To say the Calgary Flames are off to a slow start to this season is an understatement.
After finishing atop the Western Conference with their best regular-season numbers (107 points) in 30 years, the Flames were expected to be a serious Stanley Cup contender in 2019-20. As of Nov 25, however, they were one point out of the final wild-card berth.
That mediocre effort evoked considerable grumbling among fans and criticism from pundits. It also sparked speculation suggesting Flames general manager Brad Treliving could shake things up if their fortunes didn’t improve.
It didn’t take long for Johnny Gaudreau’s name to surface in the rumor mill.