It feels like forever ago, but it was only two years back that the Calgary Flames finished the regular season first place in the Pacific Division, with their provincial rival Edmonton Oilers finishing seven points behind in second.
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Much to the excitement of hockey fans throughout Alberta, the two met up in the playoffs in what everyone hoped would be a series that went the distance. It may seem strange to think of now, but most thought of the Flames as the favourite to advance to the Western Conference Final. That turned out to be far from the case.
Despite losing the opening game of the series, the Oilers dismantled the Flames, winning the next four in a row to end it in just five outings. Since that time, the Oilers have continued to be one of the league’s better teams, while the Flames have completely fallen apart, and are currently in a retooling effort to help better their future.
Oilers Broke the Flames
The joke in the 2022 Playoffs was that the Oilers broke Jacob Markstrom, who was flat-out horrendous in Games 2 through 5 of the series. The Swedish goaltender continued to struggle in the 2022-23 season, leading even more people to believe that truly may have been the case.
Despite some recent struggles, Markstrom has gotten back to his former self, as he was having a potential Vezina Trophy finalist season prior to the Flames selling off several pieces at the trade deadline. While he may not have been broken by the Oilers, however, it is safe to say his team was.
The Flames roster changed almost immediately after being knocked out by the Oilers. The first blow came in free agency, as Johnny Gaudreau elected to leave Calgary in favour of the Columbus Blue Jackets, while Matthew Tkachuk forced a trade a short time later. The hope was that the new additions of Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, and MacKenzie Weegar would allow them to continue to be a contender, but that simply hasn’t been the case.
The Flames were officially eliminated from the playoffs this past Thursday, marking the second straight season they have failed to get in. It hasn’t been a result of bad luck, either. This team is just flat-out not good enough to compete in the Western Conference. That in itself is frustrating to the fan base, but making matters even worse is the continued success of the Oilers.
The Oilers have yet to win a Stanley Cup in the Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl era, but have had some terrific regular seasons paired with some exciting action in the playoffs. Flames fans haven’t gotten to experience that, as they instead have had to endure a mediocre club putting up middling results over the past two years.
The misery continued for Flames fans on Saturday night, as the Oilers came into Calgary and walked away with a 4-2 victory. With the win, the Oilers have now defeated the Flames in eight of their last 10 meetings, making the Battle of Alberta feel more like a boys-against-men matchup.
History Also Favours the Oilers
What would make this a whole lot easier to swallow for Flames fans is if they could poke fun at the Oilers and their fan base for a lack of Stanley Cups. Some do play that card in regards to McDavid and Draisaitl, but it doesn’t hold well when looking at the overall success of both franchises.
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As everyone knows, the Oilers had one of the NHL’s best dynasties in the late 1980s, winning five Stanley Cups in seven seasons from 1984 to 1990. The Flames were able to get a Stanley Cup win of their own in that time, doing so in 1989. Unfortunately, that not only serves as their most recent Cup championship but their only one.
Flames Finally Taking the Right Step
The issue for the Flames for a number of years now is that ownership has seemingly been okay with being a middle-of-the-line team. Each season, they go in feeling like a team that could make the playoffs, but not one that has much of a chance of winning it all. It is a strategy that has driven their fan base to the point of insanity, but thankfully, things finally appear to be changing.
Under Craig Conroy’s guidance, the Flames seemed to finally accept where they were as an organization and traded several pending free agents in exchange for picks and prospects. It has hurt their success for the time being, but is being done to ensure they can become a true contender in the years ahead. Their fans are certainly deserving of that, as their team has played the part of a little brother role more so than a true rival throughout their entire history.
