2022–23 NHL team preview: Calgary Flames

LAST SEASON

The Calgary Flames had a highly successful 2021–22 regular season. Although Sean Monahan had another tough year, both Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk surpassed 100 points in a season for the first time in their respective careers. Cheap UFA signing Erik Gudbranson exceeded all expectations on the third pairing, and the Flames bought Calle Janrkrok from the Seattle Kraken at the trade deadline.

Anyway, those players are all gone. Every single one of them.

Once the Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Flames in the second round of the 2022 playoffs, all focus shifted to Gaudreau’s contract situation. The superstar winger set new career-high marks in basically every offensive category as a pending unrestricted free agent last season, putting himself in a great position to cash in on the open market.

After weeks of rumors and speculation, Gaudreau shocked the hockey world on July 13 by signing a seven-year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets (joining Gudbranson, who inked a deal with Columbus earlier the same day). Shortly thereafter, reports surfaced indicating Tkachuk would not sign a long-term extension with the Flames, effectively closing the team’s contention window…that is, until July 22, when the Flames stunned basically everybody by trading Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a 2025 first-round pick. Flames GM Brad Treliving subsequently signed Huberdeau to an eight-year contract extension (Weegar remains a pending UFA).

The cloud of Gaudreau and Tkachuk needing new contracts hung over the Flames throughout the 2021–22 season. Even as the team cruised to a 50–21–11 record, few onlookers in Calgary felt truly comfortable with the state of the team. That uncertainty became a reality this summer.

But Treliving has made the most of the Flames’ situation, most recently signing Nazem Kadri – one of the top UFAs on the market and a 2022 Stanley Cup champion – to a seven-year deal. Kadri, Huberdeau and Weegar combined for 246 points last year. Gaudreau, Tkachuk and Monahan managed 242.

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions
Jonathan Huberdeau, LW
Nazem Kadri, C
MacKenzie Weegar, D
Kevin Rooney, C
Nicolas Meloche, D

Departures
Johnny Gaudreau, LW (CBJ)
Matthew Tkachuk, LW (FLA)
Sean Monahan, C (MTL)
Erik Gudbranson, D (CBJ)
Calle Jarnkrok, C (TOR)
Ryan Carpenter, C (NYR)
Brett Ritchie, RW (UFA)
Glenn Gawdin, C (ANA)
Michael Stone, D (UFA)

OFFENSE

Under Treliving, the Flames’ attack has always been strongest on the wings. Not anymore. With Elias Lindholm, Kadri and Mikael Backlund down the middle, the Flames’ center depth is the best it’s been in decades.

Backlund has been a strong two-way center for years, but his inconsistency (particularly in the early months of seasons) limits him to being more of a middle-six forward than an ideal top-six option. Adding Kadri gives the Flames even more flexibility at the most important forward position.

Huberdeau should replace Gaudreau relatively seamlessly as the Flames’ top winger, and Andrew Mangiapane will have a chance to play a significantly larger role with Matthew Tkachuk out of the picture. Mangiapane scored 35 goals last season despite spending most of his time on the Flames’ second and third lines.

The Flames will also count upon Blake Coleman and Tyler Toffoli to eat significant minutes in all situations next season. Coleman struggled to finish at times last season but consistently drove 5-on-5 play. Toffoli got off to a hot start after being acquired from the Montreal Canadiens but took a step back down the stretch.

DEFENSE

Last season, the Flames’ defensive group was better than the sum of its parts. Even after losing team captain and longtime No. 1 defender Mark Giordano to the Seattle Kraken, the Flames surrendered just 208 goals in 82 games – the third-best mark in the league.

While goaltender Jacob Markstrom – more on him later – played a big role in the Flames’ stinginess during the regular season, so too did unheralded defenders Gudbranson and Oliver Kylington. Gudbranson was surprisingly steady on the Flames’ third pair after some rough years with multiple teams, while Kylington came out of nowhere to form an excellent two-way partnership with Chris Tanev.

Kylington is still with the Flames, but Gudbranson parlayed his success into a massive UFA deal with Columbus. No matter: Calgary went out and acquired Weegar as a secondary piece in the Tkachuk deal with the Panthers.

No disrespect intended to Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson or Tanev, but Weegar is the Flames’ new top defenseman. The 28-year-old right-hander scored eight goals and 44 points while averaging 23:22 in 82 games with the Panthers in 2021–22, spending most of that time with Aaron Ekblad on the team’s first pairing.

