Recently on Dropping the Gloves podcast with John Scott, Scott and co-host/producer, Tim Wirzburger, took a spin around the Pacific to give listeners a preview of the NHL’s westernmost division, during which they reviewed each team and made their predictions – including some interesting statements about the Calgary Flames…
As I listened, I decided I’d write back to John and Tim in the form of an open letter here on Flame for Thought.
Now, before I get to my letter for the All-Star and his co-host, Tim, I need to make it exceptionally clear that – as a regular listener of Dropping the Gloves – I have a great deal of respect for the show and that the intention with this letter is to have fun and spark dialogue about hockey and the Calgary Flames. I am not picking a fight with John and Tim, although I do hope they see this article and have some fun with it. My tone in the letter below is intentionally satirical and I thought a piece like this could be a light-hearted way to experiment with a different type of content that readers won’t find on another Flames fan site.
Prior to reading the letter below, you can listen to the podcast episode here. The Flames segment runs from about 31:47 to 37:08.
Dear John, Tim, and the Dropping the Gloves podcast,
While there are several points you make in your Pacific Division preview that I wholeheartedly agree with, there’s a ton of information you either intentionally neglected to include or lazily avoided researching before you turned on the mics and hit record (Google exists, by the way).
But, let’s start with what you got right:
- On paper, the Flames do have a “pretty solid roster” and I can understand the opinion that they appear “not good enough to compete, but not bad enough to tank.” Yes, we are “stuck in the middle” – something we Flames fans are all too familiar with. In fact, a term has been coined among the C of Red – we call it perpetual mediocrity.
- Yes, the Flames do have some valuable players that other teams may be interested in at the deadline or next off-season; Conroy may have some assets to shop around the league if the Flames don’t get off to a solid start.
- Last season was a disappointment, for sure. Huberdeau did have a massive drop-off that left fans with their heads in their hands.
- It’s definitely time to invest in the young guys, like Matthew Coronato and Jakob Pelletier, as you mentioned.
Now, here’s where your show prep failed you:
- Compared to expectations, last season was terrible, but in the grand scheme of things, the Flames missed the playoffs by only three points. They had, statistically, the second-to-worst luck in the NHL in 2022/23 with a PDO of 0.981. They don’t necessarily need all of the power play, goaltending, Huberdeau, and one-goal games to go their way. Had just one of those things clicked, they would have been in the playoffs.
- The Flames don’t have a goal-scorer? Lindholm is purely a disher? Elias Lindholm had 42 goals in 2021/22.
- On Backlund, Lindholm, and Hanifin putting “feelers” out to their GM and the league: there may have been some truth to that months ago and we’re still not certain what the outcome will be. But, had you searched up recent news around those players, you’d know Backlund is likely about to extend and become the 20th captain in Flames history, Lindholm would like to stay for the right contract, and even Noah Hanifin may have changed his stance (although that third one might be lip service).
- You outright failed to mention that much of last season’s dysfunction came from bench boss, Darryl Sutter. With Sutter’s coaching being the major Flames story in 2021/22, how did you leave out any mention of new head coach, Ryan Huska, and the potential impacts that can have on a team? Additionally, the Flames brought in Marc Savard to run the forwards and power play, while Jarome Iginla (heard of him?) has joined the organization to support Conroy in the front office. You couldn’t spare 30 seconds to mention any of that? Think about the difference the removal of an antagonist and the insertion of a new head coach, offensive-minded former 97-point NHLer, and the greatest player in franchise history could have on the team.
- Lastly, let’s get to your standings predictions… John, you had the Flames pegged as a “bad” team that will finish 5th in the division and Tim, 7th!? I could see Calgary finishing 5th and just missing the playoffs again, but 7th – below the DUCKS – is a level of ignorance reserved for the Columbus Blue Jackets organization. All I can say here is, “Bookmark this page and come back at the end of the season.”
On a more serious note, thanks for the coverage you provide with Dropping the Gloves. I love the show and hope you enjoy the jest in this letter. Keep up the good work, and again, know what I’ve written here is riddled with sarcasm meant to provide something a little different for the readers on our site.
Go Flames go!
Brett
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