The Calgary Flames have had a very ugly start to the season. They currently sit with a record of 2–8–2, leaving them at the bottom of the league. The offence isn’t flowing, they’re playing low-event hockey, and Dustin Wolf hasn’t performed his best quite yet. Many are beginning to point towards chalking up this season as a lost one.
Trade rumours are swirling, eyes have already turned to the draft, and groans are being heard across the fanbase. If the Flames do not pick up the pace, we may be in for a long season. In the end, if the 2025–26 season is a lost year for the Flames and they receive a high pick, let’s take a look at just how quickly they can get back to serious playoff contention.
The current outlook
The top of the lineup
The Flames have a number of solid options across their current roster and prospect pool. One thing that’s for certain with the Flames is that the depth isn’t too shabby, but the top-end could use some help.
At the tip of your outlook you have a blossoming forward in Matt Coronato, a potential elite defenceman in Zayne Parekh, and a goalie looking like the backbone of your franchise in Dustin Wolf. All three of these players should fill out top-of-the-lineup positions when the Flames are at their pinnacle.
Following, you have your best performing veterans in Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, and Rasmus Andersson. Huberdeau and Weegar are two I feel pretty comfortable in saying they will be around for a long time, likely filling leadership roles.
On the other hand, Kadri’s and Andersson’s names have been swirling in trade rumours to start the year. Apparently, the Flames have multiple teams calling for Kadri and can expect a big package in return. A similar deal goes for Andersson.
When looking at prospects, the crest of the pool is the two most recent first-round picks in Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter, as well as Matvei Gridin and Hunter Brzustewicz. All have the potential to make impacts in the top-six/top-four for the Flames.
Moving down the lineup
Depth isn’t necessarily a strength of the Flames, but it’s not a weakness either. On the current roster, you have some nice pieces with youth in Connor Zary, Morgan Frost, Sam Honzek, and Kevin Bahl. Zary may not be projecting as well as people had hoped, but he should still be able to flesh out a middle-six role.
When Mikael Backlund retires, Frost seems like he’ll be the one to step up and take the position that Backlund has covered for so long for the Flames as a two-way C. Bouncing back from injuries, Honzek has taken pleasant steps forward and is honestly already looking like a middle-six regular. Finally, Bahl has become a steady, shutdown, top-four defenceman since joining the Flames. A role like that is quite crucial with how offensive the Flames defence is projecting.
Of course, you have your constants in Backlund and Blake Coleman. However, with their age and possible trade rumours around Coleman, they don’t have the clearest future for the Flames. Players such as Joel Farabee and Yegor Sharangovich seem to have been lost over the past year. That plus their big contracts and they don’t have the most projectable destiny with the Flames. Lastly, Adam Klapka and Martin Pospisil certainly don’t hold the most comfortable roles on the Flames, but have the style to be favourites on the fourth line.
The prospect pool is where the depth truly shines in the Flames organization. Throughout the whole pool, the quality at each position shines. Forwards wise, Andrew Basha, Aydar Suniev, Jacob Battaglia, Luke Misa, and even Ethan Wyttenbach have some pretty nice ceilings alongside projectable games and production. Etienne Morin, Henry Mews, and Mace’o Phillips could possibly find quality spots on the defence one day.
What is missing for the Flames?
Elite forwards
I’m not going to beat around the bush, the Flames are missing top-end talent, especially at the forward position. Wolf and Parekh should be amazing pieces for the Flames for years to come. Coronato has already looked like he can score 30 goals every year on the team’s top line. However, after that, it gets bleak. They have some very nice pieces across the roster and prospect pool, but nothing that will change this franchise from mediocre to consistent contenders.
Reschny, Potter, and Gridin all have flashed tremendous offensive potential, but I can’t comfortably place them as better than Coronato yet. They will likely be second to low-end first-line pieces that are fantastic to support superstars, but not be superstars themselves. As mentioned earlier, Coronato has already looked like a 30-goal scorer, but he honestly could be a 35–40 goal scorer with a superstar forward to play with.
Defensive-minded left side defencemen
On the defensive side of things, the Flames are a bit more stable. Thanks to Weegar, Bahl, and Parekh, the current trajectory of the Flames’ defence isn’t horrendous. Having Brzustewicz in the pipeline to play on the second pair is nice as well. However, I think after the need for a superstar forward, there is the need for more defensive-minded, two-way defencemen, specifically on the left side.
Weegar brings a fantastic two-way game, but he won’t be here forever and has been starting to play the right side more. As for Bahl, he does serve as that defensive-minded defenceman, but as it stands today, I don’t believe he’s a top-pair guy on a cup-winning team. The right side of the Flames is currently projecting to be Parekh, Brzustewicz, and Mews. All three players are heavily offensive-minded with some defensive hiccups. Morin has become better defensively in the past year-and-a-half, but again, I don’t know if he’s the guy to play with Parekh on a top-end team.
