The Win Column Podcast
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The Win Column Podcast
The 26-27 Calgary Flames Are Here...And They Can’t Score
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Welcome back everyone to another episode of the Wind Calm Podcast, the first podcast of the 26-27 season. As expected, Flames have got off to a not so great start. As always, I'm your host, Josh, here with my co-host Adition. And I think top of mind for both of us right now is Flames offense and Ryan Huska. Adition, I know you have a couple thoughts on that. So I'll toss it over to you to kind of get us kicked off here. But yeah, not not very pretty times right now, Calgary, when it comes to uh putting the puck in the net.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the day that we're recording this, what it's Sunday. So I mean, they still have a game tonight against Seattle. But for the two games we've witnessed so far as we're recording this, the 6-1 loss to Seattle, and then last night to Vancouver, where it was only one goal again that they scored, just can't really generate stuff. But like even if you go beyond the surface level there, right? Like, yeah, in two games you've only scored two goals and you've been out, you've let in what is it, 10? It was six against Seattle, four against Vancouver last night. But if you just go beyond that, it's just so much more that it's not going right for them. And if it's more so like almost a system that they're playing offensively in the Ozone, they just can't generate anything. They're playing that dump and chase kind of style of hockey that doesn't really suit them. And if you see like basically Vancouver's in a similar position as them, they're both teams rebuilding, both teams are expected to be 31, 32 in the league. But Vancouver's Vancouver's quicker, Vancouver is harder on the puck, they win those puck battles in the corners and along the boards, and you just don't see that from the flames. And that kind of thing needs to change because yeah, you're losing, but you want to see some positivity, you want to see some silver linings, right? You want to see your young guys like Gridden, Perek scoring, getting like Perek's been very involved in play, but it's almost seemed like he's the only one really doing anything. And you see like Vancouver, they would cycle in the zone, they would get set up, and they created plays. Whereas Calgary, you wouldn't see that. It would be dump the puck in, chase after it, but they wouldn't really recover it even. And even if they did recover it, they wouldn't cycle the puck, they wouldn't get set up, there was no fluidity there, right? And there was just no chances really being generated. And even when they did cycle the puck, there was this one instance in the third period last night. It was like Farabee on the right wall with the puck, and they were trying to cycle something, but it just it it looked they looked so stiff out there. They weren't moving, they weren't really yeah, I'd like that's the best way to put it. They were just stiff. Whereas in the others on the other side of the ice, when Vancouver was cycling, you know, you saw more connection there, you saw more, you know, there the there was some zip on that puck going from tape to tape. And that just not something I saw with Calgary, and it's it wasn't just last night, it was against Seattle too. I don't know what you think if there's any takeaways that you had from those two games, but that's kind of like really big things I saw. There's just no system in place. Yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_01No, I think you definitely hit the nail on the head there, and I think Vancouver's a good comparison because they're in a similar situation to Calgary. Rebuilding team, I think most people would say those are probably on paper the two worst teams in the league. But I mean, I mean, I know Edmonton goaltending played a factor, but look how many goals Vancouver scored in the first three games compared to Calgary. Like, yeah, they're they've lost, and you know, it's it's not pretty sometimes, but at least they're playing in a you know a forward system. I think Mahultra's got them playing like a pretty exciting style of game, which is what exactly what you want to see out of a team like Calgary Vancouver. You know, yeah, you're gonna lose, but I'd rather lose 9-7 like the Canucks did the one night than you know play these games where Calgary and they're just kind of chipping away trying to get max two goals and then hope you win two-one. So I think it really just comes down to how you're playing the game. And yeah, the the Flames probably have the worst forward group they've had in the 21st century, I would, I would argue, at least at the start of the season. But that doesn't mean that it's an excuse for just putting up one goal every night. Like they still have some players, you know, Cordano, Gridd, and obviously Preck and Nemich on the back end. Like, this isn't a team with you know a bunch of AHLers, they still have some highly offensive guys. The problem is I think they're just not being utilized properly in a system that complements their skill set. And I think it just goes back to kind of what we've seen from Ryan Huska since he came on board in 2023, I want to say. Um, so he's been the head coach now. This is his fourth year, and I pulled some numbers. And since Huska has come on board, the Flames are third last in the league in goals for per game. The only teams that are worse are San Jose and Chicago. So unquestionably the two worst teams in the entire league over the last four years. Obviously, you know, San Jose is much better now, but you know, there were a couple of years there where they were just horrendous pre-Celebrini. And those are the only teams in the entire league that have less goals for per game than the Flames under Huska. And it's not like the Flames have been a complete tire fire rebuilding team for all four of those years. It's this is really the first year where all the veterans have been moved out. Like when he first came on board in 23-24, that was basically the same roster that Sutter had in 22-23. Like Lindhov was still here. All of those guys were basically still here. And yeah, eventually some of them were shipped out. But even after