Flames future looking good
Effort this year was astonishing
CALGARY — Happily ever after. That’s the way fairy tales are supposed to end. The homogenized, Disneylike brand we’ve been weaned on, at any rate.
Well, a fairy tale ended Sunday night on the ice at a longtime chamber of horrors, the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Don’t let the spin-doctors con you about rotten luck and iffy calls. In the final analysis, the Calgary Flames were worn down, overstretched and outclassed by the Anaheim Ducks.
“We have a long way to go,’’ acknowledged Flames coach Bob Hartley.
Yes, but think of the how far they’ve come.
And after the initial jolt of shock has subsided, they’ll reflect and they’ll understand. A fairy tale it was. Together, a group of bought-in veterans and presumptuous kids marshalled by a reclamation project from the Swiss league performed something bordering on miraculous: They resuscitated an ailing, directionally challenged franchise.
The achievements of the 2014-2015 Calgary Flames are simply astonishing.
That 20-point regularseason improvement. A first post-season berth in six springtimes, followed by only a second trip past the opening round over the last quarter century. Three major trophy finalists feted for their work — Johnny Gaudreau for the Calder, Jiri Hudler for the Byng and Hartley for the Adams.
“Bottom line, Johnny is a winner,’’ praised Hartley. “He wants to be the difference. That’s the kind of culture we’re trying to bring in Calgary.’’
Captain Mark Giordano providing 61 games richly deserving of Norris and Hart Trophy consideration. Kris Russell blocking more shots than any non-goalie has, ever, his aggregate of 283 more than 25 NHL netminders listed in the final stats (including two full-time back-ups).
Sean Monahan’s continuing evolution as a marquee two-way pivot.
Hartley’s Flaming C icecream cakes. The playoff introductions of junkyard dog Sam Bennett and nuclear-impact Micheal Ferland. The symmetry displayed by Monahan, Hudler and Gaudreau in transforming themselves into an authentic No. 1 NHL line.
The new GM, Brad Treliving, savvy enough not to strut in and feel compelled to leave his fingerprints everywhere, gradually coming to the realization that what he had was actually working and could be something bordering on special.
A pretty decent, often decisive 1-2 goaltending partnership that’s set to be joined by Frozen Four-winning skyscraper Jon Gillies.
So much went so right, proved to be so unexpected, so dumbfounding, so utterly compelling that you were afraid to turn away in case you blinked and missed something.
The Flames hunkered down and stubbornly refused to tumble right out of the playoff debate despite a spectacular eight-game crash, overcame the debilitating loss of the inspirational Giordano to a torn bicep three-quarters of the way through.
Yet by the time they did finally succumb Sunday night, ousted by a bigger, stronger, more advanced opponent, heavyweights the calibre of L.A., Boston, St. Louis, Detroit and the Islanders had long since been put to bed. “Great effort,’’ said Hartley in summation.
“It’s sad that our season is over. The boys battled hard ... it’s a tough loss to swallow but at the same time we knew we were a young team, that we had to take some lessons.”
In the persons of T.J. Brodie, Monahan, Gaudreau, Bennett, Ferland, Joe Colborne et al, the cupboard has been re-stocked, the future addressed.
Hartley has a richly deserved contract extension. Treliving heads into the summer armed with plenty of cap space to work with and an attractive situation to pitch.
This group is going to change. Treliving will tinker. He’s obliged to. Standing still is being left behind in this business.
Yes, a fairy-tale ended Sunday. But for the first time in a long time, with a sense of actual belief, not merely blind hope; with the prospect of a bright blue horizon up ahead and a can’t-wait thirst for training camp, for it to start all over again.