2022-2023 was a rough season for Flames fans.

There’s no real need to consolidate this statement. It’s simply a fact. If you’re finding that there is a lack of offseason Flames content across all Calgary-based media outlets, simply look back to the atrocity that was the 2022-2023 regular season. It’s miserable to write about and miserable to read about.

A quick exercise in masochism.

The fun really began on October 29, 2022. The Flames entered the night with a 5-1-0 record with the prospect of making a statement to their archrivals that they are a new team and a new contending force in the Pacific Division.

It didn’t quite go as planned. Two blown one-goal leads resulted in a 3-2 win for Edmonton.

By November 11, the Calgary Flames had a record of 5-6-2. Seven straight losses. Most of them in miserable fashion. By December 3, the Flames had played 23 games and had given up 17 leads. 14 of them being one-goal leads and three two-goal leads. Nine of those instances were leads surrendered after scoring first.

We could go on. More losing streaks. Rumours of turmoil in the dressing room. Oh, and who could forget humiliating losses to the bottom feeders? The Flames went 3-4-2 against the bottom three teams in the NHL standings: Columbus, Chicago and Anaheim. The three finished with 59, 59, and 58 points respectively.

Ok. We get it. What’s the point of exhuming all of this?

Great question. Like so many that follow this team, it’s at least been interesting to read about how others are coping with this lost season. Primarily, the things they tell each other when trying to find an explanation for say Jonathan Huberdeau’s disappointing performance or Darryl Sutter’s odd shootout lineups.

Are they really true? Or are Flames fans just exiting reality due to the excessive pain this season has caused?

Let’s try to find that out. Here’s a common one to start.

Did Jonathan Huberdeau play most of the season on the right wing?
This is one that has been getting more and more out of hand. The silk-mitted former St John Sea Dog played 36 games as a right wing. December 18, 2022, to March 12, 2023. A quick and easy “no” to that one.

The narratives don’t end with just his position.

Was Jonathan Huberdeau only having a bad season because he was stuck on his off-wing?
Likely the most common theory as well as the most bubble-bursting in reality. Huberdeau actually produced at a higher clip on the right side rather than the left.

Right Wing
8 goals 18 assists 26 points in 36 games

Left Wing
7 goals 22 assists 29 points in 43 games

So, on the right side we’re seeing a .722 points per game average. On the left? .674.

Did Jonathan Huberdeau play most of the season with Milan Lucic?
People saying this need a glass of water. Here are his all situations line minutes per Moneypuck. Add in a grain of salt on it’s accuracy due to the fact that all three players need to be on the ice for the clock to start.

183 minutes with Lucic and Kadri. 152 with Pelletier and Kadri. 175 with Backlund and Coleman. 166 with Lindholm and Toffoli.

We’ve picked on Jonny enough. He’s likely having a bounce-back season next year under a new coach. What’s next?

Did Darryl really miss the playoffs by choosing Nick Ritchie to shoot on Jusse Saros in the shootout?
To set the stage for this, we need to go back to the evening of April 10, 2023. Calgary sat three points out of a playoff position and needed two points to avoid elimination at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets.

With a 2-2 tie through four stanzas, the Flames needed to beat Jusse Saros and the Predators in the shootout to keep their playoff hopes alive. Jonathan Huberdeau struck first with a goal on Calgary’s first shot.

Seven shots later, The Calgary Flames were officially out of the playoffs and the fact that Nick Ritchie got one of the shots still lingers in the minds of many fans.

So, did that decision eliminate the Flames and was it a bad one to make at the time?

No to both.

Calgary lost so many games that they should have easily won. Isolating their place in the standings down to one extra point is like saying “This clown looks silly because of his big red nose”. Sure, it adds to it, but between the floppy shoes and the face paint and the big blue wig — the clown has a lot going on. Nick Ritchie was simply just the big red nose. Hell. He wasn’t even that. He was the flower that squirts water in your face when you go to smell it.

Ritchie was 2-for-5 heading into that shot. He had already scored on Saros in the shootout that season. While some wanted Tyler Toffoli — the pure sniper is 2-for-17 on his career. The true blunder that night was the picks Darryl made beyond the now-UFA Nick Ritchie. Nazem Kadri was 1-for-5 and Mikael Backlund was 1-for-12 before their misses.

We’ve picked on prominent left wingers enough. How about a guy who should probably move to the left wing next season?

Was Troy Stetcher really an instant fit?
Within days of Brad Treliving’s final trade deadline with the Calgary Flames, fans were ashout about how great Troy Stetcher was looking. “He has the heart of a lion” some would say. “He fits like a glove” others might bring up.

Unfortunately there’s some evidence that he didn’t fit as well as some may think.

Let’s start with the bad.

Stetcher played most of his time on the third pairing. He and 6’6” Nikita Zadorov, well, sucked. They were awful at a point in the season where the team could not afford to be awful.

While Troy Stetcher put up solid numbers with basically every other defenceman — he and Zadorov simply didn’t click. They were outscored 6-11 at even strength over 165 minutes on the ice. That includes two of Zadorov’s goals against the Sharks.

Compare that to Stetcher-Gilbert who outscored the opposition 5-3 at even strength, or the insanely dominant glimpse of Weegar-Stetcher, who put up a 91.7 expected goals percentage at 5v5 over a tiny sample size of ten minutes together. Even Stetcher-Stone went two goals for and two goals against at 5v5 while out-chancing the opposition 47-19.

So, is there room for Troy Stetcher to come back?

In terms of cap space? No. The Flames are projected to have $236,667 in space once Pelletier and Duehr are called back up. Maybe in terms of lineup space? Not if Zadorov is going to be his defence partner. We got an 18-game sample and it wasn’t great.

Could he come back if several defencemen were moved out? Sure. There is potential in particular if Stetcher has a different pairing to play on.

While this all may come off as negative, we’re simply trying to take a more realistic stance on what transpired over 82 games. Understanding what happened can — well maybe it doesn’t really do much for us as fans. We don’t have much control over the situation beyond telling off Murray Edwards at a season ticket holder’s banquet.

For what it’s worth, you can keep these five talking points as ammo for the next time that one know-it-all relative starts talking about the Calgary Flames. Five “gotcha” moments at one Thanksgiving dinner sounds like a hell of a holiday.


Trevor Neufeld


@Trevor_Neufeld


Stats via moneypuck.com, nhl.com, and eliteprospects.com.

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