With just four games to go in the regular season for the Calgary Flames, there really is not much to look forward to in these last stretch of games unless you turn to the Flames’ future. The Flames are officially out of playoff contention, and the games mean nothing. However, there are a couple of Flames players who are still hunting down some milestones in terms of their stats.
It may be a little extra motivation over the last handful of games for these players to hit new milestones to end the season on a high note. So, let’s take a look at which players are close to hitting a milestone and exactly what their milestones are!
MacKenzie Weegar closing in on first 20-goal, 50-point season
Unlike the Flames as a whole, MacKenzie Weegar is a having a fantastic season. I have talked about Weegar’s excellence at length plenty of times throughout this season, but it is truly incredible the kind of season he is having when you stack him up against some of the best defencemen in the game.
Weegar is currently sitting at 19 goals this season and is one away from hitting the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his career and just two points away from reaching the 50-point mark. Going into this season, his career high was just eight goals—he smashed that in the first half of the season, and the goals just kept going.
Weegar is being deployed on the team’s top power play unit, so he is going to get every chance to bury his 20th. If he can get to 20 goals this year, it would just be the cherry on top for the rearguard to cement himself as one of the top defencemen in the league.
Blake Coleman closing on first 30-goal season
Like Weegar, Blake Coleman is having an outstanding offensive season for the Flames. I can be first to admit that I certainly did not have Coleman potentially being a 30-goal scorer on my bingo card before the season began—yet here we are.
The veteran forward is having his best offensive season to date, he has smashed every high that he has previously set this season and he has been one of, if not the most consistent player on the Flames this season—and that is at both ends of the ice.
Coleman’s defensive game has been just as strong as in years past, but the offence this year has shot up to a different level. With just five games left, he is one away from the 30-goal mark. In terms of usage, he has been playing on the Flames’ second power play unit this year, but I have to wonder with just a handful of games left, will he get bumped up to the top unit to try and get his 30th? I guess only time will tell.
Nazem Kadri is going for his second 70-point season
The start of this season could not have gone any worse for Nazem Kadri. Way back in October, Kadri was quite literally the Flames’ worst skater. He was not getting any offence going, he was atrocious defensively, and he was a straight-up liability every time he stepped on the ice. So, for him to be closing in on a 70-point season is quite the accomplishment when you consider how awful the first month of his season was.
His turnaround to the season coincided with Connor Zary being brought up to the Flames at the beginning of November, since then Kadri has been cooking. Kadri has been, at least for my money, the Flames’ best player since. He has had some highlight-reel goals and has just been a menace every time he has touched the ice.
Kadri has only hit the 70-point plateau once before in his career, and that was in the 2021–22 season when he played on the loaded Stanley Cup-winning Colorado Avalanche team when he put up 87 points. Kadri currently sits at 68 points, so with five games left, he has a great chance to get to 70.
Yegor Sharangovich is closing in on first 60-point season
After scoring his 30th goal Saturday night to break a national record, Yegor Sharongovich is just four points away from hitting another milestone in his first season as a Calgary Flame. Sharongovich sits at 57 points this year and can reach the 60-point mark for the first time in his career with just four games remaining.
It has been one of the most surprising seasons for any player in the NHL. Going into the year after a trade from the Devils in the offseason, Sharangovich was expected to help the Flames in the goal-scoring department with his wicked shot, but I don’t think anyone could have expected a season quite like this.
Like Kadri, Sharangovich had a very tough start to the year, bouncing around the lineup, he could not really find a home in the lineup. After some experimenting with Jonathan Huberdeau, Sharangovich found himself on a line with Huberdeau and former Flame Elias Lindholm, and in December the puck began going in for him.
Even after Lindholm was shipped off to the Canucks and Sharangovich was moved to the centre position, the points kept coming for him, and he is really solidifying himself as an important piece moving forward for the Flames. If he can get to the 60-point plateau, it would be a remarkable season that maybe no one was expecting.
Something for the Flames to play for
While the team has nothing to play for but a better draft pick, you can bet on the team doing their best to help these guys reach these milestones that are in reach. It will be fascinating to see how these last four games play out and we will see just how motivated the team will be the help their teammates reach some new highs.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
