The Calgary Flames return home after a lackluster road trip through the Eastern Conference, which ended with a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. Although they remained competitive throughout the trip, which included additional losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins (5-2), Washington Capitals in a shootout (3-2), and Columbus Blue Jackets (3-1), the team narrowly escaped with a victory over the Buffalo Sabres (4-3).
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However, those scores weren’t the worst news of the trip, as Calgary lost one of their top defenseman, Rasmus Andersson, to suspension for a hit late in the Columbus game. Besides skating on the top pair with Noah Hanifin, he also leads the Flames on ice time at 23:39. Now, with one of the core players out of the lineup for over a week, even though the suspension is being appealed, the team can’t afford to continue losing in his absence, especially with four of the next five games taking place in Alberta.
Ahead of the Heritage Classic on October 29, the Flames will play against the New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues before leaving for a matchup with the Dallas Stars on November 1, before taking on the Seattle Kraken at home on November 4. Even though everyone is saying “it’s early,” this next stretch of games could make or break the Flames’ momentum heading into a competitive November schedule. So, keeping in mind the importance of upcoming games, here’s a list of players who must step up right now.
Nazem Kadri
As the second-highest-paid player in the lineup, Nazem Kadri appears to be a shell of his former self, with just one point in six games and a team-worse minus-eight rating. Although he’s not alone in that category, with just five players currently with a plus rating, based on his minutes (17:38) and salary, there’s no reason he should be goalless with 19 shots on goal.
Ultimately, Kadri struggled with most of the team last season under Darryl Sutter’s guidance. However, with Ryan Huska running the bench now, it appears Kadri is headed toward one of the worst seasons of his career. Although he doesn’t wear a letter on his sweater, he is supposed to be one of the offensive leaders on the ice and must find his game in the upcoming two weeks to keep Calgary in contention early in the season.
Nikita Zadorov
Nikita Zadorov has not been a minus player since skating with the Colorado Avalanche in 2016-17. Interestingly, he compiled a plus-21 rating over the past two seasons since joining the Flames in 2021-22. Still, as a pending unrestricted free agent next summer, he’s currently minus-six, which ranks second to last.
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Although he is not known as an offensive defenceman with a career-high 22 points, Zadorov has only chipped in two assists through six games while skating 18:13 a night. Now, he’s not going to take over the missing production from Andersson, but he needs to clean up his game in the defensive zone while finding ways to be on the ice for more Calgary goals than be stuck watching opponents celebrate while he’s on the ice.
MacKenzie Weegar
When the Flames dealt away Matthew Tkachuk in the summer of 2022, MacKenzie Weegar was one of the most significant pieces of the deal coming back to Alberta. Although he didn’t duplicate his career year with the Florida Panthers from 2021-22 last season, he posted respectable numbers with 31 points and a plus-15 rating in 81 games.
Currently, Weegar is on pace for 13 points, with a single goal in six games while being minus-one. At the end of 2022-23, he ranked eighth in shots on goal and currently has the third most shots with 17. Furthermore, as the defenseman who plays the third most minutes, Weegar must find more ways to help create offense on a team desperate to escape from one-goal games. Even though he got passed up for a letter on his jersey, he’s still got a lengthy contract with the Flames and is supposed to be a building block for a Stanley Cup contender.
Jacob Markström
Unfortunately, Jacob Markström appears on another list involving Flames’ players who must improve their play. Despite carrying the team on a nightly basis through the first and second periods, Markström continues giving up soft goals, often killing Calgary’s momentum. Of course, he can make 30 to 40 saves, but surrendering backbreaking goals under the arm or through the legs hasn’t resulted in many Flames victories lately.
As mentioned, it is still early in the season, and Markström has respectable numbers with a .905 save percentage and a 2.75 goals-against average. Still, those numbers don’t highlight the fact that he can’t lead Calgary through these one-goal game situations. Ultimately, he will be the starter for most of the season and must put his inconsistencies behind him and return to the form that almost won him the Vezina Trophy in 2021-22, or the Flames will struggle to be a wild-card team.
Further Perspective
The Flames have 17 players with at least one point through six games, which means the offense has been spread throughout the lineup. Furthermore, 12 skaters have at least ten shots on goal, with every player registering at least two so far. However, just like in 2022-23, the Flames continue to rack up these shooting numbers but don’t find the back of the net to boast their shooting percentage.
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Meanwhile, Calgary is already playing dangerously into the same situations they found themselves in last year, one-goal games, before finding ways to blow opportunities late in the game. Overall, everyone in the lineup could step up during the next leg of the schedule, but a handful of core players need to make an immediate impact before it’s too late.