Whitecloud committed to future with Flames: 'Calgary is home'

CALGARY — Zach Whitecloud has designs on spending Christmas Day at an outdoor rink near his Altadore home, sticks in the middle, with a handful of friends, neighbours and family members skating around in the snow.

It’s a wonderful image for a guy who spent much of his career in places where outdoor hockey was more of a novelty than a neighbourhood tradition.

It’s also a pretty good indication of where the Calgary Flames defenceman sees his future.

Calgary isn't just the place he plays hockey anymore.

It’s home. 

And while the Flames continue to navigate a rebuild that has left fans wondering who might be the next veteran out the door, Whitecloud insists he’s a guy who would rather help build something than seek greener/warmer pastures.

Asked in a quiet chat whether he would consider re-signing with Calgary when the time comes, his response was about as emphatic as it gets.

“Absolutely – there’s zero reason not to,” said the 29-year-old from Brandon, Man., who still has this year and next on his team-friendly contract paying him $2.75 million annually. 

“I'm completely committed to what we have going here. Yes, we're going through a retool, a rebuild, whatever you want to call it. You're trying to build towards that winning culture again.”

It's a message that carries extra weight coming from a player who knows what a championship culture looks like.

And in a market where the departure of veteran players helped trigger the overhaul the Flames are now undertaking, there's something refreshing about hearing a guy talk about wanting to stick around.

Especially one who arrived in Calgary in the Rasmus Andersson deal with a suitcase barely unpacked and a cloud of trade speculation hanging over his head that he’d quickly be flipped elsewhere.

Those trade whispers continue to swirl, destined only to intensify as the season goes on and the team’s young defencemen keep improving. At some point the organization will decide whether he's more valuable as a leader or in trade.   

“I'm gonna tell you right now that whoever tells you, ‘yeah, I just block it out’ ... You can't block it out,” he said of the constant speculation.

“I love it here in Calgary. You see and you hear some things, but I don't want to leave. The guys are unbelievable. The staff's great. The city's great. And living here, the quality of life, and me being a Western Canadian guy, I’ve loved it since I got here.”

Whitecloud's commitment was evident from the moment he arrived. He wanted to play immediately, not sit around wondering whether his next destination would be announced before he had a chance to learn his teammates' names.

“One of the reasons I wanted to come and play right away is to show the guys that, ‘I'm with you.’” he said.

“If I was in that locker room and I heard this guy was just waiting to take a couple days to see if I’m traded, I wouldn't entirely like that guy as a teammate.”

That matters when you're trying to establish a culture in a room full of young players who need examples of what the NHL demands, particularly when the victories don't come easily.

Whitecloud has been around winning. He helped Vegas capture the Stanley Cup, learned from established veterans and became a respected teammate in an organization that knew what it took to finish the job.

“I'm really privileged that I get to be able to try and pass those things on that I've learned and help some of these guys that will eventually be taking over the reins for this team for a long time,” he said.

The team’s record might take years to reflect the progress Whitecloud believes he sees, but he insists the commitment inside the room is real.

And then there's the outdoor rink.

Whitecloud stumbled across one in Bridgeland during his first week in Calgary, when he was staying with former teammate Brayden Pachal. He grabbed his winter gear and went skating.

It was snowing. There were barely any people around. He spent about an hour enjoying the sort of hockey he hadn't experienced since he was 17 or 18.

“It brought me back to my childhood,“ said Whitecloud.

“It was so much fun. You get to see the snow, and all that sort of stuff that you haven't had for a little while.”

It's a small thing, perhaps, but it's the kind of detail that tells you more about a player's connection to a city than any carefully rehearsed answer about the organization.

Vegas will always mean something to Whitecloud. He met his wife there, built relationships in the community and won a Stanley Cup.

Returning last week, he took a moment to look up at the championship banner and reflect on everything that happened.

But Calgary is where his heart is now

“Do I want to be here? Absolutely,” he said. 

“I feel like I've really integrated into the community. Calgary is home.”

There are no guarantees in this business. Contracts, trades and the realities of a rebuild can change everything in a hurry.

But for now, he's looking forward to Christmas, an outdoor rink and a chance to help the Flames get back to where he knows they can go.