that, you know, Uyghur, Codery, Anderson, Coleman, those guys were all still around. And the Flames were still bottom of the league now, multiple years running in terms of goals. So I think, you know, I've seen some people talk about, you know, how you know it's the roster, there's no skill. You can't blame Huska. But when you're seeing such bad offensive results under Huska, you know, with those veterans in the lineup and then also without them, I think that kind of points to a system issue. Like there's been multiple different rosters that have just failed to do anything offensively under him. And, you know, this isn't a team that, again, like I said, there's it's not like they're they have zero talent. They've got some offensive players and they have even more in the in up in recent years when the veterans were still here. And even when those guys were still here, this team was finishing bottom three in goals four per game. And it's it's kind of become a trend now. And I understand that Huska's system is well what he at least he wants it to be more of a defensive focused system. But at some point here, you kind of have to kick that out the window and just say, we're a rebuilding team, we're not very good. Let's let the young guys just do their thing. And yeah, like Vancouver, maybe we're gonna lose 9-7, or you know, we're gonna lose, you know, or we're gonna win an OT, 6-5. You know, at least we're gonna be scoring goals. We're gonna get those guys involved and we're gonna see what they can do, versus, you know, trying to force guys like Perek and Gridden and Cordado to play this dump and chase kind of chip and chase style that just really benefits no one. Like I understand the precedent behind it, you know, a couple of years ago when you had all those veterans and you were trying to still make the playoffs, you know, and you didn't have a lot of talent. Sure, try to win in games two-one to at least sneak in the playoffs, but it just doesn't make any sense anymore. You're you've basically done a teardown rebuild. You just need to let the young guys do their thing, open it up, see what they can do. And yeah, you know, you're gonna make a lot of mistakes defensively, like the Canucks have, but I mean, I'd much rather watch that than whatever Huskitt has tried to do. And I think it's it's concerning because in the offseason, I know Conray had kind of come out and said, you know, oh, well, you know, I'm gonna make sure that I tell the coaching staff this year, you know, let's open things up a bit more, you know, the veterans are gone, let's let's kind of shorten the leash on some of these young guys. And through two games, like you said, that's not at all what is what we've seen. They've outscored 10-2. It's still the same old, you know, let's try to grind it out and win 2-1. And, you know, if the goaltender doesn't stand on his head, then you don't have a chance. And that's kind of what we've seen here, where especially in the opener, you know, Wolf didn't have his best game, and Seattle just ran rampant on Calgary because they're trying to win 2-1. And when you don't get the saves, that's not gonna happen. And then again, last night, you know, the Flames kept it close with Vancouver for most of the game. I yeah, I would argue they probably outplayed them for a good chunk of it, but again, they just played such a boring style that when you have no finishers on your roster and you're trying to grind it out, it's not gonna work. And eventually Vancouver jumped on that, and you know, that was it. You know, they scored three goals there to go to win 4-1. So yeah, just not not not a great start to the season. And it's definitely concerning when you consider where this team is headed with this roster and with this coach.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, kind of going back to your point about having like letting the kids play and like let them make those mistakes on defense, like how they like because the Canucks have done it, but because like you don't want to shelter these guys, you're in a rebuild. You want to let them learn from their mistakes and grow. And you're not gonna do that by just completely sheltering them, right? You want Perek to become the player he has the potential to be. And I'm gonna say it again, you won't let you won't be able to do that by sheltering him. It's the same with guys like Gritden and you know, those young guys up top. And it's that can't be happening. Like you look at the Canucks as well. I'm gonna go back to what I said earlier at the start. You in a rebuild year, you're also looking for some sort of positivity from the game, some sort of silver lining. And with the Canucks, because they're the best example, the best comparison, with the Canucks, you're having those games that are like nine, seven, six, five, and you see those young guys getting involved. Players like Liam Ogren, Marco Rossi on their squad, they're getting involved, they're creating plays, they're creating chances. But with the system that Huska has with the Flames right now, they can't really these young guys can't generate anything. It doesn't, it's not their style of play. Right? You it's not this ice isn't opened up for them. It's complete north-south. Get by the red line, dump it in, go chase after it. And then a lot of the times we're seeing they can't even recover the puck behind the net, and then they're losing those puck battles along the boards, in the corners, and then it's an on-man rush the other way, and you lost it. What could have been a possible scoring chance? And so that kind of has to fall on the coaching because as you said as well, this is something that's happened even when the team did have some sort of talent, some sort of it's those veterans a few years back when it was the same roster that Sutter had that basically Sutter took to the second round. And that's and so I know people some people will be like, Huska is good for the tank, is good for losing, getting that first overall pick, but at some point you want to also balance growing growing and developing your your young players and letting them play and not suppressing their play.