The rivalry between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, better known as the “Battle of Alberta”, has been one of the most intense hockey rivalries in NHL history. Both teams put on a good show whenever they play each other regardless of the current state of their respective teams, and they consistently can put on entertaining shows for their respective fanbases. This season, both teams are struggling and are near the bottom of the standings, but that doesn’t mean their matchups and storylines surrounding them haven’t been fun to tune into.
Related: Treliving Set Flames Back Years by Not Acquiring Eichel
While the past few seasons have ended in sadness for both teams, as neither of them have been able to go all the way and bring home a Stanley Cup, it was recently revealed that a game-changing player almost completely altered the history of the Battle of Alberta and the league as a whole. On the Empty Netter Podcast, superstar forward Jack Eichel admitted that when he requested a trade from the Buffalo Sabres, the sweepstakes had come down to the Vegas Golden Knights, who did acquire him, and the Flames who lost out on his services.
The massive package that the Flames were offering the Sabres, which included Matthew Tkachuk who was eventually traded to the Florida Panthers, wasn’t good enough for the Sabres who eventually settled for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and draft picks instead. Looking back at the Golden Knights’ successful Stanley Cup run in the 2022-23 season, it was evident how impactful Eichel was and how much he could be helping a struggling team like the Flames right now. Instead, they have multiple long-term contracts they may regret signing already.
Flames Missed Out On Eichel, What Did They Do Instead?
The Flames ended up trading Tkachuk anyway, and he ended up going to the Stanley Cup Final (against the Golden Knights last season) with the Panthers who shocked the world and went on an insane run after having no expectations to do much in the playoffs after barely sneaking in. In return, the Flames acquired forward Jonathan Huberdeau, defenceman MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwnidt, and a lottery-protected first-round draft selection in 2025.
In the beginning, the trade looked good for the Flames. Huberdeau was coming off a season where he exploded offensively, Weegar was considered one of the best defensemen in the NHL, and the Flames were able to get two future assets in the deal as well. They locked Weegar and Huberdeau up long-term and since they’ve joined the Flames, have been extremely underwhelming.
Before being dealt, Huberdeau had scored 30 goals and added 85 assists for 115 points through 80 games and was considered one of the top 10 players in the NHL. However, since joining the Flames he has taken a massive step back offensively. In 112 games so far over two seasons, he has only scored 19 goals and added 51 assists for 70 points, which isn’t terrible by any means, but it’s not what they expected out of a player they traded for in hopes of making a Stanley Cup run the following season, especially after giving up one of their star players in exchange for him.
Weegar on the other hand has stayed strong defensively but is nowhere near the player he was with the Panthers. It’s also interesting to note that Weegar, who isn’t as offensively minded as most defencemen, has four more points than Huberdeau this season. Looking back, it also didn’t help that the Flames lost Johnny Gaudreau to the Columbus Blue Jackets during free agency, but his massive contract doesn’t look great either, so maybe that’s a bullet the Flames were able to dodge.
The Flames also chose to sign forward Nazem Kadri to a massive seven-year contract after his incredible run with the Colorado Avalanche, and with him joining the roster, it seemed to be a lock that the Flames were going to contend for a while, but that hasn’t been the case. While they replaced the players they lost with assets that should have brought them tons of success, it has been the opposite. It’s clear if they won the Eichel sweepstakes that this team would be going down a different path right now, but we’ll never know how that could’ve gone.
While the Flames are hoping they can turn their season around, their 14-14-5 record heading into the Christmas holiday isn’t one they’re proud of by any means, and they aren’t where they expected themselves to be after acquiring a massive package that should be taking them into the playoffs consistently.
What Does All This Mean In Their Rivalry With The Oilers?
As mentioned, Eichel ended up winning a Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights. He and the Golden Knights had to go through the Oilers to make it all the way and win though, and it’s easy to wonder if they would’ve been as strong without Eichel on their team and if the Flames would’ve been in that playoff spot instead. The Flames missed the playoffs last season and are on pace to miss it again, but with a completely different roster had they brought in Eichel, I doubt they would have missed the postseason.
While the Oilers are struggling this season, they have seemingly found their groove and have snapped out of the weird slump they were in to start the season. They still sit behind the Flames in the standings but with the way things are trending, that won’t last much longer. Unfortunately, it seems as though the Flames will have to live with the long-term deals they gave to multiple players and will have to wonder what would’ve happened if they had Eichel because we will never truly know.
Another thing that would have also been a huge addition to the rivalry would’ve been the battle of first vs second overall, better known as Eichel vs Connor McDavid. There was never really any comparison in skill between the two, but they both were elite talents that came out of the same draft class in 2015. Rather than rarely seeing them go head-to-head, their rivalry would’ve been elevated had Eichel joined the Flames.
The Flames’ roster likely would’ve looked a lot different, and also would likely have been altered in hopes of specifically beating the Oilers in the playoffs had they met each other in the postseason. The direction of the Flames is quite unknown to anybody at the moment as they continue to struggle, but they likely would’ve been headed toward being championship contenders with Eichel over Huberdeau and Kadri.
Some fans believed Eichel was a problem in the dressing room, had an attitude, and wouldn’t be able to lead any team he joined to any type of success. He was able to prove them all wrong with the Golden Knights, so it’s easy to think he would’ve been able to do the same with the Flames.
What’s Next For Both Teams?
The Oilers have a much stronger roster overall than the Flames do, and that has to do with smarter spending and asset management. The Oilers aren’t perfect themselves by any means, but they don’t have any long-term deals they regret, other than the Jack Campbell contract. For the Flames, it seems as though they have solidified themselves as the worst team in Alberta for the next several seasons unless every player they signed has a miraculous bounceback, which isn’t impossible, but is highly improbable.
Both teams will be hoping they can find success this season and save themselves from what was set to be terrible campaigns for both franchises. It’s fun to look back and think about what could have been, but we will never know. For now, the Flames will have to live with the mistakes they’ve made, and hope they can dig themselves out of the hole they’ve dug.
