Welcome back to our annual Calgary Flames expectations. This is our third year of placing our expectations. Going into the 2024–25 season, the Flames look very different from the start of 2023–24.
Losses of Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov, Jacob Markstrom, Andrew Mangiapane, and more have given the Flames a different roster layout. Expectations are not to be high this year as the Flames are in the midst of a rebuild/retool and are developing their younger players.
Jonathan Huberdeau
Last year, our expectations for Jonathan Huberdeau were high, and we expected a bounce back. Since that did not happen, we can’t set the expectations too high this year. A positive from last season is Huberdeau’s analytical results at 5v5 on offence. They greatly improved from 2022–23, and that was a good sign.
With Huberdeau scoring 50+ points in both his years in Calgary, I think we can expect similar next season. Anywhere from 50-60 points seems like a realistic projection for Huberdeau in the 2024–25 season.
Nazem Kadri
I thought that Nazem Kadri was likely going to have a similar season to 2022–23 last year due to his age. He proved me wrong and jumped up to 75 points and his second-best season. What I was right about was Kadri continuing to produce pretty good results in the analytics department.
For Kadri this year, some regression seems believable. I think we are likely going to see Kadri drop down to 55-65 points, maybe with his underlying numbers taking a hit.
Yegor Sharangovich
Yegor Sharangovich is coming off of what is hands down his career-best season. He went from a healthy scratch in the playoffs with the New Jersey Devils to a 30-goal and almost 60-point scorer with the Flames. They greatly surpassed my 20-goal and 40-point expectations.
Sharangovich had an interesting year, as his defensive results were horrid, and his offence was inconsistent. When he was hot, he was hot and was scoring like nothing, but when he was cold, you forgot he existed.
It’s not completely unrealistic to think Sharangovich will build off of or repeat this last season. But with the inconsistency of his offence and the team’s decline, I can see his production taking a hit. I think we’ll see Sharangovich get around 25 goals and 50-55 points.
Andrei Kuzmenko
Being acquired in the Elias Lindholm trade this last year, this is our first time setting expectations for Andrei Kuzmenko. Kuzmenko had an interesting year as he struggled with the Vancouver Canucks. This caused him to be traded to the Flames as a cap dump. With the Flames, it was obvious he improved, but not back to 2022–23 levels. Then, to end the year, he went nuclear. With 17 points in 10 games, Kuzmenko was one of the best producers to end the year.
Kuzmenko will likely improve from his Vancouver paces but not much from his Calgary ones. I think 20-25 goals and 50-55 points seems pretty realistic for Kuzmenko. He is also a strong candidate to be traded at some point this season.
Connor Zary
Connor Zary is coming off a very solid and surprising rookie campaign. Zary was called up about 10 games into the season after a strong preseason and AHL start. Scoring in his first NHL game, things looked bright for Zary, and that trend continued. Zary was a bright spot for the Flames last season. Finishing top-10 in Calder Trophy voting, it’s safe to say Zary had a good year.
Heading into his sophomore year, it depends how he is utilized. If we see Zary on the wing again this season, I think we see his production jump to around 50-55 points. But if he’s given a centre role, I can see him having some initial struggle as he focuses on rounding out his game, placing his point totals around 40-45.
Anthony Mantha
The biggest free agent signing for the Flames this offseason, Anthony Mantha, is poised to play some solid top-nine minutes. Mantha is coming off a year where he split time between the Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights. Last year was somewhat of a bounce-back year for Mantha as his production and overall numbers improved.
The idea is for Mantha to play with Huberdeau, so right now, it looks like a good Huberdeau equals a good Mantha. Realistically, I don’t think we’ll see anything too crazy come out of him, and we are looking at a 20-goal and 40-point season. Mantha is another likely player to be traded.
Blake Coleman
A phenomenal year came from Blake Coleman last year as he had career-bests in every single scoring category. He scored 30 goals and nearly 60 points after never scoring above 22 and 38. Coleman’s two-way play also did not take a hit, and he continued that all-around role for the Flames.
I think we’ll see Coleman regress to the mean next year while continuing his strong two-way play. Think 15-20 goals and 35-45 points for his production.
Mikael Backlund
Mikael Backlund regressed to his averages after a career year in 2022–23. We can say that’s what we were expecting from him; with age and his role, it made sense. Backlund scored his typical 15 goals and 39 points last season. His great defensive play continued as he took on the mantle of captain.
I’m not expecting much different from Backlund this year. Maybe a slight point drop, but 35-40 points once again seems realistic.
Martin Pospisil
Another nice surprise from last year, Martin Pospisil, went from almost quitting hockey to a full-time NHLer. In 63 games, he had 24 points. Despite the low production, Pospisil had crazy good offensive results when it came to underlying numbers. He cemented himself in the NHL with his physical play.
Pospisil is a guy I would love to see blossom into this really fun top-six player, but I don’t see it just yet. I think we see a slight increase in production, with 25-30 points, as he continues his pest-like game.
Ryan Lomberg
After winning the cup with the Florida Panthers, Ryan Lomberg has returned to Calgary. The Lomberghini has earned himself a role in the NHL as a fourth-line grinder. He’ll score a goal here or there, but his job is to get into the dirty areas and get under the opponents’ skin. He can make some pretty heavy hits, too. For example, last year, he only had five goals and seven points. Not crazy production, but he played 75 games.
I think we can expect higher totals from last season, but nothing too crazy. I see Lomberg getting five to eight goals with 10 to 15 points while continuing his feisty style.
Matt Coronato
Many thought Matthew Coronato was making the full-time jump to the NHL last season, myself included. Unfortunately, this did not happen as Coronato struggled. Despite that, he lit up the AHL with 42 points in 41 games. He had multiple stints in the NHL, totaling three goals and nine points in 34 games. Coronato had some bright moments, but overall, he just didn’t look NHL-ready.
The hope should be for Coronato to make that jump to the NHL level. I don’t want to make the same mistake as last year and set high expectations. Coronato, in a full NHL year with solid ice time, should get about 15 goals and 30 points.
Jakob Pelletier
Another player poised to become a full-time NHLer last season, Jakob Pelletier‘s season was ruined by a preseason injury. In 2022–23, Pelletier was called up and played 24 games, scoring seven points while oozing confidence and positivity. This past season, he returned to the NHL on February 6, 2024. It was clear something was off with him. He seemed less confident and just couldn’t find his stride. He scored three points in 13 games before being sent down again.
This year needs to be a big year for Pelletier. He needs to make the Flames and show that confidence he once had. I think we can expect at least 25 points out of Pelletier this year.
Kevin Rooney
The Flames’ fourth-line centre, Kevin Rooney, had a nice story attached to him last year. After spending most of 2022–23 in the AHL and facing injury, Rooney made his way back up to the NHL last season. With the Flames, he played 34 games upon returning and scored four points.
Rooney isn’t much of a point-getter, and it’s not clear how many games he’ll get this season. I think three to 10 points seems fair based on the uncertainty of games.
A year of growth
The Flames likely won’t be a good team this season and likely won’t have any standouts. The main goal is for the Flames’ young forwards to develop while capitalizing on strong performances from everybody.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
