Yesterday I looked over the expectations I had set for the Calgary Flames at the forward position for 2023–24. A disappointing season filled with more surprises than not but put into perspective the level that the team truly is. The defence and goalies follow a very similar pattern to the forwards.
Defencemen
MacKenzie Weegar
Expectations: 35–45 points, rebuild offence, continue great defensive play
MacKenzie Weegar finishes his second season with the Flames being their best defenceman again. Being a big Weegar fan, I figured him getting away from a shutdown role would let him produce more and I was correct but the actual results were even better. The 35–45 point expectation was still pretty off in a good way with him scoring 52 points in 82 games. His goal scoring was the most surprising part of his game this year.
Weegar had never scored more than eight goals in a season before but this year he decided to pot 20. That tied him for third in goals by a defenceman. It’s safe to say Weegar rebuilt his offence with only his defence hindering a bit. He might even get some Norris Trophy votes for his season.
Verdict: Expectations definitely surpassed
Rasmus Andersson
Expectations: 55–65 points, improving overall two-way play
Looking back, I definitely set expectations for Rasmus Andersson too high but with trajectory and projected use, he was set to break into a true #1 role. This didn’t happen with Andersson getting 10 fewer points than last year with 39 in 78 games. Andersson’s overall game wasn’t great either. His offence took a hit at 5v5, playing a part in the decline of his production. On the defensive side of things, Andersson didn’t make any improvements and might’ve gotten worse. A bounce-back year is the hope for Andersson in 2024–25.
Verdict: Expectations not met
Oliver Kylington
Expectations: N/A
With the uncertainty of when Oliver Kylington was returning, I didn’t set expectations for him. He had eight points in 33 games and played solid, with minimal struggles due to his long absence from the sport. Kylington just returning was enough for me.
Verdict: Expectations surpassed
Dennis Gilbert
Expectations: Five points as the seventh defenceman
Dennis Gilbert actually started the year in a higher role than I expected. He ended up as the sixth defenceman above Jordan Oesterle and was playing pretty good defensively. As the year went on and the Flames defence got all jumbled, Gilbert did eventually fill that seventh defenceman role. Gilbert had seven points in 34 games and had a good enough season to ask from him.
Verdict: Expectations met
Jordan Oesterle
Expectations: Be good at least one way, 10–15 points
Jordan Oesterle was between the NHL and AHL all year but spent the majority of his time with the Calgary Wranglers. He was just meh at the start of the year while also losing his sixth defenceman role to Gilbert. As the season went on, his struggles became clearer and the Flames sent him down. They did call him up later but it didn’t last long before he found himself back with the Wranglers. Between his split,s he had two points in 22 NHL games and 19 points in 30 AHL games.
Verdict: Expectations not met
Ilya Solovyov
Expectations: Limited role with stints, 3–5 points
Among the many young Flames to make their NHL debuts this season, Ilya Solovyov was one of them. He saw his first recall in October, serving for two games before being sent back down. He then got another chance in December scoring his first NHL point in his first game back. That stint lasted four games and he got his last opportunity at the end of the season. He played the final four games for the Flames and finished his NHL season with 10 games played and three points. His AHL play accumulated 15 points in 51 games.
Verdict: Expectations met
Brayden Pachal
Expectations: N/A
My favourite waiver claim for personal reasons, Brayden Pachal became a Flame on February 4, 2024. Due to this, expectations wouldn’t have been set at the start of the year. Much wouldn’t have been expected of him—just serve a bottom-pair role at a good enough level. Compared to his games in Vegas, Pachal had crazy improvement, especially in the defensive end. He served time in the top four as well and landed himself a stable spot in the Flames defence corps.
Verdict: Expectations surpassed
Daniil Miromanov
Expectations: N/A
Daniil Miromanov was brought in at the trade deadline via the Noah Hanifin trade. Much wasn’t expected from him. He was a 26-year-old defenceman who couldn’t get minutes on a stacked Vegas Golden Knights blueline, only playing four games. Upon arriving in Calgary, Miromanov’s game blossomed. Offensively he had times where he looked dangerous and picked up seven points in 20 games. Analytically, he was very good at both ends of the ice.
Verdict: Expectations surpassed
Goalies
Jacob Markstrom
Expectations: 22–30 wins, 2.70–2.80 GAA, .903–.910 SV%, 2–6 GSAx
The 2023–24 season was full of emotions for Jacob Markstrom. To start the year, he wasn’t all that great and it looked like his 2022–23 habits had become normal. Then he randomly decided to become elite again. Markstrom arguably became the Flames MVP for the majority of the season.
Around the trade deadline, his name reached trade talk and it got so close, that he was asked if he would accept a move to the New Jersey Devils. After that, Markstrom’s numbers started to drop.
In 48 games, he had a record of 23–23–2, a 2.78 GAA, a .905 SV%, and 28.93 GSAx. His GSAx is where he really shines as it placed him third in the league behind only Jordan Binnington and likely Vezina winner, Connor Hellebuyck. All his stats hit the mark, but his GSAx truly shows just how good he was for most of the year.
Verdict: Expectations surpassed
Dan Vladar
Expectations: 13–20 wins, 2.70–2.80 GAA, .900–.908 SV%, -2 to 2 GSAx
Many expected Daniel Vladar to take steps forward this season and show true starter potential. This didn’t happen and was his worst season to date. He played in 20 games, posting a record of 8–9–2. His stats look like a 3.62 GAA, .882 SV%, and a -10.72 GSAx. His GSAx ranked third last, the exact opposite of Markstrom. Most of Vladar’s games came from when Markstrom was injured and even then he was battling Dustin Wolf for the crease too.
Verdict: Expectations not met
Dustin Wolf
Expectations: 8–20 games, good numbers
Dustin Wolf was called up four separate times in four different months on an emergency loan. This gave him four different stints in the NHL, all ranging in quality. He would battle Vladar for the crease with Markstrom out and would outperform sometimes.
Wolf was inconsistent, having games where you could understand the hype and promise and others where he looked too small. Down the stretch with Vladar out for the year and wanting to rest Markstrom, Wolf basically became the 1A.
Once again he was inconsistent but he was overall solid. He finished with a 7–7–1 record in 17 games, a 3.17 GAA, and a .893 SV%. With all things considered, I think Wolf did fine in the NHL this year.
Verdict: Expectations met
