Recently, I took to Instagram to ask fans why they believe the Calgary Flames will be good or bad in 2023-24. I got a plethora of responses, most of them positive with reasons to be optimistic. I covered those reasons in a previous article. But there are still reasons to be concerned.
Of the 40 or so responses that I received, most of them were from fans of teams other than the Flames, however, both Flames fans and non-Flames fans made good points on both sides of the argument. Although the sentiment I got from the responses seemed to be that there were more reasons to be optimistic than there were to be concerned, it is still important to not disregard potential concerns.
Here are the main reasons to be concerned, as outlined by NHL fan responses:
Morale and Locker Room Issues
It was been well-documented that the Flames suffered from issues off the ice last season. However, the root of those issues was head coach Darryl Sutter. Despite the coaching change this offseason, there could still be internal issues, given the many pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) and several players who have requested trades.
Even with newly hired Ryan Huska behind the bench, as he was an assistant coach under Sutter, the team’s leadership group remains largely the same other than losing Tyler Toffoli. Meaning that it’s possible that relationships were severed during the course of the tenuous 2022-23 season and may have lasting effects going into the 2023-24 season. If so, when the team hits a rough patch during this upcoming season, then this issue could create a similar snowball effect that we saw last season.
Lack of Flames’ Top-Tier Talent
Multiple responses cited the talent level as a reason to be concerned. They believe the team lacks real star power and point-per-game talent, which puts considerable pressure on Jonathan Huberdeau. Coming off of a down year, many wonder if he’ll be able to bounce back. Some respondents believed that he would be better than last season, but were still not convinced that he would be able to return to a form good enough to lead the team, and another believed that if he couldn’t, the Flames’ chances would go down considerably as the roster would then look “bleak.”
Losing the team’s top goal-scorer from last season was another reason for concern, as the Flames shipped Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils. While, on the other side of the ice, one Flames fan was specifically concerned about the possibility of Jacob Markstrom bouncing back, stating that they did not expect him to be able to do so.
Related: Flames’ Matthew Coronato Could Be Big Part of Season Success
There is also concern that the Flames’ roster cannot compete with the other playoff teams that are in the Western Conference, as the level of competition in the west is on the rise after other playoff or playoff-hopeful teams made significant additions to their roster this offseason and multiple top prospects are looking to make their debuts this season.
Less Prominent Concerns
The two aforementioned reasons were each brought up multiple times by multiple different people, however, there were other concerns that were less prominent in the responses that should be kept in mind. The brass will likely look to become sellers at the trade deadline if the team is not firmly in a playoff spot due to the large number of pending UFAs on the roster.
Another response believed that too much needs to go right for the team to have a good season. Multiple bouncebacks, a complete 180 in locker room morale, and successful rookie seasons by the team’s top prospects is a lot to ask for.
Lastly, there was concern that the Flames’ core is aging as, Huberdeau, Markstrom, Nazem Kadri, Mikael Backlund as well as both Christopher Tanev and Blake Coleman are over the age of 30, meaning that their best years may already be behind them.
Every team enters the season with some concerns and possible ways that it could go poorly, and the Flames are no different. There is a lot to be excited about going into the 2023-24 for Flames fans, but the reasons to be concerned should not be forgotten or discarded.