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, exactly. There's there's a difference between losing and like what the Flames have done the last two games. Like again, I we keep going back to Vancouver, but I think it's a perfect example of like, you know, yeah, they lost that game 9-7 to the Oilers or whatever, but they scored seven goals. Their young guys were contributing, they ran on the offense. It was an exciting game. Like, you see that development there versus when you watch the Flames play, you don't you don't see that. You just see a bunch of guys trying to grind it out and you know, maybe get a dirty rebound to win two to one. Like it's just there's there's a difference between losing and getting a top pick versus you know just getting embarrassed and trying to play this boring style. And I think that's where it kind of raises the question of you know what what is a long-term plan with Huska. I I get you know, he's Husk, or he's Connor's boy, you know, they came in together when they were both kind of hide around the same time. You know, he's obviously probably the cheapest coach in the NHL, I would assume. So that's another thing that the Flames will love. But I think, you know, I always assume that he would be around quite a while until at least they got serious about contending. But I do think that you have to consider the alternatives here if this keeps up, and again, it's only been two games. But you know, if we're sitting here November, December, and the Flames are still just getting, you know, demolished every night and just the offense is drying out, Huska's, you know, scratching young guys for Adam Klapka. It's like at some point you have to think about the future of the team. And you know, I look at I look at the Flyers and you know what Talkett has done with you know Mishkov and you know now Martone when it's like that is the last thing you want for the Flames is to kind of turn this elite talent, a guy like Perek into this you know shell of himself because of the coaching style. So I I think, yeah, like you said, Huska is obviously good for the tank, but there's good for the tank, and then there's bad for the future of the team. And I think with Huska, he kind of is entering into that territory where as much as it's nice to lose a bunch of games, losing in this fashion is not beneficial for the future of this team when you're trying to develop these younger players. So again, I don't think they're gonna fire them anytime soon. At the earliest, I think it'll be in the summer if they truly have a really, really, really bad season and they don't see any steps from the younger guys, even then, they may want to go into Scotia Place with them behind the bench. But I do think that, you know, if we see this continued throughout the season and then, you know, Scotia Place, new arena, they're gonna want to start winning sooner than later. If we're seeing the same thing, I think like a year from now, I think Huska could be on his way out and they could decide, you know, okay, it's time to bring in, you know, no offense, but you know, a real coach to kind of guide this team forward versus this stop gap in Huska, which is kind of what I've always viewed him as. I think he's very much one of those coaches you see all the time, you know, rebuild coaches where cheap guy, you know, typically internal hire, you just bring him in to kind of be a guy behind the bench and just kind of guide the ship while you're rebuilding, and then when you actually expect to start winning again, it's like, okay, it's time to get a real coach now. So that's kind of how I've always envisioned Huska's path. But yeah, the more this continues, the more I'm like, okay, maybe it's better to get rid of him sooner than later because you don't want guys like Parek and whatnot to start stagnating. I mean, credit words too. Park, I thought had a great game against Vancouver. He was very much the Parek we know of. A lot of positives, also some negatives, like you know, one chef go out there and make an incredible play, the next shift try to skate through four guys in the neutral zone and get demolished by Elias Patterson. So that's kind of the give and take with Parek, but I think it credit credit to Huska, I guess. You know, Parek was right back out there after that turnover where he got hit in the neutral zone and then Vancouver came down and scored. I thought for sure, man, we're not seeing Preck again. Huska's gonna staple him to the bench, and sure enough, he was right back out there the next shift with the empty net. And even then, he he kind of balled the puck at the blue line. They came down, scored the empty net, and then Preck was right back out there again. So I will give credit to Huska for for kind of extending the leash because I think if that was last season, Preck wouldn't have never seen the ice the rest of the game. He would have been stapled. But so credit words due there for Huska. But yeah, I just think as a whole, what we've seen so far is not what you want to see out of a young rebuilding roster who's trying to develop their players.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and also another point, I don't know if you, Josh, or any of our viewers watching have watched that first episode of The Chase, but in it you see Huska talk a lot about uh the team trying to be play a fast style of hockey. Like they want to be fast on the puck, and that's also something we haven't really seen. And so it's like yeah, I think obviously, like you said, I don't see Huskett getting fired, at least until the summer, and even then I doubt that he'll be gone in the summer. I think he'll probably be back next year. But what I'd like to see is a system change in how this team plays hockey because that is kind of the biggest thing that needs to be done. The ice needs to open up, and I'm gonna go back to yesterday's game against Vancouver. There was that one goal that DPD on the Canuck scored, and it was a nifty little move. And then you saw the ice kind of opened up for him, and he was able to receive that pass that ended up leading to that goal in close on Cooley. And it's like that's something you wouldn't see from the Flames because they don't take that time in the O zone to try to open up the ice, open up the lanes, and try to make a play like that. But and then going on to your point about Perek, he had a fantastic game yesterday. Um, I was looking at natural stat trick yesterday, and