We are just weeks away from training camps for the 2024–25 NHL season. While most of the talk going into camp will be surrounding line combinations and who will start with the Flames or which prospects will start their year with the Wranglers or back in junior, there are some questions that still need to be answered in regards to the leadership group going into the season.
While Mikael Backlund will serve as the Flames captain going into the season, there will be questions about who will serve as alternates. Rasmus Andersson, Jonathan Huberdeau, Chris Tanev, and Elias Lindholm served as the alternates last season, and with Lindholm and Tanev no longer on the team, there should be some new captains named heading into this season.
Calgary has options for alternate captains
The question that remains is who will represent the Flames as leaders? Let’s dive into who could be the Flames’ next captains.
Just to be clear here, the Flames had five total players wearing letters last season, as two players wore the ‘A’ on home ice and the other two wore them on the road. I will use that same format here, even if the Flames choose not to.
Rasmus Andersson
A pretty easy one to start off with. Andersson has been wearing a letter for two seasons now and that will not change this upcoming year. He is one of the most tenured players on the roster and has become a leader both on and off the ice.
He will come into the season as one of the Flames’ top and most relied-upon players not only on the ice but also to help the younger roster off the ice get accustomed to the life of the NHL. Andersson has been a great player for the Flames and an ambassador for the franchise, and until he is no longer with the team he will continue to serve as one of the key leaders on the blueline and beyond.
Jonathan Huberdeau
Now I know that with Huberdeau’s sub-par performance in the last couple of seasons, there are going to be plenty of people saying that the Flames should take the ‘A’ off of his jersey. While I agree with that somewhat, I do not see that happening this season.
Huberdeau has been serving as an alternate captain since arriving with the Flames in 2022, and he is one of the most experienced players on the roster. Despite what his numbers have looked like since becoming a Flame, Huberdeau has reached levels and done things in this league that not one player on this current Flames roster has ever done. He was a star player for so long, and it is that type of experience that the Flames need him to bring to a roster that will only continue to get younger as the years go on.
Huberdeau will be a major key in the development of guys like Connor Zary, Jakob Pelletier, Martin Pospisil, Matt Coronato, and so on. We know how he has played in the past and Huberdeau will be relied on to help mentor the kids coming in. It wouldn’t hurt if he could play up to his paycheque either, but that is a conversation for another day.
Nazem Kadri
Nazem Kadri is coming off one of his best seasons in the NHL. After tallying 75 points last season, he will be looking to continue on that path as this season gets underway. After Tanev and Lindholm were traded last season, Kadri did take turns wearing the ‘A’ as the Flames needed guys to wear the letters.
Kadri was a major boost last season when players like Zary and Pospisil were brought in. He took them both under his wing and mentored them to success that none of us probably saw coming from the two youngsters. Zary in particular has talked publicly about how great it was to have Kadri not only on the team but to play with, and Kadri was a major piece in getting him to the levels he reached as a rookie last season.
Kadri has played up to his contract since signing with the Flames, not only his play on the ice has been superb, but it is everything off the ice that makes me so happy that he is a Flame and why he should be a part of the leadership core. He has been as big of a part of the community as anyone since arriving in Calgary and from everything he has said, he wants to be in Calgary despite the rebuild that has just begun. Not only is that a player I want on my team, but he is a player I want as a leader, and Kadri demonstrates all those qualities.
MacKenzie Weegar
MacKenzie Weegar is probably the guy I would advocate the most to get a letter on his jersey full-time this season. Like Kadri, Weegar spent time wearing the ‘A’ after guys were shipped out before the deadline last season, and it was for good reason.
Weegar had his best season to date a year ago, and as I have mentioned with all the guys above, it is a matter of what he does off the ice that solidifies himself as a leader on the team. I don’t think there has been a player more vocal and more positive on the direction of the team than Weegar has been since he got to Calgary. He wants to be here for the long haul, he wants to be the guy who can help the young players make an impact to get the team moving in the right way. Heck, you can say Weegar was the main guy in getting the Flames a new arena deal.
Not only do I think that Weegar should be wearing an ‘A’ this season, but when Backlund’s career is finished, I personally think that Weegar is the next captain of the Calgary Flames. He is a rockstar on the ice, and he is as professional as one can be off the ice. Sure, I might be just a bit biased when talking about Weegar, but I personally think he deserves it. He is a warrior and a stand-up person, he is as much of a leader as anyone on the current roster.
Plenty of options to represent the Flames
It is weird to say that the Flames have a good amount of options that they can use as a part of their leadership core. Not even including the four players I listed above, a guy like Blake Coleman also wore an ‘A’ at times last year, and he is as much of a leader as anyone from the looks of it. You can even look at a player like Yegor Sharangovich as a possible option considering he just signed a five-year extension, assuming the players look at him as a leader.
Even though the Flames have a rebuild that has just begun, they have plenty of veteran options still with the team that will have to be key when younger players begin to flood the lineup. So, while many of us want there to be a full teardown, it is still a vital thing to have some veterans on the roster, and that is what the Flames have here. Either way, it will be interesting to see who the Flames select to lead them through this upcoming season.
