NHL Postseason Dissection: Panthers, Flames Fall Short

Despite making some strides during the 2021-22 NHL regular season, a postseason exit for the Panthers and Flames dulls that excitement.

With the NHL regular season and the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the rear-view mirror, it is a good time to look at a couple of clubs that were eliminated and see exactly why their season ended.

Today we look at the President’s Trophy winner and one of the Western Conference’s best clubs who could not translate regular-season success into playoff glory.

Florida Panthers

What went right?

The Panthers were not phased by the departure of head coach Joel Quenneville and career years from Jonathan Huberdeau (115 points), Aleksander Barkov (39 goals), Sam Reinhart (82 points) and a bounce-back season from Sergei Bobrovsky (39-7-3, 2.67 GAA, .913 save percentage) led Florida to a franchise-record 122-point campaign, a league-best 340 goals scored, +94 goal differential, an Atlantic Division title and the President’s Trophy with a 58-18-6 record.

What went wrong?

Similar to Toronto, the Panthers could not translate regular-season offensive production to the tight-checking style of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Florida dodged a potential first-round upset by coming back against Washington and winning in six games, but for the second season in a row did not have an answer for their state rivals from Tampa Bay, going out in a four-game sweep to the Lightning.

What will they do?

Florida GM Bill Zito went all-in on this season, trading first-round picks in 2022, ‘23, and ’24 to obtain Reinhart, and rentals Ben Chiarot, and Claude Giroux. Reinhart was extended, but with less than $4 million in available cap space, it will be a challenge to bring any of their unrestricted free agents back.

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Calgary Flames

What went right?

The Flames successfully transitioned from a club that missed the playoffs last season in the all-Canadian division to a physical, tough, and defensive-minded team under two-time Stanley Cup winner Darryl Sutter, winning the Pacific Division with a 50-21-11 record (111 points). Calgary relied heavily on Vezina Trophy nominee Jacob Markstrom (37-15-9, 2.22 GAA, .922 save %) and their top line of Johnny Gaudreau (115 points), Matthew Tkachuk (104 points), and Elias Lindholm (42 goals).

What went wrong?

Calgary’s lack of scoring depth past their top two lines and lack of blueline depth nearly had them fall victim to Dallas in the first round before winning in overtime of Game 7. The Flames could not match the speed and firepower of provincial rival Edmonton in the second round and got below-average goaltending from Markstrom, losing to the Oilers in five games.

What will they do?

Brad Treliving is expected to be proactive well before the NHL Draft and free agency in July to find out where things stand with free agents Gaudreau (unrestricted), Tkachuk (restricted), and 35-goal scorer Andrew Mangiapane. In spite of statements of their willingness to sign long-term, Gaudreau may be enticed to go to market as one of the most sought-after free agents in this year’s crop and Tkachuk may be biding his time with a year left before becoming a UFA.