Trade deadline plans intact after Flames wrap daunting road trip
A 3-2 overtime loss in Dallas Thursday night ended a daunting six-game road trip for the Flames with a respectable 2-2-2 record, keeping Calgary firmly entrenched in a fight for the West’s final wild-card spot.
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DALLAS – Hours before one of his club’s biggest games of the season, Blake Coleman reflected on one of the most memorable days of his life.
Two weeks after being assured he would be a cornerstone of the New Jersey Devils moving forward, Coleman was pulled aside at the start of the fathers’ trip and told he’d been traded.
“Fitzy said, ‘we’re trading you somewhere in the east — it’s gonna be a contender,’” recalled Coleman of his conversation with GM Tom Fitzgerald just before the 2020 trade deadline.
“He actually said, verbatim, ‘you’ll probably go win a Cup. Maybe two.’
“He said, ‘you’ll thank me later — just invite me to your Cup parties.’”
Told three hours later his new home would be Tampa, Coleman went on to win two Stanley Cups, and indeed invited Fitzgerald to help him celebrate.
“A deal is a deal,” chuckled Coleman.
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More than two dozen players have had their lives significantly altered around the NHL the last couple days, and that number will increase substantially as the clock ticks down on Friday’s 1 p.m. MT / 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.
And while Coleman laughs when asked if he suffers from PTSD at this time every season, this time around, there won’t be any such bombshells for Flames core veterans like himself.
The likes of Rasmus Andersson, Mackenzie Weegar, Nazem Kadri, Dan Vladar and Mikaal Backlund also aren’t going anywhere.
General manager Craig Conroy has told them as much, as part of a unique transparency the players find refreshing.
“I feel like you believe him, because he is a good guy and he was in our shoes and he understands that side of it,” said Coleman, who had a modified no-trade clause this year and the final two of his deal.
“I’ve talked to him and we have a pretty good understanding. He can’t make any promises anywhere because it is a business, and if a deal comes around you can’t turn down, there are no hard feelings. But it’s nice to know he cares about the person.
“It’s nice to have his honesty — it’s what you value the most.”
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A 3-2 overtime loss in Dallas Thursday night ended a daunting six-game road trip for the Flames with a respectable 2-2-2 record, keeping Calgary firmly entrenched in a fight for the West’s final wild-card spot.
Conroy hopes to add more depth Friday, with a left-shot defenceman and a right-shot centre sitting atop his wish list, with an eye on adding for the stretch run, and hopefully the playoffs.
The noise surrounding the team last year at this time has been replaced by calmness, thanks to Conroy’s open approach.
“It’s weird because, old school, I never talked to the GM, and I don’t know if any guys really did,” said Conroy of his approach with players.
“But I just think it’s different now. They’re invested, just like you. So I think if they understand where I’m trying to go, and what we’re trying to do here, it makes a big difference.”
It allows the players to focus entirely on winning games.
One of Conroy’s recent additions, Joel Farabee, got the Flames out to a great start against the surging Stars Thursday, followed by Backlund’s first in 16 outings.
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However, the Stars clawed back into the game with a Wyatt Johnston goal in the second, followed by a pair of Jason Robertson finishes through Dan Vladar’s five-hole, including the overtime dagger.
Kadri hit the iron twice in overtime, Huberdeau once, demonstrating once again how razor-thin the margins are at this time of year.
“Still pretty bitter right now about the way that went down, but if you zoom out a little bit, we take points in four of six,” said Coleman of the trip that keeps Conroy’s trade wish list intact.
“Those are the kind of teams we’re going to play if we want to go to the playoffs. I thought we showed well.”
This team is hanging tough, unlike last year when a decimated roster and morale took them well out of the race.
This trip could have ruined them.
Instead, it strengthened their resolve.
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“This year is totally different than other years, like it doesn’t even feel like (the deadline) is happening right now for our team, which is something I quite like,” said Ryan Huska.
“It’s just business for us. There was a lot going on with our team last year. There’s not this year.
“Right from the beginning of the year, Connie’s helped do a job of keeping all that stuff away from our team. So they became a tighter group because of it.”
That was evident again Thursday when the Flames hung tough in a nailbiter against the league’s hottest team.
“This road trip could have gone one way and could have ended the season, so I like the battle,” said Farabee.
“We consider ourselves a playoff team, so it’s going to be a heavy push the rest of the way here.”
