It’s been a tough year offensively for the Calgary Flames. Currently sitting 32nd in the NHL in goals per game, the Flames’ offence has been among the very worst in the entire league. As such, it’s been a down year across the board for most Flames players, with multiple players staring down a disappointing 82-game pace.
The forwards
First up, the forwards. Here’s how the current 82-game paces look for the Flames forward group, and how their totals compare to last season. Only players with at least 25 games played were considered. All numbers are courtesy of hockeystats.com.
| Player | P/82 in 25-26 | P/82 in 24-25 | Change from 24-25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nazem Kadri | 57 | 67 | -10 |
| Mikael Backlund | 48 | 35 | +13 |
| Matt Coronato | 43 | 50 | -7 |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | 41 | 63 | -22 |
| Morgan Frost | 40 | 31 | +9 |
| Blake Coleman | 39 | 39 | EVEN |
| Joel Farabee | 34 | 16 | +18 |
| Connor Zary | 32 | 41 | -9 |
| Yegor Sharangovich | 32 | 36 | -4 |
| Adam Klapka | 18 | 26 | -8 |
| Ryan Lomberg | 13 | 13 | EVEN |
The risers
First off we’ll look at the players who are currently producing at a higher rate than last season. The number isn’t big, but there are a couple players having better seasons. Overall just three of the Flames 11 regular forwards are producing at a higher rate than last season.
The biggest change year over year has to be Joel Farabee. It really can’t be understated just how awful he was in Calgary after coming over from Philadelphia last year. This year he’s been much better, currently sitting on 23 points in 56 games. Overall that’s an 82 game pace of 34 points. Still underwhelming given his contract and history of production, but at least it’s better than last season’s horrific 16 point pace.
Similarly, fellow Flyer draftee Morgan Frost has had a bit of a bounce back this year after a tough start in Calgary following last year’s trade. Frost is currently playing at a solid 40 point pace, an improvement over his 31 point pace from last year.
Lastly, Mikael Backlund has continued to defy Father Time as he currently sits second on the entire roster in points with 33 in 56 games. For context, the 36-year-old had just 32 points all of last season. His current pace of 48 points would represent the third-best total of his entire career. While most of the roster has had a miserable year, Backlund has had a bit of a career resurgence after a couple of down years.
The fallers
Now onto the fallers. Overall, six of the team’s 11 regular forwards are having down years compared to last season. Of those six players, there are a couple who immediately stand out for the wrong reasons.
While the reveal that Jonathan Huberdeau has been battling a nagging hip injury has shed some light on his tough season, it can’t be understated just how bad he was this season. Especially after a strong 2024-25 campaign that looked like the beginning of a potential resurgence. Huberdeau went from a 63-point pace last year to a dreadful 41-point pace in 2025-26. That represents a gigantic 22-point drop off. It also lands as the second worst 82 game pace of his entire career, and the worst since his rookie season in 2013-14.
Another notable drop-off would be Connor Zary, who has gone from looking like a budding star to struggling to produce this season. After a decent 41-point pace last year, the hope was Zary would take a huge step this season with a clean bill of health. Unfortunately, his production has gone in the opposite direction. Even with a recent hot stretch, Zary is still on pace for just 31 points. That’s a nine-point drop from last year and a disappointing total in what should’ve been a breakout season.
Adam Klapka would be another standout for the wrong reason’s. The big forward finished 2024-25 looking like a legitimate NHL player, with some hoping a breakout year was on the horizon in 2025-26. I mean, he started the season on the Flames top line. Fast forward a few months and Klapka’s offence has completely disappeared, as the 25 year old is currently playing at an 18 point pace. That’s barely NHL material at this point.
It’s also worth mentioning that Yegor Sharangovich has somehow gotten even worse, playing at a 32-point pace this season after posting an ugly 36-point pace last year. The veteran sniper has shown some flashes, but once again looks completely lost and ineffective on most nights. Perhaps a potential buy-out isn’t such a bad idea?
A tough season
All in all, it’s been a tough season in Calgary for most of the team’s forwards. While a couple of players have had stand out season’s, a majority of the roster have struggled to produce and have seen significant drop-offs from last year.
