It was not a pretty ending to the season of the Calgary Flames.
Now what?
Good question.
It's difficult to imagine there won't be repercussions for yet another 'one and done' playoff.
The only way I can see no fallout is if ownership and management in Calgary decides injuries were the mitigating factor for the first-round failure against the Chicago Blackhawks. And, my goodness, the Flames were injured. Robyn Regehr had a significant tear of his medial collateral ligament (MCL). Corey Sarich played with a broken foot. Dion Phaneuf sustained broken ribs. Daymond Langkow, Craig Conroy, Rene Bourque... they all battled through a variety of injuries.
So if the Flames' ownership or team president Ken King or GM Darryl Sutter decide to write off 'one and done' to injuries, the fallout could be limited.
But that may be a longshot.
That's because one has to understand the hockey psyche in Calgary.
This is a franchise that has advanced out of the first round only once in 20 years. Seriously. Since the Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1989, only in 2004 – the year the Flames got to the final but lost to Tampa Bay – have they gotten out of the first round. I realize 20 years of playoff futility is not the responsibility of this edition of the Flames, but it provides a glimpse into the mindset of the Flames' nation.
But it's obvious, too, that four straight first-round exits in the last four years is taking its toll and could be the catalyst for change of some fashion in Cowtown.
I was in Calgary for Flames' training camp this season and I duly noted at the time that 'one and done' wasn't going to cut it this season in Calgary. Ownership and management set the bar high. This was to be the season the trend of early playoff dismissals would be halted. There was this overriding sense of it had to come to an end. Or else...
So now, unless injuries provide the easy out, we're at the 'or else' stage.
The easy call is to say head coach Mike Keenan will pay the price. Firing the coach is always the first option. That would come as no surprise, maybe not even to Keenan himself, who's been around long enough to know when the clock is ticking.
And perhaps that's as much as anyone should expect. But I got the distinct impression last fall that if there was to be another 'one and done' season, the ramifications could be far reaching.
At the very least, I will be surprised if Flames' president Ken King doesn't come out with the 'we are going to review every aspect of our organization' in the wake of a result that must be perceived as 'unacceptable.'
That could well mean that general manager Darryl Sutter will have his position reviewed and there's no telling what happens there. Sutter appears to be a guy who has some solid currency in the Calgary marketplace, but all bets may be off with yet another first-round exit.
Or maybe we're missing the point. Maybe the real changes are coming on the ice, where one could easily argue that in spite of the injuries, the Flames' best players – primarily netminder Miikka Kiprusoff and captain Jarome Iginla – did not distinguish themselves when the Flames' playoff life was on the line.
The point is, something has got to give somewhere after yet another 'one and done' year.