Nothing to Write Home About: Unpacking the Calgary Flames’ Underperformance
May 25, 1989. The Calgary Flames are looking to win a fourth and final game at the Montreal Forum to claim the coveted Stanley Cup. With 8:58 seconds to go in the third period, Doug Gilmore scores what would be the cup winning goal on a power play.
Modern times Flames can unfortunately be described in one word: Eh.
While the team’s management has been trying to build a sustainable path to success ever since their 1989 victory, many struggles and organizational difficulties have been muddling this path. As we’ll discuss later, even the most well-intentioned plans can go awry without effective change management. Breaking the issues down into 3 parts, we will do our best to analyze the organizational struggles in the Calgary Flames, and how these could be managed in order to help them succeed once more.
A lesson in (lack of) leadership
What is a captain? On their official website, the NHL uses the following to describe the duties of a team captain
In addition to the captaincy holding a defined role, there are other, intangible parts of the job. It’s the captain who is seen as the team leader, counted on to be accountable to the media and in most cases the public face of the franchise as well as a link between the coach and players.
Just like any leader in traditional workplaces, captains are the ones in charge of setting an example for players. Whether by motivating players, speaking up for teammates wronged by officials, or speaking on behalf of the team to the press, they are, more often than not, the face of a franchise.
Since the departure of Mark Giordano in the 2019 expansion draft, the Calgary Flames have been without a captain, rotating between alternate captains.In business, a flat organizational structure means that “an organization has few (if any) levels of management between the workforce and the highest-level managers.” (The Business Professor, n.d.)
While there may be advantages to a flat organizational structure in certain situations, advantages which are mainly seem in start-ups (e.g.: centralization, which is useful for small companies with a few knowledgeable professionals at the top; more responsibility and creative freedom, resulting from less oversight or red tape).
Hockey teams, however, are not start-ups. Captains do have a major role to play, especially in teams struggling such as the Flames. They are the ones willing to step up and take accountability and ownership for a loss, while shielding the younger players from media attention. They are the emotional channel of the team, and help shape who newer players will become. Having had such strong locker room leaders in the past, with Iginla and Giordano, it is clear that the Flames are struggling without clear direction.
The best way to make a captain is to promote a sailor from within
In recent years, the Calgary Flames have faced criticism for their tendency to rely on “external hires” via trades and free agent signings rather than developing talent from within. While the team has a history of developing talented players like Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, they have struggled to consistently translate that talent into on-ice success. This has led to calls for the Flames to renew their focus on talent development, with an emphasis on building a strong pipeline of young players who can contribute to the team’s success over the long term.
17 out of 23, or 74%, of the current players for the Calgary Flames were acquired via a trade or free agent signing, meaning that these players were not developed by the Calgary Flames from a young age. Next, let’s take a look at the team dominating the 2023 standings. The Boston Bruins.
In contrast, the Boston Bruins have a nearly split amount of homegrown talent vs free-agent/trade veterans, with 13 out of their 22 players (59%) not having been drafted by their “farm” team.
Just like in traditional business settings, promoting internally has many benefits, from being a strong motivation tool to helping predict the success of a player in their role. (Skripak, 2018)
By shifting their focus tointernal promotion and investing in their minor league teams, the Flames can create a sustainable path to success, rather than relying on expensive trades and free agent signings that may not pay off in the long run.
Breaking all the wrong records: The importance of change management
Cue summer of 2022. Johnny Gaudreau, star player for the Calgary Flames, announces that he has played his last game as a Flames. Furthermore, as an unrestricted free agent (a player who is free to sign with any team he chooses), Gaudreau walks to the Colombus Blue Jackets, with 0 return for the Flames. Soon after, Matthew Tkachuk, a staple of the modern organization, announces that he will not be resigning.
Then, a move no one expected: Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving orchestrates one of the biggest trades in recent years.
The 2011 3rd overall pick, Jonathan Huberdeau had finished the 2021–2022 season with a record 115 points. An amazing passer, Huberdeau would quickly get sent to Calgary, where he would sign the highest contract in franchise history: 10.5 million dollars over 8 years… Without even having played a game.
Effective change management involves identifying potential risks and opportunities, and taking proactive steps to manage them. In the fast-paced world of hockey, this means constantly adapting to changing circumstances and making strategic decisions that will benefit the team in the long run.
Unfortunately, proper change management steps were not taken in order to facilitate Huberdeau’s transition. His performance this year has severely gone down, with him being on track to break the NHL record of biggest point-difference between seasons. Having gone from two wildly different coaching styles, with Sutter being a more autocratic leader than he was ever used to, it is clear that he has not yet managed to adapt to Sutter’s style of coaching. While some may believe that the decision of signing Huberdeau to such an expensive and long contract without having seen him work in this type of environment to be a bad business decision, it is unfortunately one the Flames will have to live with for the next 8 years. They are now faced with 2 options.
