The Calgary Flames don’t currently have a core.
Yes, they have some strong veteran players. They also have some promising young prospects. But they don’t have the foundational pieces that every contending team in the National Hockey League has built around.
It wasn’t long ago that the Flames very much did have a core — and one of the strongest in the league. The top line of Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, and Elias Lindholm, along with a capable two-way defensive group and a star goaltender in Jacob Markstrom, made the Flames a formidable team in the Western Conference.
All three of those forwards are now gone. So, too, are defensemen Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev. Markstrom may soon follow them out the door after being named in persistent trade rumours ahead of this year’s deadline.
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