Flames ownership must commit to overhauling culture of mediocrity

One of the most dramatic incidents in this most disappointing Calgary Flames season played out on social media. 

With his star client Jonathan Huberdeau mired in a season-long offensive slump that saw him set a record for the biggest season-to-season point drop in NHL history, agent Allan Walsh tweeted Feb. 16 that, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.  Also, negativity sucks the joy right out of players.” He also tagged the Flames’ official Twitter account.

Walsh (who did not respond to a request for comment) was likely referring to the relationship between Huberdeau and head coach Darryl Sutter, which has been rumored to be strained. His tweet, however, may as well have been about the Flames’ approach to building a consistent contender since winning its only Stanley Cup in 1989.

The team failed to win a playoff series for 15 years after the parade. 

Since that memorable celebration on Electric Avenue some 34 years ago, the organization has made it out of the second round just once. The run to the Stanley Cup final in 2004 was largely the result of finding goalie Miikka Kiprusoff on the trade market after he’d been squeezed out of the San Jose Sharks’ crease. Kiprusoff rewarded their faith by nearly leading them to the Stanley Cup and becoming one of the franchise’s best all-time goalies. But the organization would never win another playoff series with Kiprusoff, despite him consistently being among the league’s top netminders. 

For far too long, Flames ownership (led by majority owner Murray Edwards) has built the team on the notion that the team could compete for the Stanley Cup if it squeaked into the playoffs. Long-term plans and blueprints have been eschewed in favour of a short-sighted, just-get-in mentality.

To its credit, ownership has provided financial resources, with the team consistently spending near the salary cap and showing the willingness to bring in high-profile free agents. That mindset provides the fanbase with a handful of home playoff games (and ownership with that revenue) every other year but does little in the way of building a consistent contender.

That decades-old mentality was on full display on Monday afternoon, showing zero signs of changing despite the team missing the playoffs despite making off-season moves (trading for Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar, signing Nazem Kadri) geared towards winning now.

Despite the team’s efforts to retain him, general manager Brad Treliving decided on his own accord to move on from the team he’d spent nearly a decade building on and off the ice.

At the press conference announcing that Don Maloney is now the interim general manager, team president John Bean was asked about a possible overhaul of its approach to hockey operations and a rebuild. He bristled at the notion and doubled down on Edwards’ belief that the team should avoid building with high draft picks.

“You used the word not me,” Bean responded. “I’m not allowed to ever use the word ‘rebuild.’… Everyone a year ago, by the way, looked at us and went, ‘Holy Mackinaw,' right? And that’s why you drop the puck and play the game. It didn’t quite play out the way we thought it would but boy, oh boy, oh boy, a year ago everyone was like a coronation here.” 

Whoever succeeds the highly respected and hard-working Treliving will clearly have a defined mandate: forget the notion of a rebuild and run it back next season. The Flames made long-term commitments to Huberdeau and Kadri and are one of the oldest teams in the league, making a total rebuild difficult. They do, however, several contracts coming off the books next summer.

Bean’s comments were especially worrisome given that seven Flames players (Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Tyler Toffoli, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov, Oliver Kylington) can walk as free agents next summer, and could be dealt now to help kick-start a rebuild. At their season-ending press conferences, Backlund and Lindholm did not commit to continuing with the franchise. Backlund’s comments were especially jarring given he is one of the longest-tenured players in team history.

“I want to win the Stanley Cup,” he said. “I’ve been here a long time. I love Calgary. I love the organization, but the year we had, I’m 34 years old.”

Treliving’s departure, Bean’s response, and Backlund’s noncommittal should give fans real concern that anything will ever change under the current leadership. Calgary lost one of the hardest-working, most-reputable GMs in the league and could lose one of the most-respected and community-minded players in its history, along with its current top-line centre.

Those are massive departures that come on the heels of losing stars Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk last summer. In back-to-back off-seasons, franchise pillars have made it known they would like to work and play elsewhere.

After a season full of red flags, Bean, Edwards, and the rest of ownership need to seriously reflect on how they run the Flames and connect with the fanbase. They have to have uncomfortable conversations about their approach, how young players are treated and integrated into the lineup, and just how much influence Sutter has in the organization.

Walsh’s tweet appeared to be about his client’s relationship with the coach, but he inadvertently summarized the past 34 years for the Flames. As more and more quality people decide to move on from the franchise, ownership owes it to themselves, Flames fans, and the city of Calgary to consider a massive overhaul in how they run an organization that has defined mediocrity for far too long. 

Based on Monday’s press conference, however, that introspection seems unlikely.