Three Flames Players Benched For—Let's Be Honest—Being Hung Over, Probably

Flames leading scorers Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, along with forward Lance Bouma, were not in the lineup for Calgary’s last night’s 4-3 win over the Leafs. There was a whole thing at practice the day before, with people showing up late, and maybe being under the weather, and the benchings were chalked up to “disciplinary reasons.” So yeah, read between the lines.

Sunday was a day off for the Flames, in Calgary, and as the news reports keep pointedly mentioning, it was the Super Bowl. It’s normal to be feeling a little rough the next day—look at our Monday morning blogs for proof—but Monahan and Bouma, roommates, were seen booking it into the Saddledome at 10:15 a.m., disastrously “late” (in coach time) for a 10:30 practice.

After just 15 minutes Bouma was taken out of practice. “He wasn’t feeling good,” coach Bob Hartley said, “so we removed him from the ice.” Ostensibly sick, Bouma was said to have been sent home. Except three hours later, as reporters met with Hartley, they spotted Bouma scurrying around the equipment room.

Just 10 minutes after sending Bouma off, Hartley gathered his team, spoke to them for a few minutes, then left the ice. Practice over. Go hydrate.

Yesterday, Gaudreau, Monahan, and Bouma were all listed as healthy scratches. When pressed on the previous morning’s practice, Hartley declined to get into it, saying he wasn’t “going to clean his laundry in public.”

“We established team rules at the start of the season. We’re a very proud hockey club. We have built what we believe to be a very strong culture that goes for everyone,” Hartley said.

“It was tough because you can’t get three better young men. They’re proud of representing this community. They’re easy to coach and everything but when you make a mistake, we have to be accountable and we have to be fair to everyone.”

Totally hung over.

The Flames dressed just 11 forwards last night, including 22-year-old Markus Granlund, who hasn’t been able to crack the lineup recently. Granlund scored Calgary’s first and assisted on its fourth, and was named the game’s first star.