- Stay as is, and continue underperforming
- Change their leadership approach
There was a reason why Jonathan Huberdeau was offered such a high salary. Instead of calling him a “bust” during his first season, why not try to adapt to the leadership style that best benefits your star players. After all, is that not what being a leader/manager is all about? The Calgary Flames management, in my opinion, should be working with their players to identify the best way to lead them to victory. Autocratic leadership styles typically work best in short-term situations. However, after watching the Flames underperform for most of the season, I believe it may be time for them to look at more democratic styles from a coaching and general management point of view.
Trying to fly a spaceship with duct tape and a paper clip : The lack of modern data analytics in the organization
The field of hockey analytics is typically broken down into 3 areas: Player/Team Evaluation; On-Ice performance; Scouting and Drafting.
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Hockey is a sport notable for dragging behind in terms of data analytics. While Michael Lewis was making waves with the “Moneyball” techniques introduced in the similarly-titled book, hockey managers and coaches were still stuck in their old ways of measuring success with total number of points or simple boxscores.
Just like in business, making data-driven decisions is key to success. While relying on gut-feeling and intuition may be helpful when making small, quick decisions, the use of data to influence business decision is, in my opinion, a key factor in whether a business has what it takes to compete.
Let’s take for example Blockbuster. A dominant player in the video rental industry, they failed to adapt to the digital age. In 2002, the company had an opportunity to acquire Netflix for $50 million, but they declined the offer. Instead, they launched their online rental service, which failed to gain traction. Blockbuster eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Had Blockbuster used data to track the growth of online streaming and the decline of physical rentals, they could have made a more informed decision about the future of their business.
Gathering data is one thing. In the end, it all comes down to using and interpreting this data correctly to help stakeholders make data-driven decision.
Let’s briefly look at the 2023 Montreal Canadians. At the start of the season, after hiring a brand new data analyst, their style of play seemed to have changed vastly from the previous season. Their new strategy? Shots. Lots of shots.
Due to a lack of modern infrastructure, puck possession is typically quantified by number of shots on net (a player would have to have possession of the puck in order to shoot it.) Most analysts were able to draw a line between “puck possession” and wins. Montreal (and Calgary) both decided to play their game with a “shoot the puck no matter what” mentality. While one could argue that they are “using data” in order to make decisions, this is not a good use and interpretation of data (both teams are currently outside of playoff spots at the time of writing this blog post.)
Cue the Toronto Maple Leafs. Typically considered one of the most advanced teams in the league in terms of data analytics, the Toronto Maple Leafs also place a significant emphasis on puck possession, but interprets the data in a much different way to enable them to make decisions.
Rather than dumping the puck into the opposing team’s zone and surrendering possession, the Leafs prefer to circle back and have a defensemen hold onto it. This enables them to enter the offensive zone with a numerical advantage, creating a greater chance of scoring.
Once in the offensive zone, the Leafs take a patient approach, looking for the best opportunity to score rather than rushing a shot. This approach requires players with a high level of hockey intelligence, which is something that Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas emphasizes when drafting and developing players.
While baseball or football team owners and managers have quickly learnt that utilizing and investing in data is a sure-fire way of increasing success, hockey has been slow to adopt the trend.
What’s next?
The absence of clear leadership and direction, both within the team and higher management, coupled with over-reliance on external hires instead of internal promotion, has, in my opinion, contributed to the Flame’s underperformance.
As shown by the Boston Bruins’ roster composition, investing in homegrown talent can lead to sustainable success. The Flames have historically had success in developing homegrown talent, such as Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, but have recently relied too heavily on external, “veteran” hires. By investing in the development of their minor league players, the Flames can create a more cost-friendly way to success.
Change management is also crucial, as seen in the recent lackluster integration of Jonathan Huberdeau within the team. For the Flames to return to their former glory, they must prioritize effective leadership, invest in their minor league teams, and implement strategic change management. Effective change management involves identifying potential roadblocks and proactively addressing them. Had these strategies been in place during the initial integration, issues with coaching styles could have been identified and eliminated before they become issues.
The Calgary Flames have a lot of work to do if they want to return to their former glory. However, by prioritizing leadership, talent development, and change management, they can start to make progress towards a brighter future. As someone who has been following the Flames for most of my life, I’ll be keeping an hopeful but realistic eye on their future progress.
I will leave this post with one question: Do traditional business practices apply to the management of hockey teams, or should the Flames be looking elsewhere in order to rebuild their team?
References
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