It’s Oct. 8, 2022, a Saturday night, and the Flames are preparing to hit the ice for their season opener.



It’s a date that the team and its fans have been counting down to for years, but not in a good way, however. The anticipation is more akin to the feeling that builds as a dentist appointment draws near.



It’s the start of a new era for Calgary. Or at least it was supposed to be. A Flames lineup without Mark Giordano for the first time in 15 years. The face of the franchise having retired after playing out the six-year, $40.5-million contract extension he had signed back in August 2015.



But wait a second. Are we being overly presumptuous?



Still feeling young and fresh, I’m sure. Still looking it, too. Still one of the top three in fitness testing, undoubtedly. Still wearing the ‘C.’ On second thought, if one was to peer three years into the future, it would come as no surprise if Giordano isn’t ready to...