Flames enter camp feeling less pressure as team in transition

The Calgary Flames are ready to embrace the fresh start and lower expectations the upcoming season offers entering training camp.

The team held its annual golf tournament Tuesday, marking the unofficial kickoff to another campaign. Last season, there were six pending free agents heading into the year, and much of the attention was on if players like captain Mikael Backlund and blueliners Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and Noah Hanifin would stay with the club or move on. 

The conversation at the 2022 tournament was dominated by the franchise-altering trade of Matthew Tkachuk for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar.

This time around, the club is relishing the peace and quiet. There are no major pending free agents who need new contracts. The club didn’t add any significant pieces to its core during the off-season and wasn’t active in free agency. 

These Flames will be defined by how its remaining veterans lead a group that’ll be comprised of several rookies and sophomores (Connor Zary, Martin Pospisil, Dustin Wolf, Matthew Coronato) in key roles. Just three Flames remain from the club’s last playoff game, on May 26, 2022, when they were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in overtime in the second round. 

“There’s been a lot of turnover in the last couple of years, there’s no secret there,” said veteran winger Blake Coleman, who set a career high with 30 goals in 2023-24. “To me, it’s exciting. It’s a blank canvas. We have a lot of guys that have great opportunities to take steps in their career and leave their stamp and make a difference for us.”

Backlund said that the key is to compete every night.

“We’ll go out there and play hard every night and see where it takes us,” he said. “From the outside world, there’s little expectation. But inside the room we’re expecting to go out every night, play hard, and win games.”

General manager Craig Conroy said that experienced players like Backlund and Coleman will be key in a season where there will likely be the growing pains that come with relying on young players so much.

“The last couple of years, there was a lot of negativity coming in here,” he said. “Everybody I’ve talked to is so positive right now, from Backs to Coleman to [Nazem] Kadri. Everybody just has a real feeling [of], ‘It’s kind of us against them.’ I like when we’re the underdogs and people maybe take us lightly.”

Conroy outlined three key areas by which success will be measured , including who takes control of the crease. Rookie Dustin Wolf and 27-year-old Dan Vladar enter training camp as the expected goaltending duo.

“The one thing, if we’re all looking, is the question in goal,” he said. “And then, you want to see your young guys take another step, and you want your veterans to take a step.”

Jonathan Huberdeau has underwhelmed in his two seasons in Calgary, posting 55 and 52 points. In his final campaign in Florida in 2021-22, Huberdeau set the NHL record for points by a left winger with 115.

This summer, the alternate captain altered his training regimen to focus on speed. He also skated more than normal. Huberdeau has a specific message for the young players while conceding there might be some tough nights ahead. 

“The expectations can’t be lower than [what they are],” he said. “I think we’ve just got to make it fun as a team…even though it might be harder this year, we have to have fun doing it. I’m going to preach on that a lot this year.”

The lack of expectation seems freeing for a club that, just two seasons ago, was thought of as a Stanley Cup contender by many in the hockey world. 

This season, there’s an organizational focus on the development of young players while avoiding a culture of losing. While making the playoffs might not be the top goal for 2024-25, players pushed back on the notion that they’ll be an easy two points for the opposition every night. 

“We want to prove people wrong this year,” Backlund said. He drew a comparison to the 2014-15 Flames team that also entered the season with low expectations, but not only made the playoffs but won a round. 

Coleman added that outside narratives can shift if the team gets off to a good start. 

“Sometimes when there’s no expectations, that’s when teams can be the most dangerous because you play free and you’re happy to be there and work hard and grind together,” Coleman said. “That me-against-the-world mentality. I feel like our group’s going to have that.”