How would Calgary deem success this season?

The new NHL season is upon us, and the Calgary Flames feature at the bottom of a lot of pre-season predictions. After securing a lot of draft picks in recent years, the rebuild is well and truly underway. This has led many to consider what a good season would look like for the Flames.

The obvious answer would be a Stanley Cup victory, but let’s face it, I’ve got as much chance of winning the Stanley Cup from behind my keyboard in England as this current Flames squad does. While we all dream of Backlund lifting the Cup in mid-2027 at the Saddledome, even making the playoffs looks like a tall order.

To leave the Saddledome with optimism ahead of us!

It’s been four seasons without playoff hockey for the Calgary Flames. Ever since the duo of Gaudreau and Tkachuk left the Saddledome, it’s been fruitless endeavours in Calgary. The worst part about that is that often the hope has been left lingering throughout the year. It wasn’t until a defeat to Nashville on April 10th, 2023, the penultimate game of the season. Two years later, the Flames joined the NHL record for the most points without making the playoffs. The 96 points in 2024–25 failed to reach the playoffs, despite being one point more than Vegas gained the following year as they went on to reach the Stanley Cup Finals.

It’s important to remember that there are, of course, two different ways to look at how to be optimistic at the end of the season.

There could be an argument made that going 0-82 would give genuine reason for optimism, as it would guarantee a top-three draft pick next season. Of course, the chances of that happening are remarkably unlikely… we hope.

In reality, an argument could be made that in terms of being optimistic, a poor season on the ice would actually be better for the team in the long-term.

The next generation takes their next steps!

When you talk about the best players for the Flames at the moment, it’s very telling that a strong contingent gives the names of young players.

Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin had breakthrough years and are viewed as two of the untouchables. Dustin Wolf continues to be rated as one of the strongest young goalkeepers in the NHL. In addition, Matt Coronato led the team in points last season.

Carson Carels joined the team in the recent NHL draft, coming in at 6th overall, so he will be keen to make an impact. Cole Reschny must also fancy his chances of getting a chance in the upcoming season.

If the Flames are to succeed going forward, it will be the young players who are key to that. Of course, it won’t be that easy. The veterans will still feel that they have worth and won’t want to lose their spots.

Either way, by the time the Flames walk out of the Saddledome for the final time, we should have a much better idea of who is going to walk into Scotia Place as a core player.

Winning the final game at the Saddledome!

This is a fairly simple one and fairly realistic.

Assuming the Flames don’t make the playoffs, the final game at the Saddledome will be against the Canucks. As it stands, this is an ideal final game for the Flames. Along with the Flames, Vancouver is considered among the favourites to struggle.

The Canucks might not be the opponent anyone would have chosen for such an occasion, but perhaps that’s fitting. If both teams are entering a new chapter, there is something appropriate about Calgary’s final game in the Saddledome coming against another Pacific Division team trying to find its way forward.

The men from British Columbia finished bottom of the pile last season. They set a franchise record of lowest points in an 82-game season (58), and the third worst points percentage (.354). This was partially down to losing their talismanic defender, Quinn Hughes, in December.

They are a franchise on the slide, and you’d fancy the Flames to beat them several times, as it stands.

With the Saddledome taking its final bow, ending the 40-plus year tenure with a victory is a must, regardless of what else happens.

Summary

When the Flames leave the Saddledome for the final time, the significance won’t simply be that an iconic building is closing one chapter of its history. It will be that the players walking out of that building may represent two very different eras of the franchise. Some will be leaving behind the team they knew. Others will be carrying the franchise into whatever comes next.

Realistically, success in this upcoming season will be largely about giving hope for the future. The chances of anything more are slim, at best, but the small victories will add up.

In just over twelve months, the Flames will enter Scotia Place for the first time. It’s important to be optimistic going into that arena, and this coming season will define that.

Calgary doesn’t need to win the Stanley Cup to make the Saddledome’s final year a success. They need to leave it believing that the new era can be better than the last.