With the season underway, the Calgary Flames roster looks quite different from one year ago. They also have chosen a different status, officially entering a rebuild.
I thought it would be fun to compare this season’s and last season’s opening night rosters to emphasize how much this team has changed over the last few months.
A revamped forward group
Let’s first look at the opening night forward groups for both seasons:
2023–24
- Jonathan Huberdeau, LW
- Mikael Backlund, C
- Dryden Hunt, LW
- Yegor Sharangovich, LW/RW
- AJ Greer, LW
- Blake Coleman, RW
- Matt Coronato, RW
- Elias Lindholm, C
- Dillon Dube, LW/RW
- Adam Ruzicka, C
- Walker Duehr, RW
- Andrew Mangiapane, LW
- Nazem Kadri, C
2024–25
- Jonathan Huberdeau, LW
- Mikael Backlund, C
- Blake Coleman, LW
- Kevin Rooney, C
- Matt Coronato, RW
- Sam Honzek, LW
- Anthony Mantha, RW
- Adam Klapka, RW
- Connor Zary, C
- Ryan Lomberg, LW
- Martin Pospisil, C
- Nazem Kadri, C
- Andrei Kuzemenko, RW
Note: Sharangovich was injured during the 2024 preseason and has been placed on injured reserve.
As you can see, the Flames have seen dramatic changes in their forwards. Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil started in the AHL last season and eventually became NHL regulars. Prominent forwards like Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane were traded from the organization, with Andrei Kuzmenko coming in. Adam Ruzicka would leave the team via waivers, and Dillon Dube would depart due to legal troubles.
The Flames’ fourth line has seen the most changes, as Ryan Lomberg and Adam Klapka add that much-needed grit. Players such as Walker Duehr and Dryden Hunt remain with the organization but currently have been demoted to the minors.
The most shocking thing was seeing Sam Honzek make the team. A year ago, many Flames fans were already worried about the kid, and now he’s playing in Calgary’s top-six after having a dominant preseason. Additionally, the hope is that more youth like Matt Coronato can enter the lineup full-time. That’s likely after veterans like Kuzmenko and Anthony Mantha—who signed a one-year deal in the offseason—are traded from the team.
The defence is almost entirely different
Calgary’s opening-night defence core has seen the most turnover in one season. Take a look at how they compare:
2023–24
- Rasmus Andersson, RD
- Chris Tanev, RD
- Nikita Zadorov, LD
- Dennis Gilbert, LD
- MacKenzie Weegar, RD
- Noah Hanifin LD
- Jordan Oesterle, LD
Note: Oliver Kylington was still away due to personal reasons.
2024–25
- Rasmus Andersson, RD
- Kevin Bahl, LD
- Tyson Barrie, RD
- Jake Bean, LD
- Joel Hanley, LD
- MacKenzie Weegar, RD
- Daniil Miromanov, RD
- Brayden Pachal, RD
Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar are the only two players left on the blue line from the 2023–24 group. Nikita Zadorov, Chris Tanev, and Noah Hanifin were all shipped out during a massive Flames selloff.
Another noticeable difference is that the team chose to carry eight defencemen this season.
Joel Hanley and Brayden Pachal joined Calgary last season after they were both claimed off waivers. The Flames acquired Daniil Miromanov from the Vegas Golden Knights in the Hanifin trade, and he has since fit in nicely. Kevin Bahl is another intriguing name, as the 23-year-old was acquired from the New Jersey Devils along with a conditional first-round pick for goaltender Jacob Markstrom.
As for Kylington, he, along with Dennis Gilbert and Jordan Oesterle, would leave via free agency. The Flames would instead opt to sign hometown boy Jake Bean and brought in veteran Tyson Barrie on a PTO, who would later sign a one-year deal with the club.
With this team clearly in a rebuild, the defence is what truly gives it away. It’s not exactly a playoff-caliber group with both Tanev and Hanifin gone. We’ll see how the season goes, but this blue line will definitely have its fair share of struggles.
There will be a new starting goaltender
For goaltenders, the only big change this year was the subtraction of Markstrom. The Flames will now roll with a tandem of Daniel Vladar and Dustin Wolf, who finally gets the chance to truly establish his game at the NHL level.
Wolf is the future in the net for the Flames. The 23-year-old has nothing left to prove in the minors and only has the NHL left to tackle. While struggles are guaranteed to come, it’s only part of the process of becoming a full-time player at the highest level. One thing is for certain, though: the Flames will no longer have Markstrom bailing them out. Many wins last season were due to how strong Markstrom’s play was in the crease, and they’ll no longer have him to fall back on.
Expectations for this Flames roster
Expectations are pretty straightforward. Many expect this team to finish among the bottom of the standings. Last year’s roster was expected to make the playoffs, but that didn’t end up being the case.
This year’s roster is weaker in many aspects, and it doesn’t take a genius to see that. However, I can see a scenario where this year’s Flames team may overachieve a bit, and some players may put up some surprising performances.
