Flames' Nikita Zadorov puts his own team on blast

It's only six games into the 2023-24 NHL regular season, but the Calgary Flames are already entering 'must win' territory.

The Flames have started the season 2-3-1 in their first six games and, frankly, they haven't really looked like a team ready to compete for a playoff spot this season. With longtime head coach Darryl Sutter now gone and with a fresh start for the likes of Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, there was hope that the Flames would be able to right the ship this season and get back to the post-season.

The Flames have stumbled out of the gate though and defenseman Nikita Zadorov isn't sugar-coating the team's struggles to start the year. Speaking to the media today, Zadorov gave a blunt assessment of his team, stating that the team has "too many individuals," and that they need to play better as a team.

Check it out:

I've gotta say... he ain't wrong.

The Flames are either not yet ready to employ head coach Ryan Huska's system in full or they're just unprepared and unmotivated on a nightly basis. What happens then is you have guys who do everything they can on their own to make things better. That leads to playing less like a team, as Zadorov points out.

Time to figure it out, boys. Win together or lose as individuals.