CALGARY – Last in the league.
Last in goal scoring, shooting percentage, power play efficiency and, most importantly, in the standings.
While itâ€s unlikely anyone in the dressing room or front office feels the Calgary Flames are the leagueâ€s worst team, thatâ€s where they sit at the quarter mark.
The numbers donâ€t lie.
All the momentum gained from a late push that landed them one point short of a playoff spot last season has been lost.
For an organization hellbent on making the playoffs, things couldnâ€t have started any worse.
Several weeks before U.S. Thanksgiving, their playoff hopes have made like a Costco sample and disappeared.
“Weâ€re in a tough situation — thereâ€s no sugar coating it,†said Rasmus Andersson following a recent loss.
“It sucks. I donâ€t even know our record anymore. Itâ€s frustrating. Itâ€s just not acceptable.â€
At 5-12-7, theyâ€re 10 points out of a wild card spot and almost every team ahead of the Flames has games in hand.
They canâ€t score, and with the leagueâ€s worst shooting percentage, there is little reason to believe that will change anytime soon.
Talk around town is focused entirely on leaning into the adversity by trading veterans, getting more picks for this summerâ€s draft, giving more youngsters longer looks in the bigs, and ensuring a season of tremendous pain translates into a top-three pick.
It would be foolish to act any other way, especially in a city fed up with three decades of being stuck in the mushy middle.
Compounding frustration in town has been the ongoing debate surrounding the early play and use of prized prospect Zayne Parekh, who is currently injured. Prior to his injury, he was unable to make an impact, was in and out of the lineup, and struggled to gain the confidence and poise that made him the 9th pick overall in 2024. Â
Matvei Gridin, another first-rounder, made the team as a 19-year-old out of camp, but was demoted soon afterwards. The Russian has six goals and 14 points in 14 games with the AHL’s Wranglers, making him one of the few bright spots in town these days.
Dustin Wolf has rebounded from a slow start, and the team has played better of late, returning to play the sort of never-say-die hockey that made them so popular and successful a year earlier.
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Most Encouraging Development: Their draft position
I know this is supposed to be about a player or trend, but the reality is that the best thing to come out of the teamâ€s playoff-busting start is that it helps position the club for a top-three pick in the draft — something theyâ€ve never done in franchise history.
That, for a fan base clamouring for the team to finally lean into a lost season to land a difference-maker in the draft, is encouraging.
Calgary needs a star to sell hope and build around, and those only come via the draft.
Most concerning development: The teamâ€s inability to score.
In a league in which elite talent is the difference most nights, the Flames have none.
Matt Coronato, Gridin and AHL prospect Aydar Suniev seem like they are capable of scoring bushels of goals when they reach their prime, but those days seem far away.
The notion theyâ€d score by committee is now a pipe dream, putting far too much pressure on Wolf and their defensive game.Â
Top-six forwards:Â Grade F
When youâ€re the lowest-scoring team in the loop, there is no other grade, especially when the teamâ€s leading goal scorer (Blake Coleman) is on the third line.
Nazem Kadri is the teamâ€s leading point-getter with 11 in 20 games, which is one point more than the Flames†best player so far this season, Morgan Frost.
Yegor Sharangovich, who is in year one of a five-year contract at $5.75 million annually, has two goals and has been a healthy scratch of late due to engagement issues that rival Brad Pittâ€s.
Mikael Backlund, Sam Honzek and Coleman have been the teamâ€s steadiest line, limiting the oppositionâ€s top trios with an effectiveness that has kