Five Things The Calgary Flames Need To Accomplish This Off-Season

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Just last season, the Calgary Flames were one of the best teams in the entire NHL, running out a top line that could match up with any other team, but just 18 months later, they find themselves scrambling to rebuild a franchise that suddenly looks like it has a major structural and cultural issue.

With two top stars struggling to live up to their hype in their first seasons in Calgary, as well as holes all over the organization, if they want to find continued, sustained success throughout the regular and post season, they’ve got plenty of work to do.

Not all hope is lost though, as the team have some promising coaches in the organization, as well as the Calder Cup favourite Calgary Wranglers that feature plenty of future Flames stars, but if this team wants to bounce back in 2023/24, there’s some things they need to accomplish this off-season.

5. Figure out a clear direction that this team is headed in

CALGARY, CANADA – APRIL 12: Dustin Wolf #32 of the Calgary Flames celebrates with Jakob Pelletier #49 of the Calgary Flames and other teammates after their win against the San Jose Sharks at the Scotiabank Saddledome on April 12, 2023, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Leah Hennel/Getty Images) /

For years now, it seems as though the Flames went with the ‘get into the playoffs and anything can happen from there’ mentality, but with so much talent in the Western Conference, they need to find a clear direction one way or another.

With the Calgary Wranglers stacked full of young talent, the obvious answer is to go for the youthful rebuild, but now the team have Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri locked in long-term, so they may look to find young, up and coming stars that are ready to compete with those veterans.

Whatever happens, for the Flames to find sustained success, they need to have a clear mission from top to bottom in the organization, and if they do that, there’s a way that this team could become a genuine contender in the next few seasons.

4. Find a way to get Huberdeau and Kadri rolling once again

CALGARY, CANADA – FEBRUARY 18: Jakob Pelletier #49 (L) and Jonathan Huberdeau #10 of the Calgary Flames celebrate after their second goal by Nazem Kadri #91 against the New York Rangers during the first period of an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome on February 18, 2023 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images) /

The 2022 off-season was the wildest in recent memory for Calgary, as they lost their two top point scorers from a season ago, while landing a Stanley Cup Champion and a fellow 115-point scorer, but unfortunately, the Flames big acquisitions didn’t quite fire in their first season.

It’s easy to point the finger at Darryl Sutter here, but neither Jonathan Huberdeau or Nazem Kadri looked like themselves all season long, and for this team to have any type of success, they need to get back to their best.

With youth and speed expected to be added to the roster for 2023/24, whether through the Wranglers or a trade, there is certainly avenues to increase their production immediately, so this should be priority No. 1 on the ice for Calgary next season.

3. The Calgary Flames need to make a decision on key 2024 Free Agents

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 16: Tyler Toffoli #73 and Elias Lindholm #28 of the Calgary Flames celebrate Toffoli’s third-period goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during their game at T-Mobile Arena on March 16, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Flames defeated the Golden Knights 7-2. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Along with finding a clear direction ahead for the Flames, Calgary will also need to make some key decisions on some big names, as the likes of Tyler Toffoli, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin and Mikael Backlund are all free agents in 2024, so Calgary will need to decide whether they look for a trade or an extension.

If Calgary believe an infusion of talent such as Jakob Pelletier, Walker Duehr, Matt Coronato, Dustin Wolf and a few others can make this veteran group genuine contenders in the Pacific Division, re-signing these names at a good cost would be the play, but if they want to go with the full youth movement, perhaps finding assets for them is the best way forward.

Regardless, what happens with these names this off-season will show Flames fans a good insight into the new regime in the front office and where they see this franchise going forward, so these decisions will be key for their future.

2. The Calgary Flames need to name a new Captain

VANCOUVER, CANADA – MARCH 31: Mikael Backlund #11 of the Calgary Flames skates up ice during the third period of their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on March 31, 2023 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Getty Images) /

After the departure of Mark Giordano and the emergence of Darryl Sutter as the teams Head Coach once again, the Calgary Flames refused to name a captain for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 season, but it became clear throughout last season that this team needed a unified leader to bridge the gap between players and coach.

When a new Head Coach is named, this should be first on their priority list, and with the likes of Jonathan Huberdeau, Rasmus Andersson and the favourite Mikael Backlund all pushing for the spot, there are plenty of options.

Whoever it turns out to be, this is a talented Flames squad, and with a new, unified leader in the locker room and a Coach that (hopefully) fosters a positive, winning environment in the locker room, this should be a move to help the team in a big way.

1. The Calgary Flames need to find a young Head Coach/General Manager Combination

HENDERSON, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 26: Mitch Love, head coach of the Calgary Wranglers on the bench in the game against the Henderson Silver Knights at The Dollar Loan Center on February 26, 2023 in Henderson, Nevada. The Silver Knights defeated the Wranglers 2-1. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images) /

While naming a captain is important, there’s nothing more crucial to the future of the Calgary Flames this off-season than naming a new General Manager and Head Coach, and after their last few attempts, finding a young combination would be ideal to the future of this franchise.

Names like Craig Conroy could certainly fit the bill as the GM, and there’s no better Head Coach option than Calgary Wranglers Head Coach Mitch Love, but whoever they choose, it could turn the tides of this franchise one way or another.

With Murray Edwards still at the helm of this organization, the feeling around the Flames fan base is that the ‘old boys club’ could prevent them from going in the right direction, especially with reported links to former Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman, so the Flames need to get this right if they are any chance of building a consistent winner over the next 10 years and beyond.

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