Stop Playing It Safe: Why Zayne Parekh Needs the Keys to the Flames' Power Play
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
Calgary is desperate for offense after a dismal scoring campaign, but the current approach to the quarterback role risks capping the ceiling of their most dynamic young talent.
The Calgary Flames are entering a new era defined by a desperate need for goals. After finishing last season as the NHL's lowest-scoring team and enduring a power play that ranked as the second-worst in the league at 16.2 percent, the mandate is clear: find a way to score.
With the departures of former power-play pivots MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson, the team is now looking toward two young franchise pillars to fill the void. As Sportsnet first reported, a battle has emerged during camp between 22-year-old Simon Nemec and Zayne Parekh to quarterback the top unit.
On Day 2 of camp, the Flames opted for the safer bet. Nemec was given the nod to lead the primary unit alongside Matvei Gridin, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, and Matt Coronato. Meanwhile, Parekh was slotted into the second unit with Ryan Strome, Conor Zary, Yegor Sharangovich, and Maxim Tsyplakov.
**Opinion: The Ceiling Gap**
While Coach Ryan Huska views this as a luxury—suggesting that if one player has an off night, the team can simply pivot to the other—this "safety first" approach is exactly what the Flames cannot afford. Nemec himself acknowledged the stylistic difference between the two, telling Sportsnet that while he views himself as more of a shooter, Parekh moves the puck more.
In a rebuilding phase, you do not play for the floor; you play for the ceiling. Parekh represents the kind of dynamic, puck-moving catalyst that can transform a stagnant power play into a lethal weapon. By relegating him to the second unit or treating the role as a rotating door based on nightly performance, the Flames are mitigating risk at the expense of maximizing their most explosive asset.
Nemec has expressed a desire for more consistency than he showed in previous years, and while that growth is valuable, the power play requires a visionary. If the goal is to climb out of the league basement in scoring, the Flames need to stop hedging their bets. It is time to let Parekh run the point and see just how high that ceiling actually goes.
As Huska noted to Sportsnet, the hope is that this competition will push both players to get better. However, the urgency of the team's offensive deficiency suggests that the Flames should stop jockeying for position and commit to the high-reward option.