The Calgary Flames offically play hockey this month, as the team will now have 84 games on their schedule. As every new season approaches, fans always like to speculate and predict their team’s outcomes and expectations, but for Flames fans, this season will be very predictable.
In short, it’ll be another ugly season for the Flames as they continue to rebuild. With that being said, the team does still face some questions heading into the new season. So here are three questions Flames fans may ask themselves regarding the team as the 2026–27 season is upon us.
1. Who steps up on the Flames’ blueline?
The Flames made a pretty big addition to their blueline this summer, adding former second-overall pick Simon Nemec from the New Jersey Devils. There’s no doubt that Nemec will be getting a major role on the team, so the expectation is that he makes the most of his new opportunity.
Meanwhile, fans continue to be excited about how Zayne Parekh develops and what growth he experiences this season. Nemec and Parekh are very likely going to be power play quarterbacks and will be relied upon to play those big minutes.
Then there are also other younger players like Hunter Bzustewicz and Yan Kuznetsov, and seeing how they develop. Either way, the Flames’ blueline, while young, will no doubt have plenty of talent, and questions will arise about who steps up to make the most of it.
2. How will Dustin Wolf navigate his performance?
Dustin Wolf didn’t have the best season in net last year. The 25-year-old played 57 games and posted a .899 save percentage. Obviously, a main reason behind that is how weak the Flames are as a team, and Wolf not getting much help when it comes to defence and offence.
This season, the same situation will very likely occur, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Flames and Wolf himself deal with some ugly nights that are bound to happen. Wolf is the future in net for this team, and his numbers last season don’t do him justice. He’s an amazing goaltender, and you can only imagine what Wolf will be like once the Flames have built a strong team in front of him. In the meantime, it’ll be a bumpy road.
3. Will this be the year the Flames finally get some lottery luck?
Now this is going far into next year, but given the team’s expectations and projections, it’s very likely that the Flames will yet again end as a bottom-feeding team in the NHL next season. Looking at their lineup, the lack of scoring combined with an inexperienced blueline will result in many ugly and lopsided games.
As a result, fans are eager to hope that the pain pays off through a top 3–5 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Next year’s draft is looking promising when it comes to forward prospects, as the Flames are still looking for the franchise forward, preferably a number-one centre.
The Flames finished with the 6th overall pick in the 2026 draft, and while they drafted an amazing defenceman in Carson Carels, the team’s rebuild depends on their ability to draft elite talent. Therefore, the team needs those higher draft picks to really put themselves in the position to draft elite players; otherwise, making it out of this rebuild and building a true contender will be a challenge.