he was tied for the team lead in individual chance four with eight. And so, yeah, he played, and then also like you know, he's going right back out there after his mistakes, and like that's what you want to see, that's how he's gonna grow. He you need those reps out of him to make him become the player he's meant to be. And then, yeah, and then just with lineup choices as well, we're gonna I'm gonna kind of shift over to this because you brought up having Klapka in the lineup, and I just don't see I put it on Twitter a couple times. I don't see Klapka and Ciplikov. I don't see why they're out there, why they're in the lineup. I'd much like Offman came in, but he came in for Zary. And so we don't know the lineups yet for today's game against Seattle, but I can I would like to see Zary in and Offman in and one of Klapka or Siplikov out. And as the day we're recording this, I also had a little article go up about Suniev getting in an extended look with the Flames this year, and it's like I would much rather see Othman, Zary, and Suniev in than Klapka, Siplakov, right? I'd rather see those three guys be playing instead of Klapka or Sipkov because I was looking at it. Klapka is six twenty-six, Siplakov is twenty-eight. You kind of know what those players are gonna be at this point, right? There's you they're not gonna all of a sudden become top six players or middle six players now. There you kind of know what they are. Sepplakov put up four points in 50-something games last year. You know what they are. Whereas Suniev's 21, Alfman's 23, right? Zari's still pretty young, much younger than those, uh than Klapka or Ziplikov. And so it's like you'd rather see those young guys get out there and see what they can be, what they can turn into, because they have more room to grow than those other than Klapka or Cyplakov. And so hopefully we can see maybe Zari back in the lineup tonight and Offman stays there. And then again, Sonyev should be should get uh longer look with the big club this year, but we'll see how that goes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think like you said, it's it's definitely an interesting lineup decision so far this season. I mean, it's kind of par for the course for what we've come to expect with Huska, but it was it was pretty funny to see after the first game. Immediately Joel Hanley comes in and immediately goes to the top player. It's kind of just Huska's default in the last couple years, ever since Hanley's been around, is if you know you're losing a you've lost a couple games or things aren't going well, put Hanley on the top player. That's kind of his go-to. And yeah, same thing. Like I just don't understand scratching Connor's area. Not like he had a great game or he has had many great games in the past year, but at the end of the day, he's still in his early 20s. He's a guy you invested a first-round pick on. He is a guy who reportedly is looking to get traded, and you know, there weren't many offers out there for him. So I don't really see the benefit of scratching him. You may as well just put him out there and see if he can show himself well and he can either bounce back and be a good player for you, or he can potentially get you a good return. Like you said, you know, Klapka, Cyplakov, those guys are in their mid to late 20s at this point. Like, what is the point of playing either of them at this stage of the game, like over a guy like Zeri? It just doesn't make any sense to me. I think if you're gonna be scratching guys, it should be those veteran, you know, fourth line guys who, you know, you know what they are, you know who they are. They're not gonna develop any further versus stapling Zeri to the press box after one single game is just just absolutely wild to me. Like, again, I'm not even the biggest Zeri fan. I don't think he's looked very good in a long time, but still, at least give him a shot to kind of start this season fresh. You know, he didn't have a good year last year, he was injured the last couple of years. Like to just immediately rip him out of the lineup after one game just doesn't do anyone any favors, I feel like. And again, yeah, like you said, that's another thing with with Ryan Haska. He's just he he makes a lot of strange decisions. I think it was I think it was last year I want to say, where Coronado was kind of like a couple games in, he was a healthy scratch, and you're just like, what are we doing? Like, why are we scratching one of our only good offensive forwards after like two games, and then you all guys like Klapka and whoever are just kind of free reign in a lineup? Lumberg was like a lineup lineup lock for like the first 60, 70 games. So I think again, that's another reason why you really gotta be careful with Huska here, just because I think, you know, yeah, it's it's Connor Zary, he's not exactly the most viable player, but I think it's only a matter of time before, you know, we check the lineup card and Zane Preck's sitting for Brain Pachelle or something. You know, like I think it's just at this point it's probably gonna happen. So I think Huska is just needs to prove that he's the right type of coach for a rebuilding team. And you know, yeah, we're not expecting them to go out and win every game eight one. Like we know they're a bad roster, but I think you can still see positive signs from a bad roster, and you can see development from young players, which we're just not seeing right now. And I saw someone mention this in the In a tweet the other day, you know, got me thinking about Ryan Huska. Like, has any player on the flames since Huska's got here, has any player ever had like an outstanding kind of overachieving season? Like, and at least from what I can remember, like I don't think there's been a single player who's kind of really, really shown or or excelled under Huska. Like I know Zary had that one year in his rookie year, but that has been downhill since Gritten was good last year, but that was you know like 37 games or whatever. I guess because Netzov did pretty well last year under Huska, but really there hasn't been a single player that's really excelled. It's the really the opposite. Every single player is kind of like, oh yeah, career worst year, career low year, or you know, a down year under Huska. And I think that's another sign that maybe he's not the right coach for this team. Because if you keep seeing these guys on your roster having down years, then if this is happening every single season and to multiple players, that's kind of pointing fingers right at the coach. And again, that's the last thing you want is a lack of development from a team that's trying to rebuild and and and get better. So yeah, I know I know we've kind of touched on Huska quite a bit, but I feel like that's just the number one issue with this team right now is what are they gonna do behind the bench? Because I feel like it would be a really, really bad outcome if this continued, and we just kind of sit here and watch him drown out all this offensive talent from the Flames top young players.