The 2025 calendar year wasn’t a great one for the Calgary Flames. Stuck in the mushy middle with no clear direction, the team accomplished little of anything and remains in purgatory like they have for decades.
There were some standout individual performances here and there, but for the most part the team didn’t accomplish what they wanted to.
Looking forward to 2026, the Flames should revise their vision board and stick to these New Year’s resolutions
1. Pick a direction
There is a significant divide in the fanbase between those who want the team to sneak into the playoffs and those who want the team to focus on finishing as low as possible to get the highest draft pick they can.
As a staunch supporter of #TeamTank, I have to say the answer to this dilemma is no longer clear. On the morning of December 31, 2025, the Flames are three points back of the second wild card spot in the West, and four points out of last place overall in the NHL.
It really isn’t easy to know which half of the fanbase is correct when the team is stuck in this middle zone.
However, the team needs to decide one way or another, and for the good of the overall franchise down the road, it should still be to stick to the rebuild and do everything possible to draft Gavin McKenna.
Enough waffling around and this “we’ll see what happens” mentality. It’s annoying, it’s exhausting, it’s leading to unwatchable, boring hockey and it needs to stop. They need to properly decide on this direction and go all-in on that strategy.
2. Trade veterans
The San Jose Sharks are a perfect case study for the Flames to follow. They traded away valuable veterans at their highest value, drafted extremely high, and are now in a playoff spot led by a player in Macklin Celebrini who may set a new NHL record for the fewest games to hit 100 points by a teenager.
Since Jonathan Huberdeau was traded to the Flames, the Sharks traded Erik Karlsson, Tomas Hertl, and Timo Meier, all considered to be high value veterans and players every team would want to have. They simultaneously drafted Celebrini, Will Smith, and Michael Misa and are an objectively better team because of it.
With this year’s prices, the Flames could get absolute hauls for Rasmus Andersson, Nazem Kadri, and Blake Coleman. All of these players fit the exact same description as the ones traded by the Sharks.
The opportunity is there, and the Flames need to take it.
3. Go all-in on the kids
To their credit, the Flames have done a pretty great job drafting in the Craig Conroy era. It’s time to reward those kids with opportunities on the big club, allow them to make mistakes as they learn the NHL game, and use this year as a development opportunity for the future.
They have already done this with a few players and it has worked out marvelously. Yan Kuznetsov and Hunter Brzustewicz look like legitimate NHL players, and they have made the Flames blueline look a heck of a lot better than it did when they were trotting out Daniil Miromanov and Jake Bean and Brayden Pachal every night. Even Sam Honzek was looking like an NHLer before he was injured.
It’s time to continue that trend and give the same opportunity to Matvei Gridin, William Stromgren, and Rory Kerins.
We don’t need to see Justin Kirkland, Ryan Lomberg, and John Beecher every night. Why the team is prioritizing playing these players, who everyone knows what they are, instead of the kids, who have played amazingly in the AHL, is beyond me.
4. Make a bigger deal about the last year of the Saddledome
Having watched NHL games in multiple arenas in North America, the Flames are nowhere close to the best in terms of in-arena entertainment and fan engagement. They’ve been doing the same things year after year and with the final years of the Saddledome upon us, they need to do a better job honouring the building and the fan experience every single game.
For a lot of fans, the next game they see in the ‘Dome could be their last, and they should be leaving the rink with a lasting impression of the rich history of the building. Instead, the Saddledome has sold out exactly one time this season, the last Battle of Alberta. Sell Saddledome merch for cheap, set up photo booths in cool locations, offer virtual tours, etc. I’m sure there are plenty of ideas the fans would be into and everything should be done.
Make coming to the ‘Dome an experience, regardless of the quality of hockey being played on the ice. Have you looked at the Flames’ power play rate this season? The hockey clearly isn’t that good, so draw people in with nostalgia.
5. Make an even bigger deal bout Scotia Place
On the same token, the Flames should be making an even bigger deal about the new arena opening. It’s nice seeing updates on social media every month or so, but the anticipation needs to be much higher.
Show us closeups of new features, offer virtual tours, allow fans to have a say in certain parts of the rink, etc. This could be done really well and there’s still lots of time to do it.
Prove that the organization understands that Calgarians are putting in many millions of dollars to their arena and will likely get no benefit from that – instead, they’ll ironically probably have to pay higher ticket fees.
Show that there is a vision to make the first season of the new rink really special and give fans something to look forward to.
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