Calgary Flames 2021-22 Mid-Season Report Cards

With the All-Star game passing yesterday, the Calgary Flames are sitting roughly at the halfway point of the season, with 42 games under their belt. Of course this article would have come a lot earlier if they hadn’t missed so many games due to their Covid pause, but here we are.

Calgary currently sits at a record of 23-13-6, good for 8th most points in the Western Conference and are 6th best by points percentage. They also sit 2nd in the Pacific by percentage, less than a thousandth of a point behind Vegas.

The Flames were 12-3-5 at the ¹⁄₄ report cards, meaning they went 11-10-1 in the second quarter of the year. Will we see that reflected in the grades? Find out below. First we have the results of the fan polls. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill them out.

Fan Polls

Q1: Are you confident in Darryl Sutter as Head Coach of the Flames?

Yes = 95.6%, Maybe = 3.0%, No = 1.5%

Sutter still maintains a very strong level of confidence among Flames fans, but it did drop slightly from 98.5% at the ¹⁄₄ mark. He has done a very good job of getting this team to perform well at 5v5, but there have been some questions regarding his goaltending usage.

Q2: Are you confident in Brad Treliving as Flames GM?

Maybe = 40.4%, Yes = 38.2%, No = 21.4%

Treliving’s fan confidence is at one of its lowest marks in a long time as he carries just 38% of fan confidence. His No side has seen a big jump from 13% at the ¹⁄₄ mark to 21% now. It’s safe to say that this deadline will decide a lot about his tenure with the club. With about 62% of the fanbase not being firmly confident in him, he has a lot to prove and the Flames being continually linked to player like Ben Chiarot will not help his cause.

Q3: Do the Flames need to name a Captain this year?

No = 66.7%, Yes = 20%, Maybe = 13.3%

With the Flames playing pretty well in the regular season so far, it continues to dull the need to name a captain for the club. It doesn’t seem to be a major need right now but I still wonder if we see someone named before the year is done.

Q4: Where do you think the Flames finish in the Pacific Division?

2nd = 65.7%, 3rd = 20.9%, 1st = 9%, 4th = 4.4%

With this question, we can see that over 95% fans are confidently saying that the Flames will be a playoff team by the end of the year. I think they are good enough to secure home-ice by the playoffs as well. They are right on the heels of Vegas as well, so I don’t think it’s totally unrealistic that they could win the division if they play their cards right.

Q5: Should the Flames 1st Round Pick be a Trade Chip at the Deadline?

Yes = 57.8%, No = 42.2%

Pretty straightforward question here although I’m somewhat surprised that it’s only about a 15% split. If Calgary is to make a big move before the deadline, I would imagine their first round pick is in play. This team needs to push their chips in this year.

Q6: Which UFA Forward rental should the Flames go after?

Hertl = 44.5%, Giroux = 23.4%. Pavelski = 21.1%, Other = 11%

All three of these players would be solid upgrades to the forward core but clearly there is a preference for Hertl among the fans. Hertl has 38 points in 46 games this year, including 22 goals. He plays center as well which could really strengthen the group as a whole. Both Giroux and Pavelski can play center and wing but are older players.

Q7: Who is the Flames MVP through the first half of the season?

Gaudreau = 85.4%, Markstrom = 8%, Tkachuk = 2.9%, Other = 3.7%

No questions asked, Johnny Gaudreau is the runaway MVP winner for the team. He’s been the best player on a regular basis and playing some of the best hockey of his career right now.

Q8: Are you confident in the direction of the Flames?

Yes = 91%, No = 9%

While fan confidence has fallen slightly from 95.9% in November, it is still very high with just over 9/10 being confident in the direction of the team. This will be a fascinating number to watch over the next calendar year as major decisions are made about the team.

Report Card Grades

Here are the results of the poll, thank you to those who took the time to fill it all out. There was far more variation in grades this time around after no player fell under a C- in the first quarter. Remember this is an accumulation of fan/reader grades, not my personal grades, so don’t yell at me please and thank you.

TOP OF THE CLASS

A+ = Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk

The Flames top two players and conveniently the top two pending free agents stand at the top of the group after impressive play in the first half of the season. Both have big paydays coming on the horizon.

EXTREMELY GOOD

A = Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev

Lindholm and Tanev have both been tremendous additions since joining the Flames are really playing huge roles in helping the team find success.

A- = Andrew Mangiapane, Oliver Kylington, Jacob Markstrom

Again, no surprises with these three although both Mangiapane and Markstrom fell from A+ grades to open the season. Markstrom has had some struggles of late and Mangiapane still hasn’t been able to figure out scoring at the Saddledome but with a slight fix, they will be easily back into that top of the class group.

PRETTY GOOD

B+ = Milan Lucic, Rasmus Andersson, Dan Vladar

Lucic has had one of his better seasons since leaving Boston this year, also taking on a leadership role on the team. We haven’t talked about his contract at all this season which is a good sign. Andersson has quietly been very good with 21 points in 42 games and has bounced back nicely from a down year in 2020-21. Vladar had a tougher stretch in the 2nd quarter of the year but also had tough draws against Carolina and Tampa back-to-back.

B = Blake Coleman, Noah Hanifin

Coleman’s play has improved as he’s settled into the Flames and has 11 points in his last 13 games after just 7 in the first 28. He also had the 2nd most shots on the team with 74 over the last 21 games.

DECENT

B- = Erik Gudbranson

C+ = Mikael Backlund, Nikita Zadorov

Not a lot of shocks in this trio. The bottom pair has had its good and bad moments while Backlund hasn’t been at his best this year but has seen some improvements lately.

NEEDS SOME WORK

C = Trevor Lewis, Sean Monahan

C- = Dillon Dube

All three players have been okay but more has to be expected from Monahan and Dube if this team wants to go anywhere beyond the regular season. Both have shown some flashes this year but it hasn’t been nearly enough.

NOT GOOD

D+ = Brett Ritchie

D = Brad Richardson

D- = Tyler Pitlick

There are better options in Stockton, please.

The Flames are back in action on Wednesday February 9 with the Vegas Golden Knights coming to town in what will be a huge Pacific Division clash.

by Michael MacGillivray