Flames can save season from brink of failure

The Calgary Flames are hanging onto hopes of securing a Western Conference wild card spot despite a season that has failed dramatically to meet expectations.

Video Transcript

JULIAN MCKENZIE: And losses when out-shooting opponents by 10 or more shots, 21 losses. That is the most in NHL history. Again, this is ahead--

OMAR: In history? Oh my god!

JULIAN MCKENZIE: The most in NHL history, not in the-- most in NHL history. All these stats are all ahead of the Tuesday night game against the Anaheim Ducks. But yeah, 21 losses when out-shooting opponents by 10 shots or more-- 21 this year, the most in NHL history.

OMAR: Listen, man--

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: I would hate to be a Flame right now.

OMAR: I stand by--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Oh, I heard what you did. I heard what you did. I heard what you did. You would hate to be a Flame-- you, you, with that Edmonton bias.

OMAR: I mean, OK.

AVRY LEWIS-MCDOUGALL: I mean, right now, it must be tough.

OMAR: I stand by what I've said. And I think we've all mirrored about what needs to be done when it comes to changes in the organization. However, comma--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: We need a shirt that says, "Darryl's a problem."

OMAR: Darryl-- Darryl might be right.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Wait, what?

OMAR: Listen, hey, Darryl Sutter--

SAM CHANG: I didn't see that coming.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I did not see this coming.

OMAR: Darryl Sutter has talked about how the team does not have any-- like, the paraphrasing, does not have any elite finishing anymore.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: They don't have any game-breakers. That's been said all year.

OMAR: Now, I'm not saying 100% of it is not his fault. But zero third period comebacks, 21 losses when out-shooting the opponent by 10 plus? Damn, man-- damn, man! That's tough. That is tough. And if I had $1 for every time I've said that the Winnipeg Jets are lucky that Calgary is so bad, I'd have $5, which isn't a lot. But the fact that I've said it at least five times is a problem because it's just weird!

But I don't know, like, at the same time, it feels like every time we talk about-- it's just like when we were talking about the Canucks for like, ever. Every time we talk about the Flames, it comes down to the same conclusion. The coach and the team does not match. We all know what needs to be done. So unless ownership just says, you know what? Yes, Darryl's our boy. We like him.

But you know what? We want to be good when we're paying people double digits and stuff. So until they make that decision-- I don't understand how they look at this. This is what we're seeing. We all know that teams have like, internal micro stats and stuff. I would love to see what that says. Is there a fine print that says, you know what? It's not Darryl's fault? I don't understand! This should be a case-- they should be in a playoff spot.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: They should be.

OMAR: This should be a cakewalk for them! Like, again, Winnipeg's been horrible, man. The top line's getting benched! This should be-- this is the moment that teams wait for. A team that's like, maybe that had a bad start, but you're kind of like, finding your legs a little bit and you just need someone to fall out of it, this is it.

This is the fall. It's like, the Flames are on ground level. And then Winnipeg is on like, the second floor. And they tossed them a ball. And they still dropped it anyway. I don't get it. And it's such a shame. I think regardless of what happens, this season is a frickin' failure, especially if they miss, especially if they miss.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Well, their goal at the beginning of the year was to make the playoffs. So if they don't make the playoffs, it is a failure.

OMAR: Yeah, but doing it-- not making it this way, that's--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Oh, that's beyond--

OMAR: That's when you take context and you ramp it up by like, a million. That's horrible.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Man, I hate to be the harbinger of-- maybe not death in this case, but of bad news to come or just news to come. I really think we're in for something really drastic this summer in Calgary. There's no way we don't have some kind of big piece of news. Does Darryl just say, you know what? Hey, man, I'm done. I'm going to the farm. I'm not taking the extension.

Is Darryl-- do the Flames just look at Darryl Sutter, and they look at the money he's owed over the next two years and they're like, well, we could just make him GM and just pay him that way. Or what about players? What about Jonathan Huberdeau? What about Nazem Kadri? You mean to tell me after-- the players are all saying, like, hey man, we all like to play for each other in this room.

OMAR: Lies.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I don't know. Here's the thing. I don't know if that's a lie. I don't know if that's a lie.

OMAR: Yeah.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I think we've all had bosses in our respective jobs who get on our nerves. And then we maybe bond a little more with our coworkers because our boss is a little annoying. You don't hate the boss, necessarily, sometimes. But you're like, hey, you know, he's grinding my gears a little bit. I think that's what we're getting in Calgary right now. I think that's what it is. And I think at this point, with the style, with how things are going, it wouldn't surprise me if there were a few guys in that room right now who were not too fond of Darryl.

It happened in LA. And they locked him out of the room. It's not the first time that's going to happen. But I think at some point, considering the amount of time that's left with this roster to be competitive and those contracts, I really think something's going to have to give at some point. You might have to pick between Darryl Sutter and some of these players. I think that's generally what's going to have to happen this summer.