Opinion | Inside the NHL: Flames bet on themselves and win, more Matthews magic and rating the coaches

There may have been no bigger disappointment in the NHL last season than the Calgary Flames.

A team that finished with the Western Conference’s best record in 2018-19, and won a qualifying-round series in the August 2020 bubble, entered the one-off North Division with big expectations following the free-agent additions of Jacob Markström and Chris Tanev.

And yet … the Flames missed the playoffs with a fifth-place finish.

Today they sit atop the Pacific Division with largely the same core of players and no clear answer as to what changed. Except general manager Brad Treliving can’t help but look at the wider challenges we’ve all faced since the pandemic began two years ago and think it had some impact on his hockey team.

“A lot of s–t’s happened to us,” Treliving said this past week. “It wasn’t normal.”

That’s primarily why he chose not to react emotionally and blow up his team last summer. The conditions for potential change were there with Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane all entering the final season of their contracts — more on them below — but Treliving chose instead to double down on his talent.

He hasn’t regretted it.

“Everybody’s reacted through these pandemic times differently. I think our team was affected by it,” said Treliving. “I don’t think our players are any different today than they were a year ago or a year and a half ago. It was a tough time. We believed in the group all along and sometimes I was questioned for that — saying ‘Well, why do you believe in this group?’ Because they’re good players, and it’s hard to get good players.

“I think they were dealing with a lot. We were inconsistent, but we were dealing through these times probably not as well as we could have or should have.”

They’ve rediscovered a new normal under head coach Darryl Sutter, who was hired to replace Geoff Ward in March 2021 and started laying a foundation at the end of a lost year.

The Flames are now elite at controlling shot attempts and boast the NHL’s third-best save percentage. They are fifth in expected goals against, per naturalstattrick.com, and have allowed the second-fewest actual goals leaguewide.

Gaudreau and Tkachuk, meanwhile, are both top-10 scorers in the midst of career years while teammate Elias Lindholm is producing better than a point per game.

Markstrom has nine shutouts and a sterling .924 save percentage.

Add it all together and the Flames appear to be built in a manner that could produce a long playoff run this spring. They’d likely be favoured in a series over every Western Conference team but Colorado.

Now, after wisely choosing to keep the band together, Treliving is trying to find a way to do it again. Gaudreau is eligible for unrestricted free agency in July, and Tkachuk and Mangiapane are both RFAs.

“We don’t view it as the ‘Last Dance’ here,” said Treliving. “We’ve got work to do and we continue to work away at it … The players that need their contracts done, we want to get those done.

“Whether it happens now or at the end of the year, that’s going to be priority No. 1.”

Magic Matthews

I had the rare chance to sit in the stands for Thursday’s Toronto-Winnipeg game at Scotiabank Arena and there was a palpable sense of anticipation in the air. Someone in my section even started up a “50! 50! 50!” chant before Auston Matthews hit the empty net and became the fourth Maple Leafs player in history to achieve the milestone.

Of all the crazy numbers to come out of Matthews’s best NHL season, consider this: He has a legitimate shot to become only the second player in 25 years to score 60 goals and 100 points.

He’s keeping company with the greats now.

Matthews has 44 goals in his last 46 games — that hadn’t been done since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96, according to Elias Sports Bureau — and he’s putting forth a case for this to be considered the best individual season in Leafs history. (Doug Gilmour’s 127-point 1992-93 is the current pinnacle for me.)

All of which brings us to another incredible number from the 24-year-old centre’s season: He’s drawn just 10 penalties, according to NHL.com, fewer than 283 of his colleagues. That seems nearly impossible given the minutes he plays and how often he has the puck.

Officiating is a sensitive subject these days and Leafs GM Kyle Dubas was diplomatic when asked about it during last week’s GMs meeting in Florida: “It’s not perfect and they recognize that. We certainly are far from perfect and make more mistakes than they do.”

Dubas indicated that he’s never specifically sought out an explanation of why Matthews is drawing so few calls.

“He’s six-three, 215 pounds and he doesn’t go down hardly ever,” said Dubas. “He’s not one that complains and he just goes and does his thing as normal. Of course we wish the way that he played would draw more (penalties), but they don’t deem that it does.”

It certainly hasn’t slowed him down this year.

#AskCJ

What’s it like being at a game as a fan when you’re used to being there as a journalist?

@cole__hayes

The experience was surprisingly different. The crowd feels louder and more engaged when you’re sitting in it compared to when you’re perched above it in the media gondola. And it was nice to just enjoy watching a game without any thoughts about what angle or line of questioning I’d want to pursue afterward.

What’s your dream final four in the Stanley Cup playoffs?

