau as a Calgary Flame. In the first year of his eight-year, $84 million contract, he put up fewer points than he did a year ago, and I would argue he was much less effective than he was last year. He had glimpses of showing what he was in Florida after an almost month-long pointless drought, but he was still nowhere near as impactful as the Flames needed him to be as one of the highest-paid players in the sport.
Yegor Sharangovich: B
Yegor Sharangovich was quite the surprise after coming over in a trade last offseason. He set career-highs and Belarusian records in goals and points and was excited after having a very tough start to his tenure as a Flame. He was trusted to play centre after Elias Lindholm was traded right before the All-Star break and his game didn’t fall off with more responsibility. However, Sharangovich’s on-ice metrics weren’t strong all season and he rode a shooting percentage—the Flames will need more out of him on the defensive side of the puck if he is going to be trusted as a centre in the top-six moving forward.
Connor Zary: A-
Connor Zary was a total home run for the Flames this season. He was not expected to make the Flames’ opening night roster, and after a month of dominating with the Calgary Wranglers, he was called up to the Flames where he didn’t look back. Zary rode a PDO bender for most of his season, but all of his underlying numbers were extremely strong and he was a difference-maker on most nights. He’ll have to work on being more consistent next season, which is fine, all young players do. Zary proved this year in his rookie season that he will be a massive piece for the Flames moving forward.
Andrei Kuzmenko: B+
Andrei Kuzmenko was meant to just be a salary dump in the aforementioned Lindholm trade, but after coming over to Calgary, Kuzmenko turned into the man and was extremely strong for the Flames in his brief stint. He struggled a little bit out of the gates and dealt with a minor injury, but after overcoming that he was a rockstar to end the year. It will be interesting to see what the Flames will do with Kuzmenko as he only has one year left on his current deal.
Martin Pospisil: B
Martin Pospisil, like Zary, was an afterthought when it came to if he would be on the Flames roster at all this season. Well, after having six points in six games with the Calgary Wranglers, Pospisil was given the call to play for the Flames and made an impact immediately.
He was a massive pain to play against all year and showed some flashes of real skill that was rewarded with a two-year extension. The one downfall of Pospisil’s game is his on-ice antics that had him thrown out of three different games and suspended once. No one is suggesting that he can’t play on the line, but he will have to tone it back as the years go on or he will make some real enemies.
Nazem Kadri: A
Right off the bat, I will say that Nazem Kadri was the Flames’ best player this season, and quite frankly it wasn’t close. After a disastrous start to the year, Kadri caught fire at the beginning of November and never looked back. Racking 75 points after only having one point through the first month of the season is nothing to scoff at, and his leadership this season was on full display as he took Zary and Pospisil under his wing and mentored them through their rookie years. Kadri was phenomenal this season, scoring plenty of highlight reel goals, it was truly great to watch every night.
Andrew Mangiapane: C-
Many of us, including myself, thought we would see a bounce-back season from Andrew Mangiapane after a down year last season. Unfortunately, we didn’t get that. Mangiapane never felt dangerous when he had a scoring chance like he did in the 2021–22 year, pucks were not going in for him, and he wasn’t being the usual pest that we were used to seeing.
His underlying numbers were all very strong across the board, but the Flames needed more than just good on-ice impacts. Mangiapane only has one year left on his contract, and with the Flames having many wingers at their disposal, it may be best for a change of scenery next season for Mangiapane.
Mikael Backlund: C+
Mikael Backlund‘s first season serving as the team’s captain was certainly an underwhelming one. After having one of his best years in the 2022–23 season, Backlund was not able to find that extra offensive gear that we had seen one year prior to this season.
Don’t get me wrong, it was the usual Backlund with the extremely good two-way play against the other team’s top players. However, something just seemed off as the year went on, and when the players came out to speak on the performance of the team and the drama surrounding them, it always seemed like someone else was speaking on it as opposed to Backlund.
He was still the correct choice to captain the team, but part of me just hopes to see a little more emotion next season.
Blake Coleman: A
I will be first to admit that I certainly did not see Blake Coleman scoring 30 goals this year while still being one of the team’s best two-way forwards. For much of the year, you could make the argument that Coleman was the team’s best and most consistent player on a night-to-night basis.
He was engaged in every game from the word go and was depended on in every situation. Only time will tell if the Texas Tiger will be able to repeat what he did this year, but man was Coleman ever good this year, it is too bad we couldn’t see this version of him in the playoffs.
Dryden Hunt: C-
Dryden Hunt probably played too many games for this season and was definitely used higher in the lineup than he should have been on most nights. Hunt held his own at points but was also caved in on most nights when he was playing with the team’s more talented players. He wasn’t bad by any means, but he wasn’t great either.
Kevin Rooney: C-
There isn’t much to say about Kevin Rooney, he missed the first half of the year due to an injury and when he came back he was the team’s fourth line centre for the rest of the year. Like Hunt, he wasn’t bad by any means, but he also wasn’t great. I don’t know if his performance this season warranted an extension for him, but they know what he is, and Rooney sticking around is not harming the team in any way.
