Flames Weekly: Vladar Record, Gaudreau Emotions

The Calgary Flames had an eventful week before dispersing to parts unknown for their bye week and the NHL All-Star break. 

It started with an emotional Monday and ended with a strong so-long in Seattle. 

Take a look at what went down in the Flames Weekly: 

Monday

• There was a lot of talk about the Columbus Blue Jackets lone date at the Saddledome. For good reason. It was Johnny Gaudreau's first game back since choosing the Jackets over the Calgary Flames after a decade with the franchise that drafted him. Gaudreau was prepared for boos. But the jeers are really just because of how deeply Flames fans feel what they lost on the ice. 
• The game itself went almost exactly as expected. Gaudreau played well but the Flames won. It just took them a little longer than they hoped. And, yes, there were lots of boos. 
• Almost lost in the shuffle was the way Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter started to soften on the Jakob Pelletier media treatment. On the weekend, he was short and a bit dramatic when asked to assess Pelletier's play in his NHL debut. But maybe realizing the effect it could have on the player as opposed to the indifference he feels toward the media, Sutter backtracked and explained that it was unfair of him or anyone else to judge the 21-year-old rookie after about 420 seconds of ice time. 

Wednesday

• That win against the Blue Jackets came at a cost. Calgary Flames defenceman Chris Tanev hurt his right shoulder and the news wasn't great. He'd miss at least the last two games before the break. Maybe more. The Flames' record without him this season isn't very good. 

Thursday

• Another game day, another glowing review for Pelletier. This time Sutter gushed about the prospect's potential with a couple of games to his credit.
• There was no gushing later in the evening, though, with the Calgary Flames playing arguably their worst game of the year against the Chicago Blackhawks. Winger Jonathan Huberdeau admitted the team probably took the Blackhawks lightly. 
• The game was Tyler Toffoli's 700th in the NHL's regular season, if people are into that sort of thing. 

Friday

• Playing another game less than 24 hours later against the top team in the Pacific Division probably wasn't an ideal finale before the long break, but that's what the Flames were facing. 
• Turns out Dan Vladar, who didn't even know he was on the brink of tying a Calgary Flames franchise record point streak, was the right guy for the job against the Kraken. He was great and the team played a strong contest in front of him to end the week on a positive note with a big win. 

The Flames are off all week, but tune in to Calgary Hockey Now this week for analysis on what they've done, where they may be going, and who they might add on the NHL trade market before the deadline.