Here we are, gang. The dog days of summer are winding down, the leftover smell of piss and vomit has washed itself away from the Stampede Grounds, and the Calgary Flames are suited and booted for another campaign in Cowtown.
Like many years before, and probably many years to come, we once again find ourselves spinning in the vortex of mediocrity. That said, we are, as a group, nothing short of blindly faithful. With a small handful of offseason deals done, and one notable move expected in the coming season, there’s been a little bit of movement in the forward direction, and we can either address it logically, or we can use this new info to absolutely guarantee that the Flames are SO FUCKING BACK. Either way, let’s have a peek, shall we?
Firstly, the Lombergini himself took his shirt off for a social media opportunity, to the shock of absolutely zero people who have ever seen him before. One of the more tenured fellas on the squad, yet somehow also the Flames newest high-risk scoring threat, absolutely knows his role on this team. That role is thirst trapping the internet and putting up 6 points over 82 games. You simply cannot have the Flames without a glue guy like Lombo.
Next, and more notably, we should dive into the Rasmus Andersson trade that never happened. While the internet, like it always is, remains split on whether or not he should already have been dealt, the expectation remains that the end of the 2025-26 season ends with Raz wearing another team’s colours when it’s all said and done. Given that he has been consistently regarded as one of, if not THE guy on the Flames blue line for the past half decade, the hopes we should have is that he absolutely balls out in the first half of the year, and a the Flames front office can capitalize on a team willing to overpay in “Win Now” mode. That said, in the “blind faith” realm, Calgary could find themselves as that contender, and the off-chance of a midseason extension comes to pass. Unlikely, but the odds are not zero.
There has also been a tremendous amount of chatter about Nazem Kadri in the past few weeks, specifically focused on a return to Toronto. The phrase “Hometown Team” has also been chucked around a lot, and I get that Toronto is the self-proclaimed center of the hockey universe, but if you’re gonna commit to losing in playoffs in a disappointing fashion, you may as well do it in a better city than Toronto. Plus, I’m from the same hometown as Kadri, and depending on how long it takes to get across the Ambassador Bridge, and how hectic traffic on the 401 is, Detroit might actually be his real hometown team as far as proximity is concerned. Honestly, I can’t see the Leafs and Boston Pizza Jr. having the willingness to part with the capital I personally would expect for Kadri, but way stranger things have happened in Flames transaction history, typically at the hands of Treliving himself. If he’s involved, nothing is certain.
Now, onto some more materially important things. The kid is locked down in Cowtown. That is correct, Calder Trophy Finalist, and future first-ballot Hall of Fame goaltender Dustin Wolf is staying right here, on a delightfully budget friendly 7x$7.5m deal. For context, Wolf was the last goalie selected in the 2019 NHL Draft at 214th overall. The first goaltender selected? Spencer Knight at 13th overall. Spencer Knight is currently with the Chicago Blackhawks on a contract with a $5.83m cap hit, and who played only 15 games last season. Some additional closer comparison in recent years, would be to look at Thatcher Demko’s current $8.5m AAV contract. Demko, and yes he was injured, played 23 games last year with a 10-8-3 record, compared to Wolf’s 53 games, going 29-16-8 behind one of the worst offensively charged teams in the NHL. The broad strokes here indicate that $7.5 AAV is a great deal, given what Wolf could and will potentially fetch down the line if he stays healthy and as effective as he has been. Wolf is home, and he’s staying home, and that, my friends, is great news. As of today, Wolf is the 10th highest paid netminder in the NHL, and there’s a firm argument to be made he is better than the 10th best at the position. That’s VALUE.
Lastly, although there’s more moving and shaking that went down over the summer, we’re having a look at our Captain Mikael Backlund signing onto a 2-yr extension carrying a team friendly $3.25m AAV. Is Backlund the scoring juggernaut the team needs to carry them to Lord Stanley’s hallowed ground? No. But he is a guy who you can rely on for a big point here and there, who can put up a positive +/- on the front end, and who is going to add more value than he does make mistakes. He’s a part of the fabric of the community in Calgary, and it’s nice to see him sticking around for a few more before the C is inevitably passed down to, well, probably Weegs, but we’ll see when it happens.
Being a Flames fan ain’t much, but it’s honest work. We get high when the vibes are high, we let it roll off when the vibes are bad, and we’re absolutely insufferably when the vibes are mid, which they have been for a minute. Let’s raise a crispy Dome Foam to the dirty pipes that pour our beer, the ceiling that could come down any moment on top of us, and to the hopes that when the new barn rolls around, we have a Cup-Threat team to put inside of it. See you out there Flames fans.
The Morning Skate 