The Calgary Flames are now three games past the halfway point of the season after their latest 3–2 overtime win over the Arizona Coyotes. As usual, the Flames are near the top of the games played list among all NHL teams.
There has been a lot of conversation around the team all season, both good and bad. Regardless of what side of these conversations you fall on, I’m sure we can all agree that players reaching milestones is fun and exciting.
Before the season started, Myles Ecklund of The Win Column looked at individual milestones to follow this season. Today, let’s dive into the individual milestones Flames players have reached so far this year, and milestones that Flames players can realistically reach by the end of the season.
Mikael Backlund
Milestones reached
Starting with the captain, Mikael Backlund recorded his 500th career point in a 4–3 overtime win over the Seattle Kraken on November 20, 2023.
In a 6–2 win over the Coyotes on January 11, 2024, Backlund played in his 950th career game for the Flames. This would normally not be a milestone we would cover, but it’s noteworthy because Backlund passed former Flames captain Mark Giordano for second all-time in games played as a Flame.
Milestones in sight
Backlund currently sits at 195 career goals. With five more goals—which should be doable if he stays healthy over the remaining 38 games—Backlund will become the ninth player in franchise history to score 200 goals.
Rasmus Andersson
Milestones reached
Rasmus Andersson played in his 400th career game in a 4–2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on December 9, 2023. Someone tell Ryan A that we now know Andersson is ready to play at the NHL level.
Milestones in sight
Andersson needs 14 more points to reach his 200th career point. At the rates he’s produced over the last three seasons, he should be able to hit this milestone before the end of this season.
Blake Coleman
Milestones reached
Blake Coleman played in his 500th career game in the Flames’ 4–3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on December 31, 2023.
He entered the season just three points shy of 200 career points. In a 3–1 loss to the New York Rangers on October 24, 2023, Coleman opened the scoring to notch his 200th point.
Milestones in sight
Coleman is having an excellent season for the Flames with 38 points in 44 games. Considering his previous career high for points in a season was 38—which he reached last season—it did not seem likely that another points milestone would be in play this year. However, Coleman is now just 15 points shy of 250 with 38 games remaining.
Dillon Dube
Milestones reached
Dillon Dube played in his 300th career game in a 4–2 loss to the Nashville Predators on November 22, 2023.
Milestones in sight
Hopefully, we can see Dube reach 100 goals (currently sitting at 57) and 200 points (currently sitting at 127) within the next 10 years.
Noah Hanifin
Milestones reached
Noah Hanifin started the year two games short of 600 career games played. Something extreme would have had to happen to prevent him from reaching this milestone. Fortunately, Hanifin has not missed a game this year. He played his 600th career game in the Flames’ second game of the season—a 5–2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 14, 2023.
In addition to his games played milestone, Hanifin entered the season just one goal shy of 50 in his career. He scored his 50th career goal in a 6–3 win over the Kraken on November 4, 2023.
Hanifin also recorded his 200th career assist in a 5–4 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on December 12, 2023.
Naturally, hitting 50 goals and 200 assists means Hanifin also hit 250 career points this season. It came in a 4–3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on December 2, 2023.
That’s a lot of milestones for one guy this year. I hope it increases his trade value around the league with the NHL’s trade deadline looming!
Jonathan Huberdeau
Milestones in sight
Jonathan Huberdeau has three milestones he can still reach by the end of this season. With his play to start 2024, all of them are still in play for this season.
Huberdeau is closing in on 800 games played. If he’s able to play tonight—he missed Tuesday’s win over the Coyotes—he’ll need just six more games afterward. Barring injury, he should reach this milestone in the Flames’ second game of February against the Devils.
Sitting at 691 career points, Huberdeau should be able to reach the 700-points milestone before the end of February.
The milestone that he’s least likely to reach is 500 career assists. He needs 28 more to reach it, but currently has just 17 through 43 games. That’s a far cry even from the disappointing 40 he finished with last season. However, as I mentioned above, his production since the calendar turned to 2024 has made reaching this milestone possible again.