Walker Duehr: D
I probably oversold myself on Walker Duehr going into this season. Duehr was great after his callup last year and was looking like he was making a name for himself in the Flames bottom-six as a guy who can crash and bang but also has a little bit of skill to go along with it. This season however, was a different story. Duehr didn’t do anything he did a year ago to make himself stand out and was often invisible in most of the games he did play. He spent lots of time as a healthy scratch this year and he could be a player that ends up in the AHL next season.
Matthew Coronato: D+
I hate to do this, but Matthew Coronato‘s rookie season did not go as many of us thought it would. I’d like to say upfront that this is okay and adjusting to the professional level can be tougher on some players as opposed to others. He was great in the AHL this year but when he was up with the Flames he failed to make an impact on a nightly basis.
He didn’t get the best chances this year as he spent most of his time in the bottom-six. The good thing is as the year was coming to a close, he looked more and more comfortable with each passing game. Let’s hope he can take some of that momentum into next season.
A.J. Greer: C
After being picked up on waivers before the season started, A.J. Greer was a nice little surprise for the Flames. Playing on the fourth line for most of the season, Greer made an impact whenever he could, moulding himself into the perfect depth piece. An injury would derail his season, but I would love to see Greer back with the team next season.
Rasmus Andersson: C
This is going to be a season that Rasmus Andersson is probably going to want to forget. After a few really good seasons in a row, Andersson took a step back both offensively and defensively and never really trended upward for most of the season.
He went through quite a few partners when players were shipped out and that can be difficult, but when you are trusted as the team’s number-one defenceman, things just have to go better. Andersson did mention he was playing with an injury for some of the year so that likely had an effect on his game. I expect he will be much better next season.
Oliver Kylington: B+
I want to give Kylington an A+ just because of his story and the comeback he made to hockey this year, it was truly remarkable. When Kylington made his return it was expected that he may struggle, but right out of the gate, he was flying every night.
He has some blemishes in his defensive game, but I think it is more than okay that he struggled. If he is re-signed (which he should be), I expect to see him dial his game in next year to what we saw in 2021–22.
MacKenzie Weegar: A
I may be biased when talking about MacKenzie Weegar, but man was he ever a rockstar this season. He became the first player in NHL history to record 50+ points and have 200+ blocked shots in a season, that is all not to mention that Weegar scored 20 goals this season.
The vibes were immaculate and Weegar showcased why he has been regarded as one of the best blue-liners in hockey.
His defensive game slipped a little bit as he pushed for more offence this year, but he produced at the other end so I can’t exactly be upset with that. Weegar was awesome all year long on and off the ice, he had some great quotes, and we may be looking at the future captain of the Calgary Flames.
Daniil Miromanov: B-
Daniil Miromanov was the lone player who came back to Calgary from Vegas in the Noah Hanifin trade, and to be fair, there was a decent amount of us who knew little to nothing about the player. Miromanov to his credit came in and played as well as he probably could have. He has holes in his game for sure, primarily on the defensive side, but he may have some untapped offensive potential. He is a very confident player, so I will be very intrigued to see how he plays next season.
Brayden Pachal: B
Another castoff from the Vegas Golden Knights, the Flames picked Brayden Pachal up off the waiver wire and he came in and played very well for the team that had two of their key defencemen on their way out. Pachal plays a physical and rugged game, but can also skate pretty well. His defensive prowess was strong in the games he played, but I think he just has to do a better job of staying out of the penalty box. Outside of that, he seems like the perfect depth guy for many years to come.
Dennis Gilbert: C-
Not much to say about Dennis Gilbert, when called upon he came in and did his job. He played physically and defended decently well. It is still up in the air as to whether he will be back next season.
Jordan Oesterle: D-
Like Gilbert, there is not much to say about Jordan Oesterle except that he wasn’t good in the time that he played with the Flames. I am going to assume he will not be back next season.
Jacob Markstrom: B+
Jacob Marsktrom had an extremely good first half of his season before the trade deadline. He was one of the best goaltenders in the league and was single-handedly keeping the Flames out of the bottom three of the league. Once the trade deadline passed and players were shipped out, Markstrom’s game began to fall off.
Whether that was from the team depleting or being uninterested after all the trade rumours surrounding him, there was a significant drop in play, but the majority of his season was strong. He will probably be traded this offseason and I would be extremely surprised if he is a Flame to begin next season.
Dan Vladar: D
It was a tough season for Dan Vladar. He ended up having season-ending surgery that cut his year short, and on the ice, things were not much better. He was almost unplayable at parts of the year. He still has another year left on his deal, but if I had to ballpark it, I think he is as good as gone.
Dustin Wolf: B-
The numbers were not exactly great for Dustin Wolf in his first NHL stint, but I thought he had a good year all things considered. The team was a mess and left him out to dry on some nights, but you could see why he is so highly touted as a goalie.
He moves well, is calm and collected in the net. There were times I wished he was just a bit better, but I think he showed well enough to earn himself an NHL job next season and for many years to follow.
Underwhelming results
The Flames weren’t even good enough to be considered mediocre. They fell well short of expectations and very few players stepped up when the going got tough. Things may not get better next year quite yet but some players will definitely need to use their results this season as motivation cause on aggregate, the team just wasn’t good enough.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
