Although the Calgary Flames ended 2025 on a strong note, they are now back to the basement of the NHL Standings after three losses in a row to start off 2026.
Their position in the standings has more to do with a lack of offensive firepower and less to do with their defensive play. The Flames are 30th in the league in goals scored per game with 2.58 and dead last in power play percentage with 14.1%. The Flames’ forward group clearly hasn’t been very good, and that was reflected in their midseason grades.
In contrast, the Flames are 12th in the league in goals allowed per game with 2.98 and 11th in penalty kill percentage with 81.5%. This means that the Flames’ defencemen and goaltenders have done a solid job at keeping pucks out of their own net and probably deserve more generous grades than the forwards.
With that in mind, let’s hand out grades to all the defencemen and goaltenders who are currently active.
Defencemen
Rasmus Andersson: A
Andersson’s elite performance throughout the first half of the season has earned him a prestigious spot on Team Sweden for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Andersson has been arguably the Flames’ top player in 2025–26, successfully navigating heavy minutes on the team’s top pairing. He currently averages 24:09 of ice time per game, the highest among all Flames skaters. Additionally, he leads all Flames blueliners in every major offensive category with nine goals, 18 assists, and 27 points through 43 games. As a premier right-shot defenceman with an affordable $4.55M cap hit, Andersson’s midseason performance ensures that the Flames could command a massive return from a Stanley Cup contender if they decide to trade him.
Kevin Bahl: B+
Bahl has been a stabilizing force on the Flames’ blueline in the first season of his six-year, $32.1M contract. The 6′6″ defenceman currently leads all Flames defencemen with a +10 rating. Plus/minus isn’t a perfect stat by any means. But this is significant considering that his rating is eight points higher than any other defenceman on the roster. Playing primarily on the top pairing alongside Andersson, Bahl has embraced a shutdown role against the league’s best offensive players. While primarily valued for his defensive responsibility, Bahl has already chipped in three goals this season, matching his career-high.
Yan Kuznetsov: B+
Kuznetsov has been a consistent and steady presence for the Flames since they recalled him from the Calgary Wranglers at the start of November. The former second-round pick quickly worked his way up to the Flames’ second defensive pairing alongside MacKenzie Weegar. Securing a top-four role on an NHL team when you started the season in the AHL is no small feat. Although he has only played 29 NHL games, he is third on the team in scoring by a defenceman with three goals and five assists. His game on December eight against Buffalo was particularly noteworthy, as he recorded his first career multi-point performance. Calgary originally placed him on waivers to start the season. His transformation into a top-four regular has been one of the organization’s most positive developmental stories this season.
MacKenzie Weegar: B-
Weegar’s 2025–26 campaign started off poorly. Recently, he has turned things around, scoring 11 points in his last 13 games. However, he still has the worst rating among all NHL defencemen with -20. He also has the fourth most giveaways with 70. His early-season struggles proved to be too much of a hurdle to overcome, leading to Team Canada leaving him off the roster for the 2026 Olympics. Despite all this, Weegar remains a heavy-usage workhorse for the Flames. He leads all Flames blueliners in hits with 104 and blocked shots with 90.
Hunter Brzustewicz: B-
Brzustewicz has looked remarkably capable in his transition to the NHL after the Flames recalled him from the Wranglers at the start of December. He is currently last among all Flames defencemen in ice time per game with 13:25, but has made the most of those minutes, playing a smart and mature game. Additionally, he just recorded his first career NHL point with an assist yesterday vs Montreal.
Zayne Parekh: B-
Parekh hasn’t suited up for the Flames since early November, but he was recently recalled to the Flames. He had a dominant performance for Canada’s National Junior Team, setting a new all-time Canadian record for points by a defenceman in a single tournament with 13 points (5G, 8A) in seven games. Although his junior production has not yet translated to the NHL, I personally do not think this falls below expectations. I never expected him to come into the NHL and dominate offensively right away. I also think his defensive struggles are over-exaggerated, considering he has only been on the ice for one goal against in his last eight NHL games.
Joel Hanley: C+
Hanley continues to be a rock-solid veteran presence for the Flames, playing a vital role in mentoring rookie defencemen such as Brzustewicz and Parekh. However, his pairing with Weegar wasn’t particularly good this season. But once his role was slightly reduced, Hanley was able to form a robust third pairing no matter who his defensive partner was.
Brayden Pachal: C
Pachal has been a reliable depth option for the Flames’ blue line. He’ll be plugged into the Flames’ third pairing occasionally as a physical option. That’s exactly what he’s done so far, as he leads all Flames defencemen in hits per game with 2.45.
Goaltenders
Dustin Wolf: B
Wolf remains the undisputed number one goaltender in Calgary. Although he hasn’t completely replicated his rookie season, where he was the runner-up to the Calder Trophy, I don’t necessarily think he is having a sophomore slump. In the month of December, Wolf had a record of 8–2–0, and had a save percentage of .920. I’m not worried about Wolf one bit.
Devin Cooley: B
Cooley has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the 2025–26 season. Cooley had an outstanding November with a 1.66 GAA and a .934 save percentage. That performance earned him a two-year, $2.7M contract extension, solidifying the Flames’ goaltending depth for the next few years.
