Many will say trouble had emerged in Calgary long before the tweet, but after that, the tension was palpable. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman now reports that the Flames held a team only meeting and were sent one clear message:
«The message was simple: Ignore the noise and concentrate on the task. As tough as everything's been, there were 27 games remaining and two points between them and the playoffs.»
With 27 games left, the team has decided to ignore what is said about them, presumably outside the locker room, and focus on winning.
But what the Flames really need is for their newest pickups to play as advertised, as Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazeem Kadri, and Mackenzie Weeger have all gone into a slump under Sutter's system.
The Flames are currently 5th in the Pacific and underperforming in a less-than-competitive division, where you need fewer points overall compared to the Eastern Conference to win a division.
The team overall is 4-4-2 in the last ten and Dillon Dube and Elias Lindholm can't be the only members to make a step forward.