Where do the Flames stand on Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan?

Wherever the Calgary Flames sit among the powers in the Western Conference, they should be careful about disrupting its core prematurely. 

When the Calgary Flames qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2015, it appeared bright days were ahead─five seasons later, constant postseason disappointments have raised more questions than ever about the roster.

The then 21-year old Sean Monahan and 22-year old Johnny Gaudreau led the upstart Flames team to its first playoff appearance since 2009 in the 2014-2015 campaign. It was a breakthrough year for the two star forwards, and a statement from the front office in Calgary, led by Brad Treviling and Brian Burke.

The Flames were ousted in five games to Anaheim in the second round that spring, and since then, the team has failed to win a playoff series, while missing the playoffs twice in the last five years.

The team that won 50 games in the 2018-2019 season, while posting the best record in the Western Conference, has managed to not trend upwards or downwards─instead, they have stagnated.

Conventional thinking in today’s NHL would lead to a roster shakeup─and yes, the fingers will be pointed towards Gaudreau and Monahan. It’s an idea that would have been inconceivable five years ago, but entering the 2020-2021 season, the Flames front office have been forced to consider everything based on the recent playoff disappointments.

It’s no secret that in the modern-day salary-cap era world of sports, the worst place to be is in the middle of the pack─the Flames are not in that position, but in today’s NHL, consecutive first round exits can almost be viewed that way.

So where do the Flames stand in the Western Conference as they enter an NHL season that is sure to be played under the oddest of circumstances in the league’s history?

It starts with the new man in the crease─Jacob Markstrom. And quite frankly, if the Flames brass believes that he is the answer, a major roster shakeup will have to wait.

The goaltending position has plagued Calgary since the Miikka Kiprusoff era, and despite a slight decrease in offensive production from both Monahan and Gaudreau respectively in 2019-2020, it just wouldn’t be fair to either forward if one more ‘kick at the can’ wasn’t given with this current core.

Five seasons have come and gone since Calgary’s playoff appearance in 2015, but they finally have a goaltender─so they say. Six-years, and $36M later, and Flames fans will have no choice but to trust that sediment.

Both Monahan and Gaudreau are signed for at least two more seasons until one or the other is eligible for UFA status. Add in a 37-year old team-captain and 15-year veteran Mark Giordano into the mix and a “re-tool”, for lack of a better term, will have to wait.

Any roster changes involving Monahan or Gaudreau this offseason will be premature─and the signing of Markstrom only reinforces this statement.

And let’s not forget─this is the same team that was only 11 seconds away from grabbing a 3-1 series lead in the first round of the playoffs against the eventual Western Conference Champions, the Dallas Stars.