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, another thing with this Uzary is obviously you want to get him in the lineup, but one thing I want one thing I've personally wanted to see is him more playing down the middle. Um, because you know, we know he can play there. He used to be kind of a natural center, and even in that rookie year, like we as you mentioned, he did really well in that rookie year where he made the jump to the Flames roster, and it's like he would drive the puck to the net, he would create lanes, he would open up ice for himself, and we so you know what kind of player he can be. You know he can be that kind of player where he can open up the ice and create chances and plays. Obviously, those knee injuries have kind of like made it downhill. His development kind of suffered from that. And maybe now he's playing, I don't know if he's playing like a little more cautious because of those injuries, because obviously those can be those are brutal and he missed quite a bit of time with that. But I mean, you gotta get him out there, and obviously I'd like to see him down the middle because if him centering his own line, and I was bringing up earlier, like have Offman, Sari, Zeri, and Soniev play. Imagine Zeri, your fourth line is Zeri down the middle with Hoffman and Soniev on the wings, right? Like that is better than the fourth line that you have right now, right? It's much younger. You get those guys' development, you can let them play, and it would just be, in my opinion, it'd be a much smarter thing to do. And then going back to your Joel Hanley thing, like Hanley came in for Kuznetsov last game and then hockey stat cards on Twitter. I don't know if you saw that, but Hanley was the worst performing player on the Flames last night. And it's kind of like that's who you're you're you're taking out Kuznetsov for a much older Joel Hanley who's turning who's your worst performing player in the lineup on that game. And so it doesn't really make sense some of these lineup decisions, as you said. Let the young guys play. That's kind of what that's kind of what the motto should be for the Flames this season. Let the young guys play. And I'm not seeing a whole lot of it right now, if I'm being completely honest.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, that's that's a good call. It was Zary playing center because again, like like we said, there's really nothing to lose from at least like throw him at center in the top six or even on the third line for 20 games and see what happens. Like you really have nothing to lose. I think that's kind of another issue with Huska, I think, is he kind of plays system a lot. He makes his lineup decisions like a team that's trying to squeak into the playoffs with a veteran lineup, and he's like, you know, we can't risk putting Zary down at center. Let's just go the safe bet and put Strome or whoever. You know, we don't want to risk it. But in the end of the day, this team is going to lose probably 40 games this year, regardless of what you do. So what do you have to lose from trying Zarya at center? You know, I think a lot of people bring up the whole Sam Bennett comparison, which I think, you know, I mean, we'll find out if that's true in a couple of years, I'm sure. But it is very similar in terms of a player who was invested in a first-round pick, obviously Bennett much higher, but was just never really given a runway in Calgary. Everyone just always was wondering why you are not letting Sam Bennett play center with decent linemates more than like one two games in a row. And obviously, you know, he goes to Florida, he wins a con Smites, he makes Team Canada. Like, I'm not saying that's gonna happen for Zari, but it's a similar situation in that, yeah, like you said, he still hasn't got a good runway at center. And it just doesn't make any sense to me. And I'm not even the biggest Zeri fan, but like, what do you have to lose from trying him there? I don't think there's any negative downside of that. Worst case, it doesn't work out, and you you lose a bunch of games, you know. Well, you're gonna lose a bunch of games regardless of if Zary's at center. Best case, he starts to find his game. He looks like he did pre-injury, and now all of a sudden he's a potential piece of your future or a guy who you can flip for, you know, an asset or something valuable. So I think again, it's just a case of Ryan Oska coaches like it's the 24, was it 24-25 where they had that like miracle 96 points and came out of nowhere? Like he kind of just coaches like that still, and that mentality of, okay, let's just try to grind it out, let's try to get points where we can, and you know, end of the year, hopefully we can squeak into the playoffs. Where it's anyone with a brain knows this team is not squeaking the playoffs unless the biggest miracle in NHL history happens, this team is not making the playoffs. So there's no point of playing that same type of grind it out style where you're just trying to chip and chip and chase and win games to one. It's just it doesn't help anyone. And yeah, I know we keep kind of beating a dead horse here, but I think I I think Huska's is really the biggest issue with this team. I think Connor has done such a good job with the rebuild. He's brought in tons of young players, tons of young future assets. He's made a lot of good picks. You know, he's brought in guys like Perek and Gridden and those guys who've had success. And now I think the last piece kind of towards the future of the rebuild is obviously you know getting