Just before 10 p.m. on Friday, standing in the centre of the home locker room at the Saddledome, Ryan Huska made the sort of announcement that you rarely hear from an NHL coach.
The Calgary Flames’ skipper started with the standard stuff, telling his still-sweaty squad that he was proud of the way they “stuck with it” and “responded really well” to earn a shutout victory in a tight-checking affair against the Nashville Predators.
But that wasn’t the part that had the boys buzzing.
“I’ll give you two in a row off,” Huska said to hoots and hollers from the players, many of whom may not remember the last time they had back-to-back days away from the rink — let alone a Saturday/Sunday combo — in the month of November. “Because you’re doing things the right way and I promise you … It’s hard, but if you can stay that way, you’ll get your time.”
Locker room scenes such as that one, which was shared by the team on social media, offer a glimpse into the sort of give-and-take that has allowed the Flames to be one of the NHL’s surprise stories over the first six weeks of the season. As they enjoyed a weekend off, they were sitting in the top half of the Western Conference with a 9-6-3 record.
Huska, now in his second season as an NHL bench boss, certainly deserves a chunk of credit for this strong start.
For tweaks to a system that, in the opinion of workhorse rearguard Rasmus Andersson, “has changed for the better this year.”
For, as fellow defenceman MacKenzie Weegar described it, “rallying up the troops” after a disastrous first period in the season-opener in Vancouver, where the Flames showed those first signs of a never-quit attitude that has now resulted in several comeback victories.
For a goaltending rotation that seems to be bringing out the best in both Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar and for setting a standard that guys who aren’t moving their feet on any given night are going to wind up watching from the bench. Both Andrei Kuzmenko and Martin Pospisil have been parked for entire periods for that reason.
“I just feel like he is more comfortable in the position now,” said Flames general manager Craig Conroy, who promoted Huska to head coach — he’d been an assistant on Calgary’s staff for the previous half-decade — in June of 2023. “I thought in his first year, he was feeling it out a little. Just like all of us, your first time, you’re trying to figure it out as you go along. But I thought even going into training camp this year, he just seemed more dialled in, more at ease and more like he knew exactly what he wanted and where he was going and what he expected from the guys and expected from all the staff, too.
“And I think that has carried over into the season. He knows what works, but he’s also looking to improve as we go along here.”
Huska, whose next birthday will be the big 5-0, is now exactly 100 games into his head-coaching tenure with the Flames. His record is a smidge over .500 — 47-45-8.
While that is statistically so-so, it’s pretty impressive when you consider the massive roster turnover during that span. Since Huska was handed the reins, the Flames have traded away their starting goaltender, their first-line centre, their top trigger-man from the right wing and three big-minute blue-liners.
And remember, this team was supposed to stink in 2024-25. At least, that’s what everyone was telling them as they arrived for training camp, although the boss remained adamant they weren’t paying a lick of attention to those predictions.
“I think last year, looking back, there was a lot of challenges for a first-year head coach to go through,” Huska told Postmedia after hitting the 100-game plateau. “But I think it made me a better coach for this year.
“You’re a lot more comfortable in your own skin, with the decisions that you’re making. Like I talk about with the players at times, sometimes you do overthink it a little bit. And this year, because you are a little bit more comfortable and have a really good understanding of what we have to be like, I’m confident in staying with it. Like, ‘That’s not it. That’s not how we’re going to play the game.’ And if it impacts certain players or impacts the group as a whole, then so be it. I think it’s maturity. I talk about that with the players all the time. It’s the same for me.”
It hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“This year, he seems much more relaxed in areas, not so tense and maybe not as panicky sometimes,” said Weegar, admitting he wasn’t sure he was choosing the right words and stressing he didn’t want to come across as criticizing Huska’s work in 2023-24. “That’s not a hit on him but I think sometimes, it’s your first year coaching and just like anybody … Same with my first year as a player, too. But I think it’s been big for our confidence as a group, seeing him more confident back there. That feeds into us. I definitely notice that he’s just more confident behind the bench.”
Mikael Backlund agreed.
“I don’t think he has changed, I just think he has adjusted to being a head coach and is learning what it’s all about, and I feel like you can tell,” said Backlund, the lead letter-wearer for the Flames. “I know I can feel too that your second year as a captain, you feel more comfortable going into the second season compared to the first season. With him, too, with everything that constantly goes into being a head coach, I feel like he’s more comfortable.”
Huska, whose coaching climb included stops in the WHL and AHL, will tell you that is indeed true.
He’ll also tell you that this job is far from finished.
While the skaters were able to rest and relax over the weekend, you can bet the coaches were in their offices both days — and not just so they could sneak a listen to the soundcheck Saturday as rock and roll legend Bruce Springsteen paid a visit to the Saddledome for the first time in 20-plus years.
They’ll be looking at potential adjustments for their struggling special-teams units. Their power-play is currently ranked 30th in the league, and their penalty-kill is barely better at 27th.
They’re still fiddling with their forward combinations, needing to snap Kuzmenko and Nazem Kadri and Connor Zary and others out of their current offensive slumps.
They are always brainstorming ways to deliver their message and maintain the sort of buy-in that is crucial for the entirety of the 82-game grind.
“When you’re going through all these different things for the first time, you’re like, ‘Was that the right call? And was that the right call?’ ” Huska said. “Now, it’s about fully understanding what our team is all about and making sure that I’m pushing them hard as I can every day.”
And then rewarding them with a rare weekend off.