"You go through a season and you play well and you feel comfortable about yourself, and there are times when you still get overlooked," Wolf said at the NHL/NHLPA North American Player Media Tour on Monday. "It's going to happen. It’s how my whole career has been, people overlook me. I'm going out there to help my team win as many games as they can. If you win games, people notice and they take you, so that’s the first step.
"Would I have loved to go to the orientation camp? Sure, that's the first step in going to the Olympics, but it's not the end of the world. I got to spend another week training, getting ready for the season."
The Flames (41-27-14) tied the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference last season but lost the tiebreaker in regulation wins (32-31).
"It stings," Wolf said. "We felt like we were in a playoff hunt since January. You never want to miss out on a tiebreaker. You can look back on a season and pinpoint a goal or not getting to overtime or losing in a shootout, whatever. That one point is just critical. We pretty much have the same team coming back this year and everyone is ready to continue to prove people wrong."
During the offseason, the Flames signed forwards Connor Zary ($3.775 million AAV) and Martin Pospisil ($2.5 million AAV) each to a three-year contract. Forward Matt Coronato signed a seven-year contract ($6.5 million AAV) on May 3 and defenseman Kevin Bahl a six-year contract ($5.35 million AAV) on June 28.
"It's a big day for the organization," Flames general manager Craig Conroy said. "Excited to get it done. It's been going on for quite a while. To have it finish up late last night and to be able to do it this morning early at (Scotiabank Saddledome) was perfect. To get Zary done, him, Pospisil, 'Bahler,' Coronato ... it's great for the organization. I think it sends a good message to everybody. People want to be in Calgary and they believe we have a chance to win here.
"It really starts with what Dustin did in the (American Hockey League) for us. Goaltender of the year, the next year MVP, goaltender of the year ... he's really been showing us all along. Last year to see him do it in the 53 games, it just kind of put a stamp [on it]. When you talk to Dustin at the end of the season, he's like, 'I've got another level ... I can be better ... I know my game's not exactly where I want it to be,' which is exciting for us."
Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, the group that owns the Flames, and the city of Calgary unveiled renderings of the new events center named Scotia Place on July 22, 2024. The building will be constructed on 10 acres two blocks north of where Scotiabank Saddledome, the second-oldest arena in the NHL, currently sits in the Victoria Park community, will have a capacity for 18,400 fans and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2027.
"I think there's a lot of exciting things coming from our team, from our staff, from our organization, from the new building coming in two summers," Wolf said. "There's a lot to look forward here in Calgary and I'm excited to be a part of it."
NHL.com senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke and independent correspondent Aaron Vickers contributed to this report
