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Yahoo
29-04-2025
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Can ‘culture' be a building block for the Flames, or is it just a buzzword?
The Calgary Flames firmly believe these are not just buzzwords, but important building blocks. If you had a dollar for every time the Flames mentioned 'culture' or 'identity' during their end-of-season interviews, you might have left the Saddledome feeling like you had finally won a game-night 50-50 raffle. 'I think you've heard a lot of the guys talk about the culture and identity,' Flames defenceman Joel Hanley started during his turn at the mic. 'It's a great team and great guys that believe we can make that next step. 'I think we grew a lot as a team. At the beginning of the season, no one really knew what we were. I think we kind of proved that we're a team that can make the playoffs and do damage.' The Flames have been sitting at home for close to two weeks already, stuck in front of their flat-screens for what has been an intense and entertaining first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup party. They were the last team eliminated from post-season contention, expectations exceeded but an early ouster nonetheless. 'The big thing for our group is the belief and the culture,' said defenceman MacKenzie Weegar, a heart-and-soul sort who led the Flames in assists, pluses and total time on ice, and also was second in both hits and blocked shots in his third campaign in Calgary. 'From my first year here, then the second year, we have taken big steps in that area, I think.' Culture, you say? Not the first we've heard of it. In fact, it has been floated that the most significant development around the Saddledome this season was a reset of sorts, both inside the locker room and in embracing an on-ice style that they believe can lead to long-term success. The low external expectations turned out to be an effective bonding agent, but the Flames don't aspire to be just an easy-to-root-for band of overachievers. While 2024-25 can be considered a success because they proved to be more competitive than the pundits thought possible, while there was a positive tone on exit day, they don't want to be a major supplier of talent to the world championship tournament. Seven of their players will head overseas in the coming days. (Adam Klapka, named Tuesday to Team Czechia, is the latest addition to that list.) On locker-cleanout day, Weegar rattled off the ingredients that he sees as key to the Flames culture — 'pride, a lot of heart and courage' — and stressed 'our identity here is playoff hockey all year long.' First-line forward Jonathan Huberdeau was among those to reference the reputation they established as a relentless and resilient opponent, saying: 'Now, when teams are playing the Flames, they know it's going to be a hard game.' Some viewed that defence-first, high-on-try style as the only viable strategy for what was the fourth-lowest scoring team in the NHL. Like, what choice did they have? The Flames, however, are adamant this is now a non-negotiable that will make them that much more formidable as they add extra firepower to the lineup. They don't want to lean too heavily on rising-star puck-stopper Dustin Wolf. 'I think this year was a lot of the groundwork,' said winger Blake Coleman, another one of Calgary's alternate captains. 'You think of a house, it's kind of the foundation built.' Across the street from the Saddledome, hard-hatted crews have been busy installing rebar panels and pouring the concrete foundation for the Flames' future home rink. In a perfect world, they'd love to sync up these two construction projects, with general manager/roster architect Craig Conroy aiming to build a legitimate contender for when Scotia Place opens in the fall of 2027. The big question is whether a culture that they're so proud of will inch them closer to the ultimate goal. It's great, grand and groovy that Hanley loves being around these dudes and feels confident the Flames 'can make that next step,' but will this pending unrestricted free agent even be back in the fall? Conroy is still searching for that cornerstone centre, a must-have on the checklist for any could-be contender. When that marquee middle-man arrives, whether it's via trade or offer sheet or the NHL draft, will those behind-the-scenes strides from 2024-25 mean diddly squat to him? (It sure feels like a good sign that blue-chip blue-line prospect Zayne Parekh, whose resume so far shows one game and one goal in the Flaming C, even contributed a couple of 'culture' quotes after spending about a week-and-a-half around his future teammates.) Will it mean something when the Flames are trying to woo potential difference-makers in free agency? On exit day, Coleman enthused that 'guys are going to start seeing Calgary as a really attractive destination to come play and I think that starts with the word of mouth of every guy in our room, praising how much they enjoy it.' Can that last when some of the current tone-setters are no longer around or find themselves in reduced roles toward the end of their careers and contracts? Remember, Calgary's captain Mikael Backlund is now 36. The next-oldest player on the roster is leading scorer Nazem Kadri, who will turn 35 in the opening month of next season. The youngest dude in the leadership committee is 28-year-old Rasmus Andersson — and some wonder if he could be a goner as soon as this summer, when he is eligible for an extension. Honzek to play for Slovakia at World Championships Calgary Wranglers knocked out of playoffs as Coachella Valley Firebirds complete sweep 'I think it's a culture thing, right?' was the predictable answer from Flames defenceman Kevin Bahl, a piece of the future core, when asked why he is optimistic that his squad is trending the right direction. 'When you build an identity of just being a hard-working, gritty team that is going to claw away in any game, you can bring guys in or whatever and they're going to buy into that right away and it's going to show. 'You guys see it, the way we played right through until Game 82. I think that's the biggest component for me. When you have that culture and attitude and team identity, I think you can just throw guys in right away and they're going to buy in.' That's what they're hoping. It's why the Flames genuinely believe that 2024-25 will matter when they are again competing in the Stanley Cup playoffs rather than watching them. Otherwise, these are just buzzwords. 'If you can have the talent and the skill and play the right way…' said the 31-year-old Weegar, gazing into the future. 'I mean, that sounds like a championship, you know?' wgilbertson@
