Flames’ Markstrom Must Be Better This Upcoming Season

Based on what the Calgary Flames have done so far this offseason, it is clear that they were extremely frustrated with how their season went last year.

For starters, the team and former general manager Brad Treliving agreed to part ways after nine seasons. After being one of the league’s best teams in the 2021-22 season, the Flames failed to make the Stanley Cup playoffs last season.

To replace Treliving, the Flames hired their former captain and assistant general manager Craig Conroy. Conroy then elevated assistant coach Ryan Huska to be the team’s new head coach.

While the franchise hopes these moves will help push the team in the right direction this upcoming season, they also need to hope their starting goaltender, Jacob Markstrom, returns to form.

In the 2021-22 season, Markstrom, 33, was one of the league’s best goaltenders. He was a Vezina Trophy Finalist, finishing the season with a record of 37-15-0-9 with a 2.22 goals-against average, a .922 save percentage, and nine shutouts.

In that year’s playoffs, things began to unravel for Markstrom. He went 5-7 in 12 games with a 2.95 goals-against average, a .901 save percentage, and one shutout.

He was particularly bad in the team’s second-round loss to the Edmonton Oilers. He was 1-4 in five games with a 5.12 goals-against average and a .852 save percentage.

Yes, the team in front of him did not play well, but he was one of the main reasons they got knocked out after being picked to go far in the postseason. Markstrom looked uncomfortable, was often caught out of position, and could not come up with the big save when his team needed one.

Unfortunately for the Flames, Markstrom bought those same struggles into this past season. He finished the season with a record of 23-21-0-12 with a 2.92 goals-against average, a .892 save percentage, and one shutout.

While there were some nights where Markstrom did not get much help, there were other games where Markstrom did not get the job done. For a team that allowed an average of 27.3 shots per game (third-best in the league), stopping only 89 percent of those shots is certainly not good.

Markstrom seemed to struggle with his confidence this season. He allowed more soft goals than usual, had trouble controlling his rebounds, was sometimes off on his angles, and had trouble holding leads.

While one cannot solely blame Markstrom for the team’s woes last season, it is clear that he did not help matters. Had Markstrom been on top of his game, the club probably would have made the playoffs.

Heading into this upcoming season, Markstrom will undoubtedly be on the hot seat and pressured to finish the job. The team has backup Dan Vladar who showed he could win games last season, while also having highly-touted prospect Dustin Wolf waiting in the wings.

The Flames better hope that the Markstrom of 2021-22 shows up this upcoming season because if he does not, it could end up being another long season in Calgary.


Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Patrick Hoffman

Patrick covers the NHL for Inside The Rink. He has previously covered the league for The Ultimate Hockey Fan Cave, WTP Sports, Sportsnet.ca, Kukla’s Korner, Spector’s Hockey, NHL Network Radio blog, TheHockeyNews.com, The Fourth Period, Stan Fischler’s “The Fischler Report”, as well as a slew of others.

Leave a Reply

Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers Playoff Thoughts: Round 3, Game 5

Happy belated 9th Birthday, Ben Stelter. Tuesday night’s win was for you. We’re just one win away from a second straight Finals appearance. We always wish Ben were still with us and imagine how joyful he’d be to watch the Edmonton Oilers in these Playoff runs the last couple of years. A really nice gesture […]

Read More
NHL Playoff Preview: Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars with Line Combinations 5/29/2025

NHL Playoff Preview: Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars with Line Combinations 5/29/2025

NHL Playoff Preview: Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars with Line Combinations 5/29/2025

Read More
Porter Martone 2025 Draft Profile

2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Porter Martone

The Scouting Report: Porter Martone of Peterborough, ON, is one of the prominent players available in the 2025 NHL Draft and is projected to be a top-five selection. Martone has been in the conversation for the first overall pick at different times this season, and with 37 goals and 98 points in 57 games with […]

Read More