The worst NHL team in Western Canada is about to undergo a significant rebuild.
Welcome to a new Oilersnation summer series called Off-Season Review, in which we’ll take a dive into what’s going on with the other 15 teams in the Western Conference. In the first article of the series, we’ll look at the Calgary Flames.
The Calgary Flames 2023-24 season in a nutshell
It wasn’t a good 2023-24 season for the Calgary Flames. In fact, they’ve been in a tailspin since losing in Game 5 to the Oilers in the 2022 postseason. As you know, they won the division that year, but after Connor McDavid’s overtime goal in Game 5, both Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk found new homes.
The Flames were still competitive in 2022-23, missing the postseason by two points. They were still in the playoff hunt come mid-January, as they had 47 points on Jan. 17, trailing the Nashville Predators who had 49 points. However, they were unable to string wins together and fell out of contention by the trade deadline.
At the end of January, the Flames moved Elias Lindholm who had nine goals and 32 points in 49 games to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, a 2024 first-round pick (Matvei Gridin) and 2024 fourth-round pick (traded down at the draft, selected Luke Misa and Hunter Laing). In reality, this was a pretty good trade.
The Flames also moved Noah Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a few draft picks later down the road and defenceman Danill Miromanov. Had the Knights won their first-round matchup against the Dallas Stars, the 2025 third-round pick would’ve become a second-round pick in 2024.
Speaking of the Stars, they acquired Chris Tanev in exchange for a second-round pick (Jacob Battaglia) and Artem Grushnikov. Had the Stars defeated the Oilers in the Western Conference Finals, the Flames would have received a 2026 third-round pick.
After the Mar. 8 deadline, the Flames went 7-13-0 and finished ninth last in the league. In fairness, they had a pretty darn good draft, but it’ll be a while before the team is competitive again.
Some Notable Statistics
Their top point-getter was Nazem Kadri, who scored 29 goals and 75 points in 82 games. I bet he regrets signing with the Flames after winning a cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022. Yegor Sharangovich was their top goal-scorer, potting 31 goals and 59 points in 82 games. Sharangovich was extended on Jul. 1, signing a five-year deal worth $28.75 million (cap hit of $5.75 million).
Blake Coleman had a career-year with the Flames, potting 30 goals and 54 points in 78 games, while defenceman MacKenzie Weegar scored 20 goals and 52 points. Jonathan Huberdeau, who was part of the Matthew Tkachuk trade, scored 12 goals and 52 points in 81 games. According to a recent The Athletic article, his contract is the worst in the league.
The last player we’ll look at from the 2023-24 Flames is Andrei Kuzmenko. After the trade with the Canucks, Lindholm scored six goals and 12 points in 26 games, along with five goals and 10 points in 13 postseason games. In 29 games, Kuzmenko scored 14 goals and 25 points in 29 games. What an awful trade for the Canucks, considering they were unable to retain Lindholm.
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 13: Washington Capitals right wing Anthony Mantha (39) takes the ice to skate in pregame warm-ups for the first time at Capital One Arena. (Photo by Jonathan Newton /The Washington Post)
Off-Season Transactions
The start of the off-season saw more moves from the Flames. It was long speculated that the New Jersey Devils wanted netminder Jacob Markström, and they finally got their guy on Jun. 19, trading defenceman Kevin Bahl and a 2025 first-round pick for the goalie. Calgary has one of the top goaltending prospects in the league, Dustin Wolf, who’ll get an opportunity next season.
A day before the draft, they also got out of Andrew Mangiapane’s contract, receiving a 2025 second-round pick for the long-time Flame. The 28-year-old scored 14 goals and 40 points in 75 games with the Flames in 2023-24, well off his 35-goal pace (and 55 points) he had set in 2021-22.
In terms of signings for the Flames, there hasn’t been much. Anthony Mantha is the most notable player they signed, as they got him on a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. He’ll surely be traded at the deadline for picks or young players.
The Flames also signed Ryan Lomberg, who won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers and had a tenure with the Flames earlier in his career. He signed a two-year deal with a cap hit of $2 million. Jake Bean signed a two-year deal with a cap hit of $1.75 million.
Other than that, the moves have been minimal at best. Netminder Devin Cooley signed a two-year deal at the league minimum while Justin Kirkland and Jonathan Aspirot each signed one-year deals at the league minimum on two-way contracts.
They didn’t lose anyone either, though. Dennis Gilbert signed with Buffalo, A.J. Greer signed with Florida, Ben Jones signed with Minnesota, former Oiler Jordan Oesterle signed with Boston, and Colton Poolman signed with Buffalo. Oliver Kylington’s future is still unknown, while Adam Klapka, Yan Kuznetsov, Nikita Okhotiuk, Jakob Pelletier, Cole Schwindt, Ilya Solovyov, and Dustin Wolf are restricted free agents.
All in all, it’ll be a rough season for the Calgary Flames in 2024-25… but at least they’ll get a high draft pick?
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