@ProducerDrew_

I’ll go with Calgary/Colorado and Toronto/Carolina. Covering an all-Canadian Stanley Cup final is among the items remaining on my professional bucket list and this final four leaves open that possibility. An Avs/Flames series would be awesome, and having Frederik Andersen return to Scotiabank Arena in an Eastern Conference final would be pretty juicy.

What’s the most intriguing story for you heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs?

@Redpandafanacc

Can the Leafs advance past the first round? What happens if they do? What happens if they don’t? It’s going to be a fascinating spring in Toronto.

Is it just me or do the Buffalo Sabres look like a team FINALLY heading in the right direction?

@Slapuel

This very thought occurred to me while watching Buffalo in the Heritage Classic game a couple weeks back. The skepticism is natural given where the franchise has been, but it’s hard to ignore how hard that group plays and how together they seem. They’ve got some great players coming, too.

Just curious on what kind of shoes you wear in the wintertime. Tbh I don’t run as much as I’d like to in the winter mainly bc of my lack of proper footwear. Any tips will be great!

@lorenzo_p22

The Nike Pegasus Trail Gore-Tex shoes carried me through the last two winters. They offer plenty of support and are extremely waterproof. My only other winter running advice is to shorten your running stride and take it slow when it’s snowy and icy.

Favourite foods to eat when you’re on one of your diets/cleanses you mentioned a few episodes ago. Looking for some healthier food ideas.

@JRed548

It’s never bad to take a week or two where you cut out the obvious: sugars, alcohol, dairy and anything processed. Just focus on eating clean/whole foods and drinking lots of water.

Bacon and eggs OR pancakes?

@Pigface82

You can’t beat bacon and eggs when enjoying a relaxing breakfast/brunch. Incidentally, neither of these options is particularly cleanse friendly.

Tims or Starbucks?

@Eric01333666

Starbucks all the way. And I take my coffee black.

CJ, What is your go-to wine? Go-to beer?

@rmilana47

My wine palate runs the gamut, but I’ve been enjoying Chardonnay of late. Try La Crema. As for beer, I’m a big fan of Collective Arts. The IPA20 is my current top choice from there.

Tidbits

NHL executive Colin Campbell reminded general managers last week that they can be fined for publicly criticizing the officials … What was most notable about the discussion around long-term injured reserve and a possible playoff salary cap is that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman acknowledged a desire to make a change for the sake of optics: “It’s more perceptional. Nobody thinks it’s been abused. There are always adjustments that people would like to make to the collective bargaining agreement. This is something that would be nice to adjust, to change the perception, but I don’t think it’s been viewed as being a problem. Because it hasn’t (been).” … Jan. 1, 2023 could be a big day for the NHL since it is hoping to unveil the next two years worth of tent-pole events during the Winter Classic … A play-in format for the 2024 World Cup of Hockey means there won’t be a rebooted Team North America … Kudos to Keith Yandle for taking the high road after seeing his NHL-record iron-man streak end with a healthy scratch by the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night … Phil Kessel’s last missed game came when he was a member of the Boston Bruins … Connor Bedard has 45 goals in 56 games for the WHL’s Regina Pats and isn’t eligible to be drafted by an NHL team until 2023 … Josh Norris is one goal shy of 30 and quietly having a nice season in Ottawa … The flags flew at half-mast outside Canadian Tire Centre for Sunday’s matinee following the death of Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. RIP.

C.J.’s Top Five

The Jack Adams Award is voted on by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association and recognizes the head coach who contributed the most to his team’s success. So I don’t get a vote. Here’s how my top five would look today if I did:

1. Andrew Brunette Florida

Promoted in-season following Joel Quenneville’s resignation in late October and has the Panthers in the mix for the Presidents’ Trophy.

2. Todd McLellan Los Angeles

Who pegged the Kings to be comfortably in a playoff spot with less than a month remaining in the regular season?

3. Jon Cooper Tampa

Coaches of great teams rarely win this award, but it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t. There’s been no fall-off for the Lightning after back-to-back Stanley Cup wins.

4. Darryl Sutter Calgary

It’s impossible to ignore the buy-in he’s gotten from his players after last year’s disappointment.

5. Sheldon Keefe Toronto

The Leafs are strong on both specialty teams and remain among the top teams in the Atlantic Division despite getting some spotty goaltending throughout the last two months.

Parting thought

There will be a day down the road where Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras is universally celebrated for the skill and creativity that saw him produce two lacrosse-style goals and the “Michigan” assist this season. Good on Zegras for speaking out about the unnecessary beating his teammate Troy Terry took from Jay Beagle during last week’s game in Arizona.

Chris Johnston writes about sports for NorthStar Bets. NorthStar Bets is owned by NordStar Capital, which also owns Torstar, the Star’s parent company. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterchris