Andersson talks Flames' resolve to silence doubters in Q&A with NHL.com

In NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with …" we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. In this special offseason edition, we feature Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson.

STOCKHOLM -- Rasmus Andersson has a message for those counting the Calgary Flames out as contenders for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season.

"We have a really good team," the 26-year-old defenseman said. "We just have to make a few adjustments, which I think we'll make. I think a lot of people have kind of written us off because of last year, so it will be fun to come in with a chip on our shoulder and prove to everyone how good of a team we really are."

The Flames were thinking about winning the Stanley Cup heading into last season after they were 50-21-11 and finished first in the Pacific Division with 111 points in 2021-22. But they fell well short of expectations, going 38-27-17, and their 93 points left them two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card in the Western Conference.

That led to an offseason of change, with the biggest moves being Craig Conroy getting promoted to general manager, replacing Brad Treliving, and Ryan Huska being promoted to coach, replacing Darryl Sutter. Conroy had been assistant GM for the past nine seasons; Huska was an assistant coach for five.

NHL.com sat down with Andersson at the NHL European Player Media Tour and he spoke about the changes in Calgary, playing for Huska, his approach to this season, the uncertainty of players on expiring contracts and more.

After having the offseason to think about it, do you have any more insight into what went wrong last season?

"Obviously the overtimes and the one-goal games. But when you look back at it, it really came down to 17 overtime (and shootout) losses and we missed the playoffs by two points, and [were 18-13-17] in one-goal games. We just didn't manage to pull through. I think our first third-period comeback (win) was towards the end of the season (76th game), and you need those games. You need that confidence when you're down after the second and go out and win it in the third. We just didn't have that last season for whatever reason.

"But it's new times in Calgary, new coach, new GM, and it's exciting times now and I think we're all just waiting to get back and get ready to play and enjoy it and embrace it. Embrace the chaos when you play in a Canadian market."

You played for Ryan Huska in the American Hockey League with Stockton after you turned pro in 2016, and with the Flames. What is he like as a coach?

"He's good. He has both. He has the players' coach (side) of it, and when he needs to yell and be hard [on the players] he can be that too. So he has both sides of the coin. Ryan is very smart. He's very smart with the way he sees the game and with the way he talks to the players. He has a conversation with you. He asks how you feel and he's very smart and he sees hockey really, really well."

So, he is ready for this opportunity?

"Yes, by far. I'm excited for him. I had him two years as a head coach in Stockton and five years as an assistant in Calgary, so he's definitely ready for it and I'm excited. I'm excited for him and the team because I know he's a really good coach."

Do you think he's going to change the team's philosophy? What have you heard from him?

"Yeah, he's going to make his own (way). He's going to change the way we play in the [defensive] zone for sure and then there's probably other stuff too. Me and him have just talked about a few things. He's going to put his own system in place, and I have no doubt it's going to be a good system."

Does Huska have a different personality from Sutter?

"Yeah. Everyone is a different personality from Darryl. Ryan will put a good system in place. He'll talk to the players a little bit more. I feel like he will be more present with the players and ask how we feel and what we can do better and hear from the players' perspective a little bit more. That's why I said I think he has that feel for the game and he's ready. He's the main man now and he's ready for that."

Last season you had 49 points, which was one off your NHL career-high from 2021-22, including 11 goals, which was more than double your previous high (five in 2019-20 and 2020-21), and you averaged an NHL career-high 24:05 of ice time in 79 games. Did you feel like you had a good season?

"Yeah. I felt really good until my injury (missed three games after being struck by a vehicle while riding a scooter in Detroit on Feb. 8), and when I got back from that I battled a little bit. But I think I played really well until the injury."

How are you health-wise now?

"All good to go."

How do you approach the season with a new coach and after what happened last season?

"Just come in with a swagger, come in with a belief. I played the most (minutes) last year and I want to play even more this year and come in with a mentality that we're going to win games this year and we're going to be really good team and I'm going to have the best year of my life. Just play and have fun with it and enjoy it. You play in a Canadian market with a lot of expectations on you. You've got to embrace it. It's fun. That's how hockey should be. You're in a big market. You enjoy playing in front of a big crowd every night and we should come in with that swagger, the hunger that we're going to make the playoffs and be a really good team."

Forward Tyler Toffoli was traded to the New Jersey Devils with a season left on his contract and several players are entering this season on expiring contracts, including forwards Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund and defensemen Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, Nikita Zadorov and Oliver Kylington. Is there concern among the players about that?

"I've gotten this quite a bit. It's different for everyone. For Backlund (34 years old) and Tanev (33), for example, they're a little older and they haven't won (the Stanley Cup). They probably want to play this out and see if we have a good enough team that they see if we can win or not. With Lindholm, those who have been in that situation before always say it's a business. And it's a business from the Flames' side and Lindholm's side and they've got to find their perfect middle.

"I don't know what the numbers are or anything like that. I'll leave that up to [Conroy] and Lindholm to figure that out, so I don't want to speak too much on their part. But they're all really good hockey players and we obviously hope they'll be back for more than this year. But everyone knows how it works with contracts and expiring deals. You usually get traded with a year left on your deal. So it's something that's in the hands of the players and the management and the owners."

Can the uncertainty of players being on expiring contracts hang over a team? Or can you block it out and play?

"It was the same with Johnny (Gaudreau in 2021-22) and [the Flames finished first in the Pacific]. Once you're in the team, nobody thinks about how much this person makes or how many years does this guy have left and all that stuff. You just play and you try to win games. That's the beauty about hockey once you're in the room. There's the business side of it. That's why you have agents and that's why you have general managers and all that stuff. It's their business to handle."

Kylington plans to play this season after missing last season for personal reasons. Have you talked to him this summer? And how much are you looking forward to his return?

"We've talked quite a bit. I'm excited for him. I'm excited that he feels better, and I really hope that when he gets back to Calgary, he can use it as a springboard to get a new boost of energy and just play and just have fun with it and not think too much about last season and that he wasn't there. I just hope that he feels good mentally and that he's ready to go when the season starts. He's such a nice human being and he's a good friend of mine. You never want to see anyone go through what he's been through, but I just hope that he comes back and plays the best hockey of his life because I know how good he is."