What’s the next step for the Flames?
In my opinion, the next step for the Flames is to lean into the 2–8–2 start. All this buzz coming from around the organization about being cautious and hoping to find a way back in’ is ridiculous. This team hasn’t made the playoffs since 2021–22, likely missing four years in a row, and sits dead last in the NHL so far. Sure, they’ve been close to the playoffs before, like 2022–23, and just this prior year. However, 2023–24 showed that this team may just not have the magic yet. Especially since a heavy contributor to last year’s success was Wolf’s outstanding rookie year. And now without a strong Wolf performance, they sit at the bottom again.
Moving age for young value
At this point, the band aid of Andersson rumours has to be ripped off. It feels like there’s a 95% chance he is getting traded and it is just a waiting game. On a good note, the return should likely be one of substantial size. Right-handed defencemen have been in demand for quite some time in the NHL now. Throw in Andersson’s reputation as a solid top-pair defenceman and there are probably tons of teams clamouring for him. It may hurt to trade away a long-tenured player, but what you get in return and the path it sets the team down in the long run will make it worth it.
A similar sentiment can be shared with the Kadri buzz. Kadri’s contract isn’t expiring like Andersson’s but with all the noise around, it feels moving on would be the best decision. At 35 years old, Kadri doesn’t really fit the contention window of the current Flames roster. Holding on to him in hopes of a bounce back to sneak into the playoffs after a 2–8–2 likely does more damage to the future of your team than good. Considering the speculation that the haul would be massive, it wouldn’t be the smartest decision, especially with the common consensus being that Kadri’s contract was an anchor not too long ago.
Moving away from the two big fish, the Flames could still move off some of their veteran pieces in this likely lost season. Blake Coleman is a name that has been getting some buzz thanks to his playoff success and leadership. You could probably fetch something for Ryan Lomberg due to his energy and success in the playoffs as well. I do not think the Flames should get too crazy because as much as it is fun to get young, up-and-coming talent, you still need driving veteran talents to guide the youth at the NHL level.
Getting a high draft pick
As mentioned time and time again, the Flames are 2–8–2 and sit dead last in the entire NHL. Not many teams bounce back and make the playoffs after that start. And the ones that do, they have the elite talent upfront. The biggest draw for the Flames to call this a lost season, should be the talent at the top of the 2026 draft. Gavin McKenna has been headlining this draft for around the past three years. He just had the best D-1 season since Gretzky and Lemieux, and is starting to find some comfort in NCAA hockey. Obviously, you have to win the draft lottery to likely have the selection to draft McKenna. Maybe this would finally be the year the Flames get some luck and select not only first overall for the first time, but inside the top three for the first time.
Even if they can’t land McKenna, the consolation prizes are fantastic. Ivar Stenberg is absolutely lighting up the SHL to start the year and people are falling in love with him. I’ve seen lists placing him above McKenna early on. Another is Tynan Lawrence who fills out the attractive centre position with a game that does everything. Even past these two, Ethan Belchetz and Mathis Preston are both very intriguing options for a team in desperate need of top-end scoring such as the Flames. If the Flames want to aim for defence, it would not be surprising for Carson Carels to be on their radar as well, and of course franchise-changing defenceman Keaton Verhoeff.
The path back to contention
The Calgary Flames are not playing good hockey. They’re 2–8–2 and sit dead last in the NHL. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2021–22, and are looking like they’ll make it four years after this season.
The overall lack of true offensive, elite talent is a real hindrance. They have no one upfront who can take over a game and elevate their teammates to skill levels above their current slate. It makes it so that while Parekh and Wolf may end up elite, it doesn’t fully matter because there’s no forward option to complement them. Stepping away from the offensive talent, the Flames also need to get some future options for a defensive-minded defenceman. You can’t win with a very offensive-minded D-core and that’s currently the path the Flames are headed down.
Overall, I don’t think a rebuild/retool should take too long for the Flames to do. They already have two cornerstone pieces of a franchise in Parekh and Wolf, with Coronato being a very likely top-line option. The young talent mixed with some veteran presences should round out the middle spots of their lineup. Then, they have lots of talented prospects who should be making an impact in a few years, and could surprise with strong performances right out of the gate.
It’s a good formula for a team to start winning, the biggest issue just continues to be no franchise-changing forward. Acquiring a player like McKenna or even Stenberg may raise the ceiling of a plethora of players. Coronato may score 40 goals, Reschny or Potter may become a viable first-line centre, Parekh could rise to one of the best defencemen in the league, etc.
If the Flames get good growth out of their prospects, a high pick in this year’s draft, and put a focus on ensuring the defence has balanced play-styles, I could see them being back in playoff contention very quickly around 2027–2028.