GOALTENDING

As long as Darryl Sutter remains head coach of the Flames, expect Markstrom to start at least 60 games per season for the duration of his current contract. The 32-year-old Swede made 63 appearances with the Flames last year, posting a 37–15–9 record, a .922 save percentage and nine shutouts en route to being named a Vezina Trophy finalist and a member of the NHL’s end-of-season Second All-Star Team.

Even if Markstrom goes down at any point during the season, the Flames should be in relatively good shape. Backup goaltender Dan Vladar, who just turned 25 on August 20, went 13–6–2 with a .906 save percentage in 23 games last season. 

Meanwhile, 2019 seventh-round pick Dustin Wolf exploded onto the scene in the American Hockey League with a 33–9–4 record and a .924 save percentage in 47 games. Wolf helped the Stockton Heat win three playoff rounds last year and won the Baz Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s top goaltender – in his first year of professional hockey.

COACHING

Sutter replaced Geoff Ward as Flames head coach late in the 2020–21 season. Although Sutter wasn’t quite able to turn the ship around that year, he certainly made his mark on the Flames in 2021–22.

With the 64-year-old Viking, Alberta product at the helm, the Flames played a fast, responsible and tough brand of hockey. They finished with the sixth-most goals in the league and allowed the third-fewest. Sutter helped turn the Flames into a dominant possession team and deployed very effective top-six line combinations and defensive pairs. Before Sutter came back to Calgary, the Flames seldom played Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk together during 5-on-5 action – look how that turned out.

Sutter won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top head coach last season. If he can turn Gaudreau into a passable 200-foot player, there’s no telling what he can do with somebody like Huberdeau.

ROOKIES

We already mentioned Wolf, but he’s not the most likely Flames prospect to break into the lineup this season. That would be Jakob Pelletier, the Flames’ 2019 first-round pick, who is coming off an excellent debut season with the AHL’s Stockton Heat. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound left winger scored 27 goals and 62 points in 66 games with Stockton in 2021–22.

Pelletier is a strong two-way forward with high-end offensive skill, and he meshed well on a line with fellow tiny winger Matthew Phillips in Stockton last season. Phillips turned 24 in April and has led Calgary’s AHL team in scoring over the last two years, most recently amassing 31 goals and 68 points in 65 games with the 2021–22 Heat. He’s a 5-foot-8, 165-pound right winger who could push for a spot with the Flames in training camp this fall.

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. Who steps up to fill the void left by Matthew Tkachuk? Huberdeau is a pretty convincing Gaudreau facsimile, but the Flames lost two 100-point players this summer, not just one. Tkachuk is going to be very difficult to replace in his own right. This question would have been more difficult to answer before the Flames signed Kadri, but he probably won’t be able to do it all by himself – and he’s not a winger. Someone will have to step forward and fill Tkachuk’s shoes on the right side of the Flames’ top line. Expect Mangiapane and Toffoli to both audition for that role during the pre-season.

2. Will MacKenzie Weegar sign before the season starts? Huberdeau inked an eight-year contract extension with the Flames shortly after the trade, locking him in with the team at a $10.5 million cap hit until 2031. However, Weegar remains a pending UFA after this coming season and will almost certainly command a raise over the $3.25 million he takes home annually on his current deal. An eight-year extension would take Weegar until he’s 37.

3. Can Markstrom bounce back from his poor playoff performance against Edmonton? The Flames’ starting goaltender went toe-to-toe with Dallas Stars netminder Jake Oettinger in the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After that, Markstrom completely faltered against the Oilers in the second round, allowing 24 goals and posting an .852 save percentage in five games. If the Flames get back to that point in the postseason, Markstrom needs to be better for his team to have any hope of getting past the Oilers (or the Colorado Avalanche, for that matter).

PREDICTION

The Flames should be a pretty good team. Their only major competition in the Pacific Division will likely be their provincial rivals – that is, unless the Vegas Golden Knights can somehow emerge unscathed after losing Robin Lehner and Max Pacioretty. Teams like the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings have their strengths and could very easily make the playoffs, but the Flames’ depth at all positions puts them firmly ahead of both teams on paper.

We’ll say the Flames finish second in the Pacific and get past the Canucks in the first round of the playoffs to set up a rematch with the Oilers. This time, the Battle of Alberta will go seven games.