Internally, the Calgary Flames are confident in the path they’ve chosen.
They’re getting younger while trying to stay competitive, refusing to acquiesce to the calls for a full teardown and rebuild.
The Flames talk about “the Dallas model” of drafting exceptionally well, developing young players to be the best they can be and maintaining a culture where winning continues to be prioritized and veterans set the tone.
There are fans who disagree with this approach. Log onto social media and seek out Flames opinions and it won’t take long to find people calling for a full teardown and embrace of a rebuild and even arguing the Flames should trade away their No. 1 defenceman for future assets. The thought process is understandable: Add young stars through the draft and fast-track your path to contention.
There are valid points on both sides and this isn’t an attempt to discount the arguments being made by those who are comfortable with the Flames bottoming out for a year or two if it means they get a future superstar in the draft.
Thursday’s opponent at the Saddledome, though, does provide a reminder that the rebuilding path isn’t always as straightforward as it seems.
In fact, it can be downright brutal.
The Sabres last made the playoffs in 2011. They won’t make the post-season this year, either, as they’re sitting in dead-last in the Eastern Conference with 41 points in 47 games.
They currently have five of their own first-round draft picks on their roster, including two first overall picks, in Rasmus Dahlin (2018) and Owen Power (2021).
And maybe it will pay off in a couple years. There’s real talent on the roster and there are areas where the group has shown improvement. They’re middle of the NHL pack in goals scored this season, averaging 3.04 per game, but defensively they’re one of the league’s worst teams, with only four teams allowing more than the 3.40 goals per game they’re shipping opponents.
Now, their interminable rebuild has also featured a few speedbumps that any team would inevitably try to avoid. Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel were selected second overall in back-to-back years in 2014 and ’15, and neither truly blossomed into the superstars they’ve become until they were traded away.
That Eichel won a Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 and Reinhart won the big one with the Florida Panthers last year after scoring 57 goals in the regular season only adds salt to the wounds of long-suffering Sabres fans.
The question is whether either guy could have become the best version of themselves with the Sabres, or whether placing them in a competitive environment with other established veterans was required for Reinhart and Eichel to reach their potential.
While the Flames don’t currently have any forwards in their system who look like they’ll be bonafide superstars like the two former Sabres stars, they’re banking on the idea that maintaining an internal culture where winning is a goal and an expectation will bring out the best in the young players they do have.
The Flames dealt away the likes of Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Jacob Markstrom, Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov last year, so there’s no debate that their priority is building a new, young core.
They just haven’t abandoned the right here, right now, either. The likes of Matt Coronato, Dustin Wolf and Connor Zary all seem to have responded to playing in meaningful games that have playoff implications by elevating their games. The early returns on Rory Kerins’ first NHL call-up have been encouraging, too.
And with the likes of Hunter Brzustewicz, Zayne Parekh and Henry Mews in the system, they’ve got high-end blueline prospects who should be ready to compete for NHL playing time in a few seasons. The Flames are also well-stocked with draft picks over the next three years.
There are no guarantees, of course, but as the Sabres have proven, neither is tanking and relying on the draft lottery to acquire future superstars.