This might be the most scathing self-assessment that we’ve heard from any of the Calgary Flames this season.
It’s now been more than five weeks since Connor Zary scored a goal, an opening-night notch that feels like a distant memory.
Since Zary has bounced between centre and wing and bounced through all four forward lines, it’s been popular on social media and fan forums to blame his struggles on the bench boss.
Frustration building
However, during a one-on-one interview earlier this week with Postmedia, Zary was pointing the finger elsewhere.
At himself.
“There’s not much sugarcoating, right? There’s really not much to say — it’s just play better,” Zary said. “It’s tough always moving around and playing different positions and trying to find chemistry. But at the end of the day, you can’t be sh—y every night and expect to be good.”
You can understand why Zary is feeling a little/a lot frustrated.
While the Flames scratched out a 2-0 victory in their latest outing, they’ve been stuck at the rock-bottom of the NHL’s overall standings since Oct. 22. Heading into Saturday’s home date with the Winnipeg Jets, their record was a miserable 5-12-2.
Flames forward Connor Zary celebrates a goal against the Oilers on Oct. 8 in Edmonton.
The 24-year-old Zary was certainly not expecting, through nearly the first quarter of the schedule, his stat-sheet would show only one goal, one assist and two healthy-scratchings.
In points-per-60, a measure of offensive impact relative to five-on-five icetime, he ranks last among Flames’ forwards at 0.32.
“You try to be good with your details, be good with the little things,” Zary said. “But at the end of the day, you come off and you see zeroes across the scoresheet, it’s tough, right? You go back to that, and that’s what you’re supposed to be doing and you’re not doing that, it’s kind of one of those things that you really start to overthink and grip your stick over.
“You have good games, you feel good and you just don’t get the bounces, and then you just get a little down on yourself. But just try to claw out of it, try to be positive and reset.
“It’s really just trying to come in every morning with a positive attitude and reset and try to impact the game.”
As he arrives at the rink each morning, Zary must wonder where he’ll find his name on the line board.
For most of the past three games, he’s been once again bumped down to the fourth unit. In fact, he has now logged more minutes with Ryan Lomberg and Adam Klapka than with any other sidekicks.
Flames bench boss Ryan Huska puts a huge emphasis on pace and the numbers suggest that No. 47 seems to be missing a step, which might explain why his nightly icetime this fall has dipped more than two minutes below his career average.
NHL Edge tracks the fastest skating speeds for each individual player, and Zary has topped out so far this season at 20.55 m.p.h. That is the slowest among the 13 forwards on Calgary’s active roster.
By comparison, Zary’s peak speed in 2024-25 was 22.01 m.p.h., although that was before he suffered two separate knee injuries. Maybe there are lingering effects?
Finding a fit
While Zary is typically included in any conversation about the Flames’ future pillars, many are suddenly wondering where he could or should fit in the long-term plan.
There’s already worry he could be the next coming of Sam Bennett, a case where it never quite clicks in Calgary but he flourishes in another city. Fans will remind that Bennett always bounced around the lineup at the Saddledome, too.
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The hope, of course, is that Zary will emerge from this fall funk, put his scoring slump behind him and show he can play a prominent role for years to come.
“As a competitor, I think I know how good I am as a player and how much skill I have and how much I can do out there,” Zary said. “You know you have the ability and the talent to do those things and to score goals and set up plays. And when you’re not doing that, things just go the wrong way.
“It’s really frustrating, especially when you know you have that potential. It’s not like you’re coming in and you don’t think you can score and you’re just like, ‘Whatever, I’m going to work hard, chip pucks in.’ When that’s kind of all you’re doing and not producing, it gets frustrating.”