Fans of the Calgary Flames are reaching for dictionaries and thesauruses to define the team’s plan. Contractions like “hy-build” are being coined as the Flames have just two playoff series wins in the salary cap era. The historical suffering is beyond the scope of current GM Craig Conroy, who has made the team younger and better since taking over a mess of a Flames core that was collapsing.
Can the Flames walk two paths at once? Or is Conroy merely delaying the inevitable tank job needed to bring the team a Stanley Cup?
Forwards
Huberdeau–Kadri–Zary
Coleman–Backlund–Coronato
Farabee–Frost–Sharangovich
Lomberg–Pospisil–Klapka
The theme upfront is depth, as the Flames lineup can be difficult to imagine. There is a number of quality players, but not many franchise defining stars. Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau are capable top-six forwards, but hardly the age or caliber of a top line. Fellow veterans Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman are an effective defensive duo, giving the lineup a good deal of structure.
The upside will have to rest upon some younger players taking hold of the group. Matthew Coronato is deserving of top billing, and could push to be the Flames best forward in the near future. Connor Zary certainly has some skill, and a step forward would be a boon. Adam Klapka might even have some upside as more of a role player.
The Flames took some bets on some mid 20s players in Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, and previously Yegor Sharangovich. The jury is still out on how much they can contribute as vital parts of a playoff team, and the Flames will need their best to stay relevant. Without any true top line forwards, the Flames cannot afford poor chemistry or dry spells. Sharangovich’s contract stands out as the longest, and perhaps the most questionable, though all three should be able to fill top-nine spots.
There is a large contingent of young forwards pushing their way up the ranks, who might only serve to frustrate fans in the short term. The Flames have been quite patient with Rory Kerins, who continues to prove himself, or William Stromgren, who is progressing. As much as a wave of draft picks turned or will turn professional between last year and next, including Samuel Honzek and Aydar Suniev, Kerins is a reminder that growth can take a while. Some would rather the team fly or flail with this youth, but some patience is required. Inevitably injuries will occur, presenting opportunities.
Defence
Bahl–Andersson
Hanley–Weegar
Bean–Pachal
While the forward group remains relatively unchanged, the Flames blueline holds most of the drama. Mackenzie Weegar seems content to lead the group, and is worthy of Olympic consideration for Canada at this point. He is probably better than fellow right shot Rasmus Andersson, who is on the last season of his current contract.
Andersson is by no means a Norris Trophy candidate, but as a right shot who can log huge minutes and play both special teams he should be quite valuable. His contract situation has already thrown a wrench into maximizing his trade return, and the possibility of losing him for nothing or signing him to an overpriced long term deal cast a shadow of dread among the future-focused.
Meanwhile, the right side has some young competition. Zayne Parekh is a dynamo prospect, his offensive abilities perhaps the key to unlocking more offence from the forwards. Parekh is a rare talent who could be their star offensive talent, but that hardly means he will be ready to do so this season. Still ineligible to play in the AHL, it might be too early to thrust him into that role. Hunter Brzustewicz is another skilled right shot pushing for a spot, who brings a bit more physicality and experience at this point.
Brayden Pachal is often overlooked, but a young, effective, defensive, and affordable right shot is not to be taken for granted. Either way, the best version of this blueline might see Weegar play the left side, as he has done successfully in the past. Daniil Miramanov might be a redundancy on the Flames that other teams would be interested in to some extent.
On the left side, it is impossible not to call the acquisition of Kevin Bahl a win. Calgary is a rare team that is thinner on the left side, where Bahl is their best option other than the Weegar playing his weak side. Joel Hanley might deserve some credit, though undoubtedly Weegar helps a lot, but the 34-year-old journeyman should be a feel good story, not a staple of a competitive top-four. Unfortunately none of the Flames left defence prospects have taken the step to earn a spot over Hanley or Jake Bean. There is little hype surrounding some older prospects like Jeremie Poirier, Ilya Solovyov, and Artyom Grushnikov, though they might be able to fight up the depth chart.
If one of Parekh or Brzustewicz are ready to become NHLers, Weegar plays on the left side, and Hanley can continue his strong play alongside Pachal this might be a great blueline. That does not necessarily help sort out the pending Andersson decision, but at the very least the path to a strong blueline is visible.
Goalies
Wolf
Prosvetov
Cooley
Despite the one season sample size and the notorious volatility of goaltending, it is not absurd to think Dustin Wolf the best goalie in the Pacific Division. Flying in the face of the size that is so popular at the position, it is hard not to love the underdog story and brilliant play that has brought Wolf to this point. Some might argue the Flames lack star players, and while that might be true at centre, Wolf appears to be exactly that.
The Flames will likely be a low scoring team, increasing the pressure on Wolf to be outstanding. So too does the lack of clarity at backup goalie. Many wanted Wolf to get more starts last season, especially early on, but some support would still be beneficial.
If the Flames are truly going for a playoff spot, as they seem to be, it is ambitious to place so much on Devin Cooley and Ivan Prosvetov. Prosvetov is the younger option but is also the more experienced. After a strong AHL season with some NHL appearances in 2023–24, and spending last season in the KHL, he might have the inside track. Still, neither Prosvetov nor Cooley have held a regular NHL role before. Perhaps a signing, PTO, or waiver claim is on the horizon.
Path to success
While the Flames came close to a playoff appearance thanks to an unexpectedly strong performance last season, defining a successful season is not that straightforward. On one hand, sneaking into the playoffs and becoming cannon fodder for a top ranked team might be seen as a success. Obviously, Wolf has the ability to steal a series which would be a step further.
On the other hand, the main metric of evaluation might be the development of their best prospects. Primarily this can be boiled down to Zayne Parekh looking on track to become a star, as well as centre prospects Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter lighting up the NCAA. The future of this franchise changes a great deal if those three players can become core members of the Flames. A true star centre might put anxious fans at ease, but a top five draft pick might require some lottery luck.
In short, even with a Rasmus Andersson trade the Flames will not be bad enough to truly tank. After a strong start to last season, perhaps a year of awful luck can get them close. If their words and actions are taken at face value, Conroy has a mandate to keep the team relatively competitive. One bad or unlucky season could change everything, or rather one star centre, though the team has gotten younger and the prospect pipeline more robust. Already with two first-round picks in the 2026 draft, the Flames should continue to build the future of their program regardless.
As far as making the playoffs this season goes, the Flames will need one of Parekh or Brzustewicz to be an impactful player on a nightly basis, and will need depth players like Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to have strong seasons. Coronato and Zary will need to have career seasons. Wolf will need to continue his excellence. Most importantly, perhaps, the Flames will need to become a stout defensive team, especially when it comes to improving their penalty kill. The Flames do not have the firepower to make up for subpar defensive performances.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
