By Sean Gentille, Dom Luszczyszyn and Shayna Goldman The 2023-24 season gave the Calgary Flames exactly what they needed: a dose of reality. Sure, poor performance and expiring contracts forced the organization’s hand, and GM Craig Conroy didn’t fare all that well in the ensuing trade grades, but the sell-off has begun in earnest, and not a moment too soon. Advertisement For two consecutive seasons and parts of countless others, Calgary has fielded some of the league’s most intensely mediocre rosters.
Too bad to win meaningful games and too good to draft impact players is no way to go through life in the NHL . The Flames seem to have picked a lane. Will they stay in it? The projection The shocking thing about Calgary’s projection is that it’s not lower.
A 79-point season is right where the team finished last year and the Flames have only become worse since. Jacob Markstrom and Andrew Mangiapane join a long list of key pieces that have been moved over the last calendar year and what remains is a fairly desolate roster. Markstrom’s departure is especially onerous given how inexperienced and shaky the goaltending looks in his absence.
The Flames will no doubt be among the league’s worst teams this season, but they aren’t a completely barren group either. That’s part of the issue regarding hopes of the team completely bottoming out: Even as currently constructed, the Flames don’t look that bad. They’ll certainly test that theory this season, but for now, our.
