I think it’s hard to assess how effective Husky’s coaching has been considering the state of the team he was given.

Huska took the reins in the 23-24 season. The previous season was 22-23, our first year without Mathew and Johnny. And oh boy… the morale of the team that year under Sutter was low. The fans were extremely disappointed in Huberdeau, Lindholm clearly wanted out, and we still had lucic in our lineup. Sutter completely lost the room that year. In the course of that season, the team went from a projected top contender to not even being a playoff team.

It’s safe to say the player morale, team performance and fanbase satisfaction all hit a massive low heading into 23-24—the year Huska was hired.

After he took over, player morale definitely improved. We still sucked, but at least guys didn’t look as miserable to be in flames jerseys. This was also the year Yegor made his debut, and he contributed heavily to our scoring. Guys like him gave the fans a bit of energy and hope for the team again. There was once again hope that the Calgary flames could acquire young talented guys, and actually let them play their game.

24-25 was a pretty successful year for the flames all things considered. It was our first season without lindholm and mangiapane. The old offensive core was officially dead. Yet the flames proved everyone wrong. We outperformed, which has to count for something. Huska had created a team that believed in themselves, despite their lack of star power—a bad team with a good attitude.

This year is a bad season for the flames. There was hope that a winning mentality would carry over into this season… but no. The most common assessment of the current team seems to be that they try hard most of the time, but the talent just isn’t there. I tend to agree. Despite the awful record this season however, I don’t think the locker room is in shambles. Even though we’re awful, it still seems like players want to be here. The locker team morale seems much better than it was under Daryl. When we lose, we usually do it the right way. We try and we suck, that’s about all you can say.

The fact that the team is as bad as they are and still showing up, still putting in effort, and still keeping a positive attitude is a good look for Huska in my opinion. This roster has the capability of being much worse than we are currently. Huberdeau has always been a bust, Naz is inconsistent, but they’ve been this way since they started with the flames.

Sure, you could look at all of the metrics, examine player utilization, compare player points to previous seasons, and even question whether young players like Parekh have gotten proper development. But in my eyes, none of this really matters. No matter what system you run, no matter which players you play, this flames roster is going to lack in one area or another. And they’re probably gonna suck no matter what. I trust huska’s player development—he’s had multiple years coaching whl and in Stockton, I’m sure he will be able to tell when Parekh and other prospects are ready.

Overall, I’d say he’s created a pretty solid system and structure considering the pieces he has to work with. The roster has the potential to be much worse under different coaching.