Calgary Flames Get Torched by Analysts After Historically Bad Start

Flames head coach Ryan Huska called out half of his forwards for not giving enough effort in Saturday’s 6-1 road defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights.

“I thought we were like a 50-50 team, is the best way I can put it,” Huska told reporters following the loss to Vegas. “There was 50 percent of our guys who I thought worked really hard and were committed, and then I don’t think we got enough from the other 50 percent.”

The Flames laid an egg with the whole nation watching on Hockey Night in Canada. HNIC analyst Kevin Bieksa ripped into the Flames, particularly veteran forward Yegor Sharangovich.

“I would absolutely lose my mind if I saw that on the bench,” Bieksa said of Sharangovich’s lack of effort. “That’s a culture thing for me. I would show that clip in practice and I would say, ‘where are my guys that care? Where are my guys who care about losing?’

“Play the guys that care. If you’re going to get an effort like that from a guy, get rid of him. You’re disgracing the NHL with an effort like that. Down 6-1, be a little mad, hate to lose. That guy doesn’t hate to lose. I wouldn’t want a guy like that.”

Huska responded by scratching Sharangovich for Monday’s game against Winnipeg.

Are The Flames Already Tanking For McKenna?

Although the season has just begun, Flames fans and analysts alike are already thinking ahead to the 2026 NHL draft lottery and the possibility of drafting projected No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna.

Sportnet reporter Elliotte Friedman suggested that the Flames should embrace tanking during his 32 Thoughts podcast.

“I think it’s going to take some strength to go against the grain of what they normally like to do,” Friedman said. “The Flames do not like to throw in the towel. I think they’re trying to time it here with their new building coming in a couple of years, keep some veterans, don’t go full-tank, have the kids be ready.

“They’re kind of trying to bridge until the new building comes in. The thing that I can see that could be a real danger for Calgary is, stay away from a short-term fix. I think this is an organization that, in the past, would say, ‘I don’t like where this is going, let’s see if we can do something to keep our heads above water.’

“I think the Calgary Flames, the best thing they can do, is if this is the year where they say, ‘Alright, do we have to feel some pain? This is a really good draft.’ It’s going to take somebody inside the organization standing up and saying, ‘People aren’t going to like this, but this is what we need to do. If it doesn’t get better with the group of guys we have, if they can’t dig their way out of it, we cannot do a short-term fix. If anyone comes at us with a short-term fix, we either have to hang up the phone or tackle each other so nobody can call central registry.’ And they just have to grin and bear it because if it really goes off the rails and you get a high pick, when I look at the Flames – what do I think they need? If you can get a McKenna or a high-skill player at the top of the draft, that’s what you need.”

Flames fans are in for a long season. The hope generated by a top draft pick would give fans something to be excited about after several lean years. Calgary has missed the playoffs in four of the past five seasons.

Things will start looking up for the Flames should they land a future superstar like McKenna to go along with a promising young core of Dustin Wolf, Zayne Parekh, Connor Zary and Matt Coronato.

All the pain could eventually pay off if the luck of the draft lottery is on Calgary's side.