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Things were supposed to be different in Calgary.
Darryl Sutter, supposedly the root of all problems plaguing the Flames, is gone, replaced by friendlier coach Ryan Huska. The rumblings of a mass exodus of players died down.
As the season enters its second month, however, the Flames find themselves in the basement of the NHL standings, one spot ahead of the winless San Jose Sharks.
Defenceman Nikita Zadorov put his teammates on blast, telling reporters recently that “we have too many individuals playing by themselves.”
“Last season was different,” Zadorov said. “It was Darryl. Now there’s no Darryl, so there’s no excuses.”
The Flames’ most glaring issue is their non-threatening offence, which has scored 13 goals at five-on-five in 10 games. Calgary is averaging nearly three fewer scoring chances per game than last season. On top of that, Flames skaters have been inaccurate from the slot, hitting the net on a league-worst 54 per cent of their five-on-five chances (81 of 150).
There have been few signs of life from the Flames’ top forwards. Jonathan Huberdeau has been less effective at creating chances than he was last season, when his point total cratered by 60 from the year before. Huberdeau is averaging 2.8 offence-generating plays per game at five-on-five, down from 3.97 in 2022-23.
Andrew Mangiapane, who led regular Flames players with 2.17 chances per game at five-on-five last season, has nine in 10 games. Nazem Kadri has not scored at even strength this season, though he is doing a better job of getting to the slot. Seventeen of Kadri’s 32 shot attempts at five-on-five (53.1 per cent) have come from there, compared to 37.9 per cent last season. The hope is that these players will eventually bust out of their slumps. The Flames, however, do not have the benefit of time.
Because of their offensive woes, the Flames are wasting a strong start from Jacob Markstrom, who has made six quality starts in eight appearances this season. A goaltender is credited with a quality start when he saves more goals than expected.
Markstrom has been under fire when in net, facing 3.22 expected goals per 60 minutes in all situations. That ranks 42nd out of 62 goaltenders who have played at least 100 minutes. By comparison, Markstrom faced 2.52 expected goals per 60 last season.
The Flames’ 2-7-1 start could lead to wholesale changes. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reported earlier this week that the team has paused contract talks with Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin and other pending free agents. At this rate, Flames management may have no choice but to tear down the roster and start over.
All stats via Sportlogiq
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