The NHL's trade freeze is over and the Flames are struggling once again. The direction headed appears obvious
The holiday roster freeze has ended; Gentlemen, start your trading.
OK, the NHL trade deadline will be March 8, but it is becoming obvious the direction things are headed in the Stampede City.
Coming off Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken, the Calgary Flames (14-16-5) find themselves only five points behind a wild-card spot. That’s the positive view.
The realistic view is bleaker.
By the time Calgary returns to action — the New Year’s Eve clash with the Philadelphia Flyers — that deficit will likely have grown. Currently, the Flames would need to vault four teams to just be in a wild-card spot, and a fifth will most likely also be ahead of them, named the Edmonton Oilers, before the Flyers game starts.
Right now, the Flames sit 25th in the overall standings, but 26th in winning percentage.
Sure, a few hot weeks could change the situation, but this is a squad that has not sat above the .500 mark since its 2-1-1 start and has a 4-6-2 mark in its last dozen games.
This is not a squad that can improve enough by adding before the deadline.
Now, three more thoughts after the Seattle loss:
One step forward, two steps back
Going back to that 2-1-1 start, the Flames followed that with a six-game losing skid. Since then, they have twice returned to the .500 mark. Both times, they followed it with consecutive losses.
Talk about a perfect metaphor regarding how this team is unable to get over the hump.
We’re talking about practice
With a few days between games, the Flames have the opportunity to legitimately practice, which is no small deal.
Not only will it mean a chance to skate off the Christmas turkey and egg nog, but also the opportunity to fine tune some elements of their game that have not been sharp.
To their credit, the Flames are a much more structured team compared to the opening month’s worth of action, and we’re finally seeing improvement on the power play (albeit there is plenty of room for more).
Expect to see a much sharper squad against the Flyers, who are one of the league’s biggest surprises so far.
The ongoing Huberdeau saga
In what truly was a game without the top gear, embattled left winger Jonathan Huberdeau was one of the better players. (Calgary’s best was by far Nazem Kadri.)
Back to Huberdeau, though, he showed some of the much-needed creativity and determination. Was it perfect? No, but it was one of his better performances.
He needs it. Huberdeau’s last goal was Nov. 20, 17 games ago. His last point was Nov. 30, 12 games back. It’s hard to imagine but he may go through the month of December without a point.
Maybe it is time to shake up things, and see whether skating with Kadri and Connor Zary can take Huberdeau’s play up a notch.