As the Battle of Alberta in the Canadian Football League (CFL) quickly approaches, it made me wonder how the Battle of Alberta in hockey will shape up for the 2024-25 season. In football, both the Edmonton Elks and Calgary Stampeders are sitting at the bottom of the pile in the CFL’s West Division, and the next two back-to-back games on Labour Day and Sept. 7 will most likely determine which team will sink to the bottom and which one will go on to compete for a playoff spot. On the hockey front, the Battle of Alberta looks a bit more lopsided in 2024-25 with the Edmonton Oilers most likely competing for the playoffs and possibly another Stanley Cup run, while the Calgary Flames are in rebuild, re-tool, re-invention mode – whatever you want to call it.
Flames Focused on the Future
Fans from Calgary often laugh at Edmonton, and over the years Oilers fans have heard the same thing over and over again, “Why would anyone want to play in Edmonton?” It seems like karma had its way with the Flames the past couple of seasons with the loss of some good hockey players such as Noah Hanifin, Jacob Markstrom, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau aka Johnny Hockey. The loss of Tkachuk and Gaudreau hurt the Flames on the ice and was a blow to the psyche of the hockey club when both players chose not to stay in Calgary. Some people believe that Gaudreau and Tkachuk’s departures may have come as a result of their second round Stanley Cup playoff loss to the Oilers in the spring of 2022 when the Flames had home-ice advantage and a 1-0 series lead only to have the Oilers storm back with four straight wins to take the series 4-1. That of course was then, and this is now. So how are the Flames stacking up for the 2024-25 season?
The team had a successful 2024 Draft, taking defenceman Zayne Parekh ninth overall, and forward Matvei Gridin 28th in the first round. The Flames were also busy in the second round taking wingers Andrew Basha 41st and Jacob Battaglia 62nd. Calgary’s biggest free-agency signing was bringing Florida Panthers defenceman Ryan Lomberg back to the organization, signing the 29-year-old to a two-year contract. Lomberg joins a group of veterans led by Jonathan Huberdeau, Mikael Backlund, Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman.
The Flames will also count on players from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Calgary Wranglers who won their Pacific Division first round series in 2024 against the Tucson Roadrunners 2-0 but fell 3-1 in the second round to eventual AHL champions, Coachella Valley Firebirds. Goaltender Dustin Wolf backstopped the Wranglers in the playoffs, and played in 17 games for the Flames last season. He looks like a strong prospect and will be sharing the goaltending duties with veteran Dan Vladar.
Oilers Focused On the Here and Now
2024 has been the best of times and the blurst of times (thank you Simpsons) for the Edmonton Oilers and every step has been well documented. The team came back all the way to tie the Florida Panthers 3-3 in the Stanley Cup Final, only to lose Game 7 by a goal. Then the real drama began. Oilers general manager (GM) Ken Holland left and CEO Jeff Jackson went on a free agent signing extravaganza in July re-signing veterans such as Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown, then picking up free agent forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner. In August the drama continued as the Oilers signed new GM Stan Bowman and lost defenceman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway to the St. Louis Blues in the first double offer sheet in NHL history.
The other big move had the team trading away defenceman Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks for defenceman Ty Emberson. The Oilers have some holes to fill, especially on defence but they have a bit more cap space to play with, especially if forward Evander Kane goes on long-term injured reserve (LTIR). The losses of Broberg, Holloway and even Ceci hurt the team but they’ve still got a deep lineup led by superstars Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard. The biggest concern for the Oilers won’t be the Flames, it’ll be keeping their roster together under the cap and competing for the Stanley Cup in 2024-25.
How Will the Battle of Alberta Stack Up in 2024-25?
Just like the Elks and the Stampeders of the CFL, hockey fans can expect the Oilers and Flames battles to be filled with nastiness. However, with the Flames re-tooling, you might expect the Oilers to dominate their southern neighbours for at least this season. Next season? Who knows. The Flames might be focused on building a great team for the opening of their new arena in 2027. They were gutted by the loss of some quality veterans over the past two years, and hopefully, for their fan base, the bleeding will stop. As for the Oilers, this is their window to win despite roadblocks put up by people like Blues GM Doug Armstrong. McDavid and Draisaitl aren’t getting any younger, and they’re getting more expensive. Their time to win is now.
Related: Oilers Have a Target On Their Back
Unfortunately, there are only three Battle of Alberta hockey games in the 2024-25 season: Sunday, Oct. 13 at Edmonton, Sunday, Nov. 3 at Calgary, and Saturday, March 29 at Edmonton. Even though it might look like a mismatch on paper, you can always expect these games to be close. We’ll see if there’ll be some extra nastiness between these two franchises this season, especially in the Saddledome where the Oilers have had a couple of magical moments over the years.
