HEART AND SOUL

Your Flames Authority George Johnson is looking back on five highlights from the past season:

For many, the tipping point in the Flames' late-season struggles down the stretch can be traced back to Tkachuk's awkward backward tumble overtop of a prone NY Islanders rookie Matthew Barzal on March 11 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The concussion sustained from that mishap cost Tkachuk the final dozen starts.
And the Flames of one of their most influential components.
Before being injured, over 68 starts the corrosive 20-year-old left-winger had already exceeded his freshman point total of the previous season, reaching 49, as well as topping the 20-goal mark (24) for the first time.
Increased powerplay minutes as the season wore on had only increased his variety of ways to contribute statistically. Despite missing all those games, Tkachuk wound up third in powerplay points (17) and first in powerplay goals (10).
But his value, as everyone hereabouts knows full well, goes far beyond anything to be found on a page in black and white. To those unquantifiable intangibles such as force of will and competitive conscience.
So as much as being relegated to the sidelines during such an important moment must've burned him - and them - though, prudence wisely ruled the day.

"I'm doing a lot better," Tkachuk told Flames TV on clear-out Monday. "I'm back. Feeling myself again. It took a little bit longer than I wanted it to but with these things you can't rush back.
"I can't be running into these problems … if I came back too early. Obviously I wish I would've come back to help with the playoff push but this is bigger picture."
Those heightened responsibilities and upgraded stats mentioned earlier, didn't mean much to Tkachuk given his team's early exit.
Which hints at all you need to know about the kid's character, his priorities.
"I look at it a little bit differently,'' countered Tkachuk at season's close. "Whether you had 100 points or 10 points, it doesn't matter.
"We're not in the playoffs. We didn't do enough.Ididn't do enough.
"Whether that's producing, whether that's doing the little things - how you carry yourself in the room. We just didn't get that little extra push to get in.
"People say: 'You had a better year. You produced a little bit more.'
"It's not about that at all.
"I didn't help us get into the playoffs."

Which is where he fully expects a springtime from now.
"You want to come in and be that difference-maker,'' he said. "You want to be taking on more of a role as a producer but you also want to be a guy in that locker room who people start to look up to."
Of Tkachuk's growing influence on the collective, Flames' head coach Glen Gulutzan put it rather well once, saying:
"You'd rather tame a mustang than beat a mule. We've got a mustang on our hands. That's fine.
"That's how you win.
"We always talk about Matthew as being in the fabric of the game."
Woven deeper and deeper, each and every strand, night after night after night.