Nazem Kadri
Milestones reached
After a disappointing first season in Calgary, Nazem Kadri‘s start to this year was somehow even more disappointing. However, since playing with rookies Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil, his production has improved drastically.
Kadri reached 600 career points in a 6–3 win over the Ottawa Senators on January 9, 2024. He also scored his 250th career goal in a 6–5 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on December 11, 2023.
Milestones in sight
Kadri has played 865 games since being drafted seventh overall in 2009. Should he stay healthy over the rest of the season, he’ll play in his 900th career game against the Anaheim Ducks on April 12, 2024.
Elias Lindholm
Milestones in sight
Elias Lindholm hasn’t missed a game yet this season for the Flames. He has 787 career games under his belt and should easily reach 800 if he continues to be healthy. As it stands, Lindholm should suit up for his 800th NHL game against the Boston Bruins on February 22, 2024.
Andrew Mangiapane
Milestones reached
Unfortunately, Andrew Mangiapane has not been able to come close to the 35 goals he scored in 2021–22. He started last season just 22 goals shy of 100, and it seemed very likely he would reach it by the end of the season. He finished the year five goals short of 100 and finally reached that milestone in a 4–3 win over the Kraken on November 20, 2023.
On January 13, 2024, Mangiapane recorded an assist on Backlund’s 10th goal of the year. That assist was Mangiapane’s 200th career point.
Milestones in sight
Sitting at 385 career games played, Mangiapane is just 15 games short of 400. He should reach that milestone against the Los Angeles Kings on February 27, 2024, provided he stays healthy.
Jacob Markstrom
Milestones reached
Jacob Markstrom is back in Vezina form. He reached 200 career wins by blanking the Ducks in a 3–0 win on December 21, 2023.
Milestones in sight
Markstrom needs to start just four more games to reach 450 career starts, and that’s something we could see before the end of this month once he’s back from his injury.
Adam Ruzicka
Milestones reached
Adam Ruzicka has been a full-time NHLer this year, and the 24-year-old reached 100 career games played in a 3–2 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild on December 14, 2023.
Milestones in sight
Ruzicka needs 10 points for 50 in his career. It’s not impossible to reach by the end of this season, but he’ll really need to pick up his production over the second half of the season.
Yegor Sharangovich
Milestones in sight
The 25-year-old Yegor Sharangovich entered this season needing to suit up for 45 games to reach 250 in his career. He will reach this milestone against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight.
Chris Tanev
Milestones reached
Chris Tanev is a defensive machine, and it would be disrespectful to leave his 1,500 career blocked shots off this list—especially when he’s sacrificing himself like this:
Seriously! Tanev entered the season needing to block 55 shots to reach 1,500 in his career. He hit that mark in the Flames’ 4–3 loss to the Dallas Stars on November 30, 2023.
Milestones in sight
Tanev currently sits at 1,568 blocked shots, meaning he’s 32 blocks short of hitting 1,600 this year. The way he plays, we’ll likely see him reach it before the end of the year, barring injury.
Dan Vladar
Milestones reached
Dan Vladar needed to start just three games in goal this year to reach his 50th career start. He reached it in the Flames’ 6–3 win over the Kraken on November 4, 2023.
Vladar is 32 games played short of 100, but with him being the backup to Markstrom, we probably won’t see him reach that milestone this season.
MacKenzie Weegar
Milestones reached
MacKenzie Weegar sat at 387 career games played coming into this season and needed to play just 13 more to reach his 400th. He hit that milestone in a 5–4 shootout loss to the Maple Leafs on November 10, 2023.
Milestones in sight
Weegar has been very productive throughout the first half of the season, and he now has 178 career points. Needing 22 points to hit the 200-point milestone, he should be able to reach it right around the end of this season if his production doesn’t dip and he doesn’t get hurt.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
