A View From the Press Box                             

The Calgary Flames Next Captain?

The Calgary Flames defeated the New York Rangers 5 to 1 in home game 35 and overall season game 71 on Friday night. With the win the Flames continue to remain on top of the Western Conference with 95 points but only 1 point ahead of the San Jose Sharks. The 3 stars of the game were Matthew Tkachuk, Michael Frolik and David Rittich respectively.

By far, Matthew Tkachuk was the best player on the ice and set the tone with his first assist of the game at the 10 minute mark of the first period. Tkachuk made an incredible pass to send Johnny Gaudreau for a breakaway. Gaudreau scored on a nifty move to put the Flames up 1 to 0. It was a wow moment indeed!

Matthew Tkachuk on the pass “I saw Johnny skating pretty fast, well flying. I saw the D…wasn’t looking at me. So if I could throw it up in the air it wasn’t like he could turn around and catch it and come back…It kind of just landed and it stopped so Johnny made an unbelievable move.”

Tkachuk finished the game with 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points.

Tkachuk on his 5 point night.. “You never go into a game expecting certain numbers…You go there and just play with guys today that were able to finish.”

Since being drafted 6^th overall in the 2016 NHL entry draft, Matthew Tkachuk has 69 goals and 101 assists for 170 points. He leads the entire draft class including Leafs 1^st overall pick Auston Matthews. He’s only 21 years old and we haven’t seen a ceiling yet for sure! He currently resides in the top 25 in league scoring with 32 goals and 41 assists for 73 points.

Head Coach Bill Peters stated the following at the post game press conference when asked about the attributes of Matthew Tkachuk’s game.

“He makes plays…he makes…little smart plays, plays off the wall, plays where he protects it…just a real smart instinctive player…but a lot of it is just the way he goes about the game, a student of the game every time he goes on the ice…”

Matthew Tkachuk, is the son of former NHL player Keith Tkachuk. He was born in Scottsdale, Arizona. The 6’2” 202 lbs left winger will turn 22 on December 11^th, 2019. His 3 year entry level contact of $925,000 per season expires at the end of the season. A restricted free agent and set for a real big pay increase starting next season! He will probably receive a salary in the $8,000,000 plus range with a 6 – 8 year term.

Current Flames Captain Mark Giordano will turn 36 this October. He is having the best season of his career and a leading Norris candidate for the top defenseman. However, unfortunately he may have only another 3 or 4 good season’s left. His play and leadership on and off the ice has been outstanding for the Flames but the time will come probably in the next few years for a new captain.

For this writer Matthew Tkachuk is the forerunner to replace Gio down the road. Tkachuk leads by example every game. He is consistent, rarely takes a shift off, shows true leadership, plays with an edge, dangles the puck, and makes plays with grit. He excels on the power play and is a standout in front of the opponent’s net. As Head Coach Peters mentioned earlier Tkachuk is a true student of the game. Since his rookie season, he has worked on his game especially on his skating and skating with the puck. We have not seen the best of Matthew Tkachuk yet! Exciting times for Calgary Fans! Yes, maybe the next Flames Captain in line after Mark Giordano?

Note: The Flames next home game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 19^th against the Columbus Blue Jackets. After playing the Blue Jackets the Flames go up against the Ottawa on Thursday, March 21^st  at the dome; it’s “A Battle of the Tkachuks” – Matthew against younger brother Brady of the Senators!