It’s Sunday Census time. Somehow, the early favourites for dead last in the league a week ago, the Calgary Flames, have won their third game in a row. Not against slouch teams either, with wins against the Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild and last night against the Detroit Red Wings.
2026 marked the worst start in franchise history, beginning the season with 5 straight losses. If it weren’t for the Philadelphia Flyers dropping from playoff team to a 0-5-2 start, the Flames would be the most talked about team in the league for all the wrong reasons. Although the Flames have heated up on the back of backup goalie and postgame interview prince, Devon Cooley, there is still concern for Calgary. Expectations weren’t high coming into the season, but some individuals have come out of the gate flatter than a lukewarm Stampede Pancake breakfast. We wanted to know who Flames fans have been most disappointed with to start the season. We asked, you answered,
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Who has been the biggest disappointment to start the season?
We presented the poll below to our readers.
Dustin Wolf
Over half of respondents in this week’s poll think Dustin Wolf has had the most underwhelming start to the 2026 season thus far. Sure, you could point the finger at a degraded defensive core this season compared to last with the departures of Rasmus Andersson and Mackenzie Weegar, but the argument is getting harder to make after watching Cooley carry the Flames on the back end for three straight victories.
Wolf has struggled this season, posting a 4.85 GAA while maintaining a messy 0.834 save percentage across his first 5 starts, recording only a single win. Moreover, his great danger save percentage is only 0.717 while allowing the most goals against in the league this season. Not a good look for the new face of the franchise.
However, Wolf has never experienced a slump he can’t find his way out of. The Flames have been adjusting to their new and young defensive core, with Ryan Huska finally altering pairings at the onset of Cooley’s hot streak. There may be a plethora of fans dissatisfied with Wolf’s performance to start the year, but the Flames have played with much more structure around Cooley recently. Kevin Bahl has emerged as one of the league’s best defencemen over a short sample this season, and breaking up Zayne Parekh and Jake Middleton reaped massive rewards for the Flames’ overarching defensive metrics. Prior to the breakup, Parekh and Middleton were the worst defensive pairing in the NHL statistically. Moreover, the Flames’ power play has risen to third in the NHL, converting at a 32% clip. With some run support finally coming in, it looks like Wolf’s slow start could be short-lived.
We all love Cooley, but it’s hard to believe this hot streak will keep up much longer.
Gridin/Nemec
Simon Nemec and Matvei Gridin combined for roughly 15% of votes in this week’s poll. Despite slow starts, both young players have been vital to the Flames’ recent turnaround. Gridin has recorded a PPG in his last 3 games, equaling his point production through the first 6 games of the year. Moreover, he looks like he has gained a massive confidence boost over the last week and a half, especially on the power play. Behind Coronato, Gridin and Aydar Suniev are easily the Flames’ purest scorers, and Gridin has strung together a run of games that makes a strong case for a permanent home in the Flames’ top 6.
Nemec has also had a strong bounceback of late, and frankly a strong debut season for the Flames overall. The fourth-year defenceman took on significantly more responsibility in Calgary vs. New Jersey. Playing alongside fellow former Devil, Kevin Bahl, for the majority of the season, Nemec has recorded the highest Corsi and Fenwick percentages amongst Flames defenders with 55% and 52%, respectively. Although his offensive numbers have been somewhat underwhelming, Ryan Huska’s system isn’t the friendliest towards offence. With the loss of Weegar and Andersson, Nemec has been thrust into a role with little expectation for offence at this point. He continues to look more comfortable alongside Kevin Bahl with a heavier TOI, averaging over 21 minutes per game. For a 22-year-old, he’s had a very reasonable start considering the situation he’s found himself in.
Overall, both young guns are gaining momentum and looking more comfortable with their increased roles this season.
Jake Middleton
Jake Middleton earned roughly 30% of votes in this week’s poll, finishing second. Middleton, who was acquired from Minnesota via the Blake Coleman trade this past offseason, was an addition the Flames expected more out of. Starting the season alongside Zayne Parekh was an absolute disaster. The pair combined for a Corsi of 45.6%, Fenwick of 46.4%, and expected goals against per 60 of 3.07. All the lowest on the team.
Middleton has improved since Huska shook up the pairing. Playing alongside Zach Whitecloud, the pair have led the team in expected goals against per 60 at 2.08. Their offensive impact has been virtually nil, but at least Middleton can pick up some PIMs alongside another like-minded defenceman rather than having to make up lost space when Parekh decides to take a chance on the rush.
I’m a firm believer that Middleton and Parekh were paired together due to Middleton’s grit and presence on the ice rather than their playstyles. Sure, it might be riskier to have Parekh alongside Kuznetsov, but at least they balance each other’s playstyles better. Kuznetsov offers much stronger athletic ability in help situations and makes Parekh’s offensive zone starts much more worthwhile than his former pairing. No offence to Middleton, but his biggest impact this season is projected to be as a staple enforcer in the Flames lineup, while keeping things light in the locker room and leading the league in Mustache to Teeth ratio.
Maybe not as disappointing as you think
Prior to Saturday’s win against the Red Wings, I was assuming the wins against Caroline and Minnesota were long-shot flukes thanks to some strong pregame conversation between Devin Cooley and his rabbit Tito. That still may be the case. However, the Flames have truly looked like a different team in their latest home stretch.
Their offensive production has exploded in the last three games relative to their production over the last few years, most notably on the power play, converting at 50%, sitting behind only the Edmonton Oilers since October 18th. Moreover, they’ve killed 8/8 penalties over those three games despite losing Mikael Backlund the last two games.
If the Flames’ most recent stretch of play has offered up anything to fans, it’s to hold onto your seat and strap in for what could be an up-and-down season yet again.
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