Ryan Strome Praises Flames After March Trade Deadline Move
ryan strome said he felt “super pumped” to join the Calgary Flames after arriving in March from the Anaheim Ducks, and he backed that up this week with a strong endorsement of the room he walked into. The 32-year-old said Calgary already has the pieces needed for a rebuild, from veterans to staff.
Strome Sees Calgary’s Foundation
On the Morning Cuppa Hockey podcast this week, Strome said the move into Calgary’s dressing room felt immediate and energizing. “I was super pumped to be there, I felt 10 years younger walking into the dressing room there, just rejuvenated and excited.”
He added that the group’s late-season play left a clear impression. “The team played well, too, we played really good.”
The praise went beyond mood and settled on structure. Strome said Calgary has “a good culture and good older guys, a good dressing room, a good vibe and a good staff,” and called those ingredients “a huge head start on a rebuild and a turnaround.”
March Trade To Calgary
Strome’s view carries extra weight because he has spent a decade-plus in the NHL and has been around several rebuilds. That background gives him a direct comparison point for what a team has to have before young players can take the next step.
He singled out that next step, saying the Flames’ young players “took a big step at the end of the year.” That is the friction point in the story: Calgary is still in rebuild territory, but Strome described a roster and room that already have veteran support in place.
Flames Veterans, Young Players
The March trade-deadline move from Anaheim to Calgary gave Strome a short runway with the club before he offered this endorsement. Even in that limited stretch, he framed the Flames as a place where a turnaround can start without waiting for every part to be built from scratch.
For Calgary, that means the public message from a new forward is not about patience alone. It is about a room that already has age, energy and buy-in around the younger players, and Strome’s comments put that right at the center of the rebuild conversation.