another high pick, but I think finding a coach who can help develop them. And I think Vancouver, you know, it's it's early, but Maholtra is the exact type of guy who I think Calgary should be wanting to hire as this more modern, progressive thinking head coach who's going to open things up, let his young guys play offense, and just kind of see where it takes them. And I think that was a great hire for Vancouver. And I think Calgary probably needs their own Maholtra now because I mean, yeah, Huska is also a bald younger coach, but he's like could not be more opposite than Minnie Maholtra in terms of you know style and kind of the vision he has for his team. So yeah, I think it's gonna be really interesting to see. I think if this picks up for a long time, you're gonna see a lot more questions, a lot more you know, pressure on the flames to kind of figure out this coaching situation because, like we said, losing games is one thing, but if you're gonna be continually losing like this, where you're just I mean, it's been two games. They literally have scored two goals. Like, like it's there's multiple players in the league who have more goals in the flames in one game than an entire team has across two games. So if this keeps up, I think there's gonna be very real question marks about what you do with the coaching and sooner than later.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, getting out scored 10 to 2 against the Kraken and the Canucks in your first two games. Like obviously, like we said, we've said it multiple times. The Flames, they're gonna be bad this year, right? You're openly rebuilding, but getting out scored 10 to 2, there's no real positives that we've seen. And yeah, that kind of falls on Huska and the system that he's having these guys play because it's not allowing that kind of creativity that can like lead to scoring chances and them generating offense. We've talked a bit about Huska now, so unless you have anything else to say, we can kind of maybe move on to the play of Zayn Perak to start this year. And I mean you can kind of start this off, but like from what I've seen from Perek is he's been kind of outstanding in these first two games.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, absolutely. I think it's definitely been one of the biggest positives of the season so far. And it's only been two games, but I mean, even the preseason, I think Perak was like just incredible. And a lot of times you're watching the Flames, and it's he seems like the only guy who's capable of generating any sort of offense, especially last night. Like there was a couple shifts there where I think it was late in the game, right before he took that hit from Pederson, but uh on the power play, he was just he one rush, he went end to end from their own goal line all the way into the zone. Perfect break in, dishes it off to a teammate and bumble the puck, they lose it, lose the zone. Then literally right after that, he takes in it again, sets up, sets someone up wide open for the power play. They bumble it, turns it over, it comes back out. So he does seem like he's on an island a lot of times, which is a compliment to him because I think he looks like the only guy who's really actually able to generate offense at an impressive rate. And yeah, he I think the biggest thing, obviously the offense is impressive, but that's kind of what we've come to expect with him. It's you know, with those type of players, you know, he reminds you of kind of like a Johnny Gaudrill of like you just every time he has the puck on offense and there's some space, you just know he's gonna do something, something crazier, or you're just on the edge of your seat. But I think the most impressive aspect has kind of been his ability to adapt more and get more involved like in the physical game. I think that was probably the biggest knock or one of the biggest knocks on him last season is that he looked like a guy straight out of the OHL who just was dropped into an NHL game. Like he looked small, he looked frail, he was pushed around a lot. You know, he obviously took that big hit last year from Nick Felino, which yeah, was a big hit, but it was kind of a hit you see 10, 15 times a game, and he just wasn't prepared physically or size-wise to take a hit like that, and it led to him missing a couple months leading up to the World Juniors. Versus this season, I think you can already tell there's been multiple times where he braces himself better or he shakes off a hit and he maintains the puck or makes a play, or he's not afraid to go into the dirty airs or go into the corner and take a hit or kind of muck it up in front. There was a play last night where after the whistle, he kind of gave someone, I think it was Carlson or someone on the Canucks, gave him a shove, and then yeah, I mean, it was a dumb play when he cross-shoked the guy in the face, but I kind of like to see that, you know, see that he's not afraid to kind of get involved because I think last year he definitely was we weren't seeing that from him, which if you watched him in the OHL and in junior, that was a big part of his game. Like he was, yeah, supremely talented, but he was also a guy who can be a bit of a prick, like and kind of just kind of get involved with things after the whistle and and get involved physically, which we didn't see last year. So I think that's a big, big bonus so far we've seen, especially against Vancouver. Like he just seemed super, super confident, which is what you want to see out of a player like that, because a lot of his game is built off you know, the swagger and the style. So it was great to see him, even with the Pederson hit, you know, he yeah, he made a dumb play trying to had his head down in the middle of the ice, but took the big hit. He was slow to get up, and then he just bounced right back up, was right back out there in the next shift, and was right back getting involved physically. So it's good to see him have more confidence and be able to adapt to the style of the NHL game, which last year was a major, major issue for him. And I think he's taken huge strides in that regard.