Flames Darryl Sutter takes a shot at Matthew Tkachuk during press conference
One of the biggest stories of this past off season was, of course, the Matthew Tkachuk trade. Tkachuk decided he didn't want to stay with the Calgary Flames any longer. He was eventually shipped to the Florida Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt, and a draft pick.
Even with getting Huberdeau and Weegar in return, Tkachuk isn't an easy player to replace. During a new conference Thursday, Flames coach Darryl Sutter indicated he felt Tyler Toffoli could replace some of the skillset that left with Tkachuk. He was then asked what comparisons he would make between Tkachuk and Toffoli. It was time for a classic Sutter answer in his deadpan style.
"One guy's won Stanley Cups," said Sutter. "Been a big part of long playoff runs."
Toffoli won the Cup with the LA Kings in 2014. His coach at the time was Darryl Sutter.
It's hard not to see this as anything but Sutter feeling the Flames are in a better place without Tkachuk than with him. The team has definitely improved since Sutter took over. Can the Flames go all the way? Time will tell.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||