By Jordan Long
The Calgary Flames finished the year at 38-27-17, a total of 93 points. They missed the postseason by 2 points as Winnipeg took the final playoff spot with 95 points. Even though they were close to a postseason berth, the Flames decided to move on from Head Coach Darryl Sutter.
Sutter had been Calgary’s Head Coach since March 5th, 2021. This was after Calgary let go of Head Coach Geoff Ward 24 games into the season. Ward was an assistant coach on Bill Peter’s staff and didn’t have any prior NHL Head Coach experience. Peters resigned 28 games into the 2019-2020 season after using a racial slur towards an ex-player. The Flames stood at 12-12-4.
When Ward took over, Calgary went 24-15-3 under him but ended with a record of 36-27-7. That year was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and finished in the bubble setting. Calgary won their qualifying matchup by defeating the Winnipeg Jets in a best of 5, 3 games to 1. Their season ended in the next round as they were beaten by the Dallas Stars in 6 games.
The next year, there were higher expectations for this team. Unfortunately, 24 games into the year, they were 11-11-2 and canned Ward. Sutter was an assistant coach on the staff and he became the Head Coach. Sutter was a familiar name to the franchise since he was their Head Coach from 2002 to 2006. The Flames went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2004 but were beaten by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Flames hoped Sutter was the answer.
In the final 30 games of the 2021 season, Sutter coached them to a 15-15 record. Overall they were 26-27-3 for a total of 55 points, missing the NHL playoffs. Last year the Flames skated to a 50-21-11 record, a total of 111 points. They earned a playoff spot but were beaten in the 2nd round by the Edmonton Oilers.
This season Calgary thought they had a team to advance far in the playoffs. Their big free agent was forward Nazem Kadri who had just won the Cup as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. The deal was 7 years worth $7 million per year.
Kadri played well with 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points. His team, on the other hand, didn’t. On offense, the Flames scored 3.15 goals per game 14th in the NHL. When it came to the power play, the Flames scored on 19.8% of their chances, ranking 19th in the NHL.
On defense, Calgary gave up 3.01 goals per game, ranking 13th in the NHL. On the power play kill, the Flames were one of the best at killing penalties. They didn’t allow teams to keep the puck in the defensive end and shot the puck to the other end, killing off 82.6% of their penalties. That was 5th in the NHL.
According to Flames CBC.CA, President of Hockey Operations and Interim General Manager Don Maloney said, “I interviewed 25 players, coaches, coaching staff, training staff, spoke to prominent agents who represent key players on our team, and it became clear to me that we need a new voice to guide us forward.”
Maloney also added “The players were very, very frustrated with the season. They truly believe we had a team good enough to be in the playoffs.”
The Flames will start a coaching search. There are two names they could consider. Both of them were fired this year and have NHL Head Coaching experience. They are Bruce Boudreau and Peter Laviolette. Boudreau has coached 16 years at the NHL level with the Anaheim Ducks, Washington Capitals, Minnesota Wild, and Vancouver Canucks. His teams earned a playoff spot 10 times.
Laviolette on the other hand has coached for 21 years in the NHL. He has been to the Stanley Cup Final 3 times while winning it once with Carolina in 2006. Both of these coaches could help the Flames be not only an improved team but one that could make a run in the playoffs. The Flames will take their time to hire their new Head Coach. Calgary just wants to be a consistent playoff team.
Leave a Reply