For the second year in a row, the Edmonton Oilers are in the Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers have endured their fair share of years missing the playoffs, but they have been through a full rebuild and are now consistently one of the best teams in the league.
The Calgary Flames, on the other hand, have consistently been in the middle of the pack practically every year. There have been outlier seasons where they look to be one of the top in the league. However, more often than not, they have looked to squeak into the playoffs and roll the dice from there.
It’s never fun seeing your rivals have constant success, especially while you are in a completely different position. This begs the question: Does an Oilers championship change how Calgary approaches building their team? We asked, you answered.
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How does Edmonton’s success affect Calgary’s plan?
We presented the below poll to our readers.
Flames go down a rebuild
Edmonton did something that Calgary has not. That is truly bottoming out and getting top draft picks to rebuild their roster. The highest draft pick Calgary has ever had was a fourth overall pick, where they selected Sam Bennett. Calgary is one of two NHL teams that have never drafted in the top three. The other team is the Vegas Golden Knights, who have only existed since 2017.
Connor McDavid was drafted first overall, as was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Leon Draisaitl was drafted third overall. Evan Bouchard was drafted 10th overall. All of Edmonton’s best players were high draft picks that they developed and grew on their roster. Edmonton got franchise-changing players on their roster—especially in Draisaitl and McDavid—through drafting high. Does Calgary follow that course?
Flames rush into contention
We have seen this film before with this team. The Flames have not been quiet about wanting to compete. Time and time again, they state that their goal every year is to make the playoffs, and they build their roster to attempt to reach that goal.
Seeing Edmonton get to two finals in a row, along with a potential Stanley Cup, might just be the punch in the gut the Flames experience that makes them decide to rush their plan and get to the playoffs as fast as possible. Many fans selected this option, as they have experienced it in the past.
Flames prioritize culture
Listen, I get it. The Flames experienced two franchise-changing players who decided to leave in the same summer. And after that, the Flames heard from Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, and Nikita Zadorov that they all did not want to stay and wanted to be traded.
Culture is important, and having a strong culture can make players want to stay and build towards a goal. However, reports came out that this team didn’t want to trade Joel Hanley because he was loved in the room. That, to me, suggests that the Flames may be prioritizing culture a little too much. At the end of the day, the goal of this organization should be to set up the franchise for long-term success. Not to build a team that’s the best at getting along with each other.
Flames need to pick a lane
Conroy has shown that he is not shy of trading players away who don’t want to be here, and he has also shown great promise in the last draft. What is yet to be determined through his actions is how he feels about a true rebuild. All we have heard is that they want to retool and stay competitive, and so far, they have followed that approach. Let’s see if they decide to change course.
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