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What Calgary Flames players said after being eliminated from playoff contention

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Apr 16 2025, 12:00 pm
What Calgary Flames players said after being eliminated from playoff contention
Sergei Belski/Imagn Images

An electric 5-4 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights wasn’t enough to keep the Calgary Flames’ playoff hopes alive.

The Flames did their part but could not get help on the out-of-town scoreboard. The St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild, the two teams they were chasing for a wild-card spot, were able to secure victories and punch their ticket to the playoffs.

“It’s emotional,” Nazem Kadri said. “You try not to get down on yourself, get down on your team. We come out and we score two goals in ten seconds [in the third]. That just sums up what kind of group we have. It just felt like over the last few weeks, we couldn’t get a break in the out-of-town stuff. I’m certainly proud of how we’ve been playing.”

It was also quite emotional for Flames captain Mikael Backlund, who, at 36, may not have many more chances to hoist the Stanley Cup.

“A lot of emotions right now. It’s just hard,” Backlund said. “We fought really hard all season long, and to fall short at the end, it’s hard.”

Despite the season not ending the way the Flames had hoped, the fact that they held on this long was quite impressive given the expectations back in training camp. It’s not easy to do right now, but this group is taking plenty of positives from what they showed throughout the 2024-25 campaign.

“I’m sure everybody was saying it’s sad, disappointing and whatnot, but for me it’s, what a hell of a fight,” MacKenzie Weegar said. “I looked up at the jumbotron there, and when they said thank you to the fans, the memories go back. It’s such a grind all year long. It’s a hard league to win in, and this group came together at the beginning of the season right away.

“I’m proud of this group. The perseverance, the leadership from everybody, the belief. Everybody bought in, and it says a lot. Everybody came to work for one another this year, and I think that’s the most important thing. Credit to this team man, we really did fight with all we had … I just look back and love this group of guys, it’s a special group. It’s just too bad we [didn’t get to] see the damage we could have done in the playoffs.”

Weegar wasn’t the only player in the Flames locker room who believed they could have gone on a run had they gotten in, either.

“It’s just character guys. A good group of guys,” Kadri said. “We could have been out of this thing a month ago. It shows just the pesky attitude. I felt like if we could have squeaked in, there might have been something there because we’ve had a lot of momentum and we’ve played some great hockey against some great hockey teams.”

Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, fans at the Saddledome continued to cheer loudly throughout the third period and into both overtime and the shootout. After it was all wrapped up, they remained in the building to give an ovation to this resilient bunch.

“That was a special moment,” Backlund said. “They’ve cheered us on all year and been so good to us. We’re thankful they’ve been right behind us, supporting us all year. That was an emotional moment.”

Even though there is plenty of disappointment right now, there indeed is plenty to be excited about in regards to the future of this franchise. For the immediate future, however, the Flames will prepare for one final game, as they will take on the LA Kings Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.

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