The Calgary Flames have had a miserable start to the season, going 0–3 and getting outscored 16–3. While people expected the Flames to be bottom feeders, their struggles have shown they’ve gone all in on the rebuild.
An emerging storyline for the Flames this far has been the miserable start for the team’s starting netminder, Dustin Wolf. The 25-year-old has started two games so far, losing both and posting a 0.797 save percentage. It’s been a short but brutal stretch for Wolf so far. It isn’t likely to get better as the season continues.
Following Wolf’s early season struggles, there’s already been some chatter about whether it’s time to panic, as Wolf had his fair share of struggles last season. However, context is important, and people often get carried away with the noise without realizing the position the Flames are currently in.
Wolf’s slow start is less than ideal
I’m going to say straight away that people panicking regarding Wolf’s slow start need to calm down. The Flames are in a rebuild, and while their start has been nothing short of ugly, there’s no reason why fans should already write Wolf off. That doesn’t mean his start should be ignored.
Wolf has been bad through the first two games of the season. There really isn’t any way to sugarcoat it. Allowing 12 goals in two games is not what the Flames expected from their starting goaltender, particularly after Wolf’s struggles last season. The Flames were already expected to have one of the weaker rosters in the NHL. Reliable goaltending is even more important this season. At the same time, it is difficult to draw any meaningful conclusions from two games. Wolf faced the Seattle Kraken twice, and the Flames were badly outplayed in both games. The team struggled to defend, generate offence and consistently maintain possession. That isn’t to say Wolf should get a free pass for his performances, but it does provide some important context when evaluating his numbers.
Playing behind the Flames isn’t going to do any favours
The Flames are going to be a difficult team to play behind this season. Their defence is young, and their forward group lacks high-end scoring talent, which comes with embracing a full-on rebuild. There will be nights when Wolf is asked to stand on his head simply to give Calgary a chance to win.
That makes his performance even more important. It also means there are going to be games where his numbers aren’t particularly pretty. While concern is understandable, it’s truly part of the process. Wolf knew heading into this season that the Flames weren’t likely to be good. When the team can’t score more than a goal a game, goaltending will be even more relied upon.
Two seasons ago, the only reason why the Flames almost made the playoffs was Wolf. But now, given the team’s lack of scoring talent, it’ll be harder to lean on Wolf to win games.
Pain now for future gain
It’s truly been miserable watching Flames hockey, but we all wanted this, and for good reason. Despite the ugly games and frustration, it’s for the best in order for the Flames to build a meaningful future as an NHL franchise.
As for Wolf, as mentioned, there is no reason to panic. However, if Wolf continues to struggle 15-20 games into the season, there could be some alarms raised. Despite that, the Flames are playing so badly right now that it’s actually unsustainable. There will be games where they upset their opponent and manage to get the win. But given how this team looks, it might be rare. The best thing for the Flames and Wolf right now is to take it game by game.