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like I I completely agree. Like on the physical side, he's been much better. I think they were saying in the offseason he was working out with Gary Roberts, I believe he put on some muscle, and it's like it is it's evident in the way he's playing. Like he is not like he's not afraid to rough it up, and that's something you love to see because as as much as he is skilled, right? You want you you don't want your guys being like pushovers that like they're eas they'll easily be knocked off the puck or anything like that, right? And with Perex, he has that talent, but that was kind as you said, that was kind of a side that last year, you know, it was evident that he needed to work on not being knocked off the puck and being a little more active in the physical end of the game. And that's something we're absolutely seeing. And then just offensively, like we we know how talented he is with the puck on a stick. And I mean, I was saying when I I'm kinda gonna go back to what I was said at the very beginning when the flames look like they're not really cycling, there's no fluidity with the way they move the puck. With per when Perek has the puck on a stick, he his edge work, his skating, moving around the zone, walking across the blue line is like it's it's levels above anyone else in the flames, right? He is head and shoulders above the next best guy skating guy on the team. And it's just it's so it's like a breath of fresh air almost seeing that. Because it's like you see when someone else is the puck, and it's nothing like that. But then Perek, you see, he creates those chances. He he zips over the puck around, clean take-to-tate passes. And yeah, like his teammates will probably like there's there was those instances where they bobble the puck, they lose it, and they lose the zone. But I mean, just seeing that out of him is just a complete positive because he, as you said, he has that swagger, he has that confidence, and it seems now, and it's like he's taken those strides that all that talent and confidence he had at the junior level where he was setting records and tying records that Bobby Orr had, like, that's the kind of confidence we're seeing right now in the NHL, which is a huge plus. If you're a Flames coach, a flame in the front office, if you're a fan, if you're one of his teammates, like that is a huge thing you want to see. And it's like like I was saying earlier, that there hasn't been many positives. This is probably like the biggest positive that we have seen from these first two games.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. I think if if we would have kind of seen the same zane from last year where he's getting pushed around, he's getting bumped around, I I would have been pretty concerned. Um, but yeah, even again, starting in preseason, you could tell right away like this was a different player, like he looked seemed bigger, stronger, and more willing to get engage on the defensive side and the physical side of it, which last year he wasn't. So that's a huge positive because yeah, like this team needs him to be the best version of himself if they want to do anything on offense this year. Like, I think Shimon Nemich has deserves a shout-out. He's had a pretty good first two games. He's obviously not as flashy as Perek, but he has quietly, I think, been overall, like in terms of overall game, their best defender. I think he's he's pushes the puck-up ice, he makes good breakout passes, he's been solid defensively, which I think has been the biggest knock on them during his career so far. So I think it's been the biggest positive so far this year is obviously Perek, and then I think uh Nemich as well, who has looked pretty solid, all things considered. Again, it's you can only do so much when you're paired with Joel Hanley, which I think we saw, you know, in recent years with Mackenzie Wieger, was always kind of stapled to Hanley. And I, you know, you you can only achieve so much when you're playing with a guy like that. But I think Nemich has really impressed me with kind of just the the subtleness to his game so far. And yeah, he's not a super flashy guy like Perek, but he's he's done a good job with what he's been given. Again, like like Perek, there's not a lot of talent around Nemich when you know he did try to break the puck out or set up something offensively, but I think he's he's he's definitely looked really solid in the first two games, and he's you know been operating as their number one defenseman, basically, and I think he's done a really good job at that. So hopefully Hanley is not aside him for much longer. And I mean, hopefully, you know, the game tonight against Seattle, Hanley's not in the lineup anymore. But you know, I think going back to the D pairings, I I am curious about potentially you know moving Preck to the left side with White Cloud. I think that's was something that was brought up in the offseason. I know Conrad mentioned that you know Preck had talked about playing on the left side, you know, he feels more comfortable at times, and I think that could be a good balance of finding a better partner for Preck, nothing against Middleton, but you know, Middleton just he can't he's completely inept offensively, and not like you need a guy offensively beside Preck, but you need someone who can at least make a play with the puck and kind of get Preck the puck so then he can do the rest. And Middleton just hasn't really been that impressive. So I do wonder, you know, could you go Preck White Cloud and then Ball Nemich on the top pair? And then that kind of just gives you a better balance. And White Cloud is obviously a much better player than Middleton, and then that could potentially open the example even more for Preck if you have a guy who can actually make plays himself versus you know, Middleton is more so a guy who's just gonna go glass and out every single time, which is not what you want when you have Preck on the ice. You want Preck to get the puck. So yeah, we'll see what how Huskell lines up against Seattle. I'm sure he'll make some insane lineup change that no one understands, but um I'll cross my fingers for now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, kind of like you said, how Middleton goes glassing out, right? Like you kind of you want Preck leading those breakouts, right? And that's a big thing. Let him lead those breakouts, let him make those outlet passes. Um and