Fireside Chat

The Calgary Flames have had a rotten week on the ice, with 3 losses in three games. Then on March 3, the Calgary Flames became the last team in the NHL to make a trade this season with 2 small trades. The Flames brought in Dryden Hunt, Nick Ritchie and Troy Stetcher and said goodbye to Brett Ritchie, Radim Zohorna and Connor Mackey. The guys introduce you to these new Flames and if they think the Flames came out ahead or not.

With the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline now less than a week away, the guys spend most of this episode discussing what the Calgary Flames should be doing at the deadline. Between Dan Vladar and Jacob Markstrom, neither goalie has looked good since the All-Star break. Darryl Sutter said this week, "win, and you're in" is the strategy for the goalies. Is that the best strategy at this point?

The Calgary Flames have another disappointing week, but somehow still manage to be in the playoff hunt.  The guys discuss the Allan Walsh tweet this week and if it was a fair criticism. That brings up the question...it time to name a Captain for the Calgary Flames to bring some leadership to the team?

For those unaware of the Allan Walsh tweet in question this week, you can read it below.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Also, negativity sucks the joy right out of players. cc: @NHLFlames

— Allan Walsh (@walsha) February 17, 2023

Dan and Matt are back to review the Calgary Flames' 1-1-1 week on the road and the very different games we saw from the team in each game. Then the guys spend most of the show looking ahead to the NHL Trade Deadline, which is less than 3 weeks away. Should the Flames be buyers? Sellers? Or stand pat and make minor tweaks?

With the Flames on their all star break, the guys didn’t record an episode. Instead, Dan appeared on the Shifts and Pucks podcast where he and the crew continued some of the discussions from Episode 317 with Kevin Olenick.

The Calgary Flames had a very Jekyll and Hyde week with a big loss to the Chicago Blackhawks and a big win versus the Seattle Kraken. And don't forget the return of Johnny Gaudreau to the Saddledome where he took on Jonathan Huberdeau. Johnny Hockey vs Jonathan Hockey.

This week Dan is joined by Kevin Olenick of the Shifts and Pucks podcast to break down what went wrong this week and discuss some bigger issues surrounding the Flames as they embark on their All-Star Break.

Another up-and-down week for the Calgary Flames still has the guys questioning some of the decisions of Darryl Sutter's coaching staff. The guys give a report on Oliver Kylington's status and continue to discuss the issues with the Flames not playing young players. With Johnny Gaudreau returning to Calgary and a relatively easy week on the schedule before the Flames bye week, what should we expect for the Flames this week?

This week Dan goes on a rant trying to figure out the disconnect between the Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving and Head Coach Darryl Sutter around the Jakob Pelletier call-up and not being played. As well, the guys debate how the goalies should be used for the rest of the month and if Jacob Markstrom or Dan Vladar should be starting in net for the remainder of the month.

The Calgary Flames have made it to the middle point of the season, and they sit in a wild-card spot now. With Jacob Markstrom struggling again this week the guys discuss if Dan Vladar should get the net again, and what to expect from the Jakob Pelletier recall. To end the show Dan and Matt recap their pre-season predictions to see how they're doing right now.

As the calendar turns to 2023 the Calgary Flames are back in a playoff spot - only down 3 points from where they were this time last year. It feels like the team is finally getting going, and the lines have been settled. The guys recap the 2022 half of the season and look ahead to the 2023 half of the season and what the Flames need to do to stay in a playoff spot.