The Flames are in for a long season
It was widely expected heading into this NHL season that the rebuilding Calgary Flames would be one of several contenders to finish with the worst record and the league and thus take the best odds into the NHL Draft lottery next spring.
Now, with a week and a half’s worth of games in the rear view mirror, the Flames stand as one of three teams without a win and the only team without a single point in the standings.
Their minus-17 goal differential is the worst of any team in the league by a margin of four, as they’ve been outscored 23-6 through their four regulation losses.
Calgary suffered a 7-3 loss on home ice on Thursday night at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, but the game was 6-1 into the third period before Mikael Backlund and Kevin Bahl tacked on a pair of goals during garbage time.
It’s not about to get any easier for the Flames, either, as their next five games come against teams that made the playoffs last season with a back-to-back with the Anaheim Ducks looming, only to be followed by contests against the Stanley Cup runner-up Vegas Golden Knights and winner Carolina Hurricanes, with the Minnesota Wild on deck after the champs come to town.
On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, host Tyler Yaremchuk discussed just how bleak things could get for the Flames this season as they continue to bottom out in their process of acquiring draft capital and young talent to build up a competitive core once again.
Tyler Yaremchuk: The Flames got smoked by the Colorado Avalanche 7-3… The Flames, I don’t know how many games they’re going to win this year. And you do kind of feel for that fan base. I was a fan of those Oilers teams in the decade of darkness where I remember years that it was kind of Halloween, and you’re like ‘Well, not much to watch this season.’ You’re almost helpless, because you know you’re in a rebuild. You’re going to keep watching because you’re a fan and you want to root for the kids, the Zayne Parekh’s and all of that stuff. There are still reasons to watch the Calgary Flames if you’re a Flames fan, but to be at this point in the season and it’s already this bleak, they’re 0-4 with a minus-17 goal differential. And yes, last night they lost at the hand of the Colorado Avalanche. Their other losses came at the hands of the Seattle Kraken, who are not a juggernaut by any stretch of the imagination… It’s only been 10 days. Man, Calgary’s going to be in a really tough spot, and again, you just get to a point where, I mean forget the fan base, even the players in that room. You play for pride, I get it. You’re doing it because it’s your job, and it’s a great job to have, and they pay you well to show up. That’s gotta be some tough nights right now.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…
