The Calgary Flames are off to an incredible start so far this season, and many seem to be quite confused about it. Nobody had this team going 4–0 to start the season on their bingo cards. Jonathan Huberdeau is scoring, Rasmus Andersson is leading all defencemen in points, 23-year-old and current Calder Trophy favourite Dustin Wolf has a better save percentage than former Flame Jacob Markstrom, and the team actually looks… good? Maybe even great? I know, it’s even more weird for me to type out than it is for you to read.
Before the season started, the Flames were looked at as one of the bottom five teams in the league. That was music to the ears of those on Team Tank. Flames fans were already hopping on Google and searching up the 2025 NHL Draft class. Now, let’s just say Team Tank is confused and doesn’t really know how to approach watching Flames games this year. So, let’s dive into how to cheer for the franchise if you are on Team Tank.
Advice for Team Tank
From envisioning some of the top projected 2025 draft picks in Flames jerseys, to planning out what the best Stanley Cup Parade route may be in Calgary. Okay maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself, but it’s quite the shift over the span of a couple of weeks, and I’m sure those on Team Tank weren’t prepared for this. But, despite the start, there are outcomes beyond wins to really be cheering for.
Asset management
This is key for a team in the Flames position. Whether we like it or not, this team is not built like your typical Stanley Cup contender in the NHL. They don’t have an elite centre, they don’t have an elite goaltender (yet), and they don’t have an elite #1 defenceman.
Now one could make an argument for MacKenzie Weegar, but for every other position, it’s not really close. In summary, this team has no game-breakers. Because of this, despite the hot start, the Flames need to avoid thinking that their team is good enough right now, and they need to take steps to build their team to have a good foundation of a Stanley Cup contender.
Although they may be winning right now in the short term, they are not built to win in the long term. How do you build that foundation? By effectively managing your assets, by trading away pending UFAs or players that won’t commit to re-signing and making sure you get a return for them.
We saw Conroy do this last year with Jacob Markstrom, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane and Nikita Zadorov. With how the Flames were playing and with how long it would have taken to turn the team around, it made no sense to keep any of these players—especially when most didn’t want to stay with the team anyway.
These trades allowed young players like Connor Zary and Martin Posposil to cement themselves as bonafide NHL players. Also, if the Flames kept all their pending UFAs, it’s very unlikely that the Flames would have been able to draft Zayne Parekh, who looks to have the same offensive gift that Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar have.
As long as Conroy continues this approach and continues to get talented young players, picks, and prospects in return, I think the Flames are in good hands. And hey, if the team wins some games during this process, just enjoy it. Because realistically, the team is bound to regress, and they won’t be going 82-0.
Every time the Flames win some games, think of it as like when you find a couple of extra fries in your paper fast food bag after you already pulled out the actual container of fries. Was it expected? No. Are you going to complain about it? Absolutely not.
Building a culture
We have heard it time and time again. Players don’t want to sign in Calgary, the arena is old and outdated, the locker rooms are horrible, and the list goes on… Now is the perfect time for the franchise to show the league how special it is to play for the C of Red. The Flames have already taken steps to show this by finally upgrading their scoreboard, producing incredible behind-the-scenes social media content for fans, and even having a red carpet event for players to interact with fans before their home opener.
We are even seeing this culture shift with players too. Weegar has stated time and time again that he loves playing in Calgary. And although he could easily request a trade and go to a team that is competing for the Stanley Cup, he hasn’t. The same can be said about Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman.
Now of course, these players can change their minds and request a trade in the future. But the main difference from this year compared to prior years is that players just genuinely look happy to be on the team, even if they aren’t looked at as one of the top, or even middle, teams in the league. This is important, and I think gets missed a lot when it comes to teams trying to rebuild. If you are on Team Tank, this is one thing to cheer for.
Don’t waste the draft
The NHL Draft is a way for teams to restock their cupboards and make sure they have players who will be on their team in the future. For rebuilding teams, it can be a make or break on whether they will become contenders in the future. Sure, teams can trade for players and sign free agents, but it is a lot harder to trade for a generational or franchise talent than it is to draft one. To keep it simple, those on Team Tank need to cheer for Conroy to have future drafts just like last year’s. Conroy got incredible value for his picks, and the Flames were looked at as one of the winners of the draft.
From Zayne Parekh, Andrew Basha, Matvei Gridin, Luke Misa, Jacob Battaglia, and Henry Mews, the Flames went from having one of the most meh prospect pools in the league to having one of the strongest. For a team that wants to contend in the next three years, this is a perfect draft.
Fun games
You might be on Team Tank, but I guarantee that you don’t want to watch the team lose 3–0 or 4–1 every single night. That sounds horrible and I would rather watch paint dry. At the end of the day, everyone is still going to watch almost every single Flames game this season, even when they know very well that it will likely end with a loss. So, why not cheer for the games to at least be enjoyable?
If the Flames are going to regress and start to lose more games, it should be games where although they may have lost, Jonathan Huberdeau looked like his old self and got a point or two. Or, the Flames scored three goals and got fans out of their seats to celebrate goals. Or, players like Connor Zary and Matt Coronato showed flashes of elite skill as a sign of what’s to come for the future of the team.
In general, just because you may want the Flames to lose games to get a high draft pick, it doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate a goal that the team scores. Players on a team want to win games, and if they have to play on a team that has no compete and gets shut out every night, sure, the team may be able to get the number one pick in the draft, but nobody will want to come join the team or sign long-term. The team might just be rebuilding forever.
Trust the process
In summary, a rebuilding team isn’t necessarily shown through their win-loss record. It is demonstrated through how they manage keeping or trading players who may not fit their timeline, how they manage to keep a strong culture, how they draft, and ultimately, whether the team still competes or not. These are the things I think those on Team Tank should be rooting for. So far, it looks like Conroy knows what he is doing, and the Flames are having fun on the ice. The vibes are great, enjoy it.