then speaking of the D pairings, you kind of just took it right out of mouth, have that top pair of ball nemich, second pair of Perek on the left, white cloud on the right. I think that would be almost like a dream top four with kind of what you have right now. Let let let's see how Nemich does with Ball on the left of him and see Perek on his offhand, right? Just because like like we've said so many times this episode so far, you're rebuilding, this is the time to try these things out, right? I'd much rather see them try Perk on the left than you have to end up trying him much later, like in a couple years from now, right? Like let let's see how he does on the left right now. Give him the opportunity, pair him with White Cloud. The one thing I will say that I do like about him being with Middleton is that if he do if Preck does get hit or anything, like Middleton is there and Middleton's willing to kind of stand up for him, be that kind of like, hey, you're not you're not going after Preck or you're not going after our star guys. But I mean, I would much rather see Preck on that second pair left on the left side with White Cloud, see how the two of them do, because White Cloud's also kind of another guy who if maybe a guy's if guy's trying to take a run at Preck, White Cloud's gonna step in and be like, hey, like, you're not doing that, and he's gonna do something to maybe land a couple hits, start something. So yeah, that's probably the best top four. And then your third pair, Middleton, Kuznetsov, who who plays what side. I mean, that's that would have to be seen, but I think you you there is really no spot for Henry. He's kind of the seventh defenseman on this team. I don't really see where you could in a in a perfect world, I don't really see where you put him on that in a D pairing. So yeah, we'll have to see what Hoska does for tonight against Seattle because I don't even know if the lineups are out, we haven't seen them. But yeah, it's that remains to be seen how they line up tonight.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think we'll see what happens. We'll we'll see. We'll again, like we said, it's only been two games and we kind of just ripped into Haska maybe more than we should have after two games. But I feel like it's kind of been like four years of this, so I think it's kind of at this point it's a it's warranted. But yeah, we'll see. We'll I I I had my hopes up coming of the season that maybe this would be different, you know, based on what Conrad said in the offseason about you know opening things up. So far that has been the case, but it's only been two games. Maybe that changes, maybe after what has happened the first two games, that puts even more pressure on Huska to kind of change things up. And I hope that's the case. But if not, then yeah, I don't know how much more I can uh tune in if I know that Huska is gonna be the one guiding the ship here because it's been pretty ugly so far.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, kind of like as I said, it's only been two games, but like those two games were against Seattle and Vancouver, and then they play Seattle against. And going into this week, it was a big thing, like, okay, these first three games against Seattle, Vancouver, Seattle is gonna be big in seeing how this team is gonna play over the course of the year. And I mean, if you're losing 6-1 to Seattle, 4-1 to Vancouver, what's gonna happen when you play Colorado on the eighth? And it's kind of it's those things, right? Because like we mentioned it much earlier in the podcast, and so I'm gonna bring it up again. Vancouver is the biggest comparison because these they're probably the work two worst teams in the NHL. And Vancouver, the style of play that they're playing is much better suited for rebuilding team and letting the kids play. And so I feel like that's kind of why you kind of have to bring, even if it's only been two games, you kind of have to bring it up because it's like this is something like hopefully it changes either tonight or if they if they have another poor performance tonight, then maybe next game we see that change in how the team plays. But I mean, it's something that I think you kind of have to you have to see happen. And it hopefully sooner or later, but at some point this year, you have to see that change into letting the kids play and letting them play their style of play, right? You don't suppress them into this north-south, get past the red line, dump it in that we saw under Daryl Sutter when this team was when he would say, Oh, it's a 2-1 league. It's well, unfortunately, it's not a 2-1 league. Right? When Daryl Sutter was here, maybe you could get away with playing in a 2-1 league. It's not that anymore. And I think that's pretty evident. And so this is not the style of play that you can be playing. You can't play hockey like this anymore. Yep, no, exactly. 100% agree there.
SPEAKER_01It's it's time to to modernize how this team plays, and so far that hasn't been the case this season. So anything else? No, I feel like I feel like we've been piling on Huskins for 45 minutes.
SPEAKER_00That's uh I mean it's deserved. And I was like, I was done my first like little ramble, like quarterness, and I was like, geez, this might only be like a 20-minute episode, but how we dragged it to 45, I have no idea.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I was thinking that too. I was like, this might be quick because there's really not much else to talk about.
SPEAKER_00But no, I think we covered quite a bit. We just said the same thing over and over again. But I mean it's something that needs to be said, right? Like, I think it's a big game.
SPEAKER_01I think at this point it's two games, there's not much else to talk about. So yeah, we kind of like been we also kind of need to get a lot. We haven't done one since like June. Yeah, yeah, no. Do another one in a couple weeks when there's more to actually talk about and whatnot. But this one is good kind of af I mean, especially after the first two games. It's good to get something out where you just ripping on. All right, everybody. Thanks again for tuning in to the Wincomb Podcast. Uh that was this was the Ryan Huska centered episode, so I hope you all enjoy it, and uh we'll catch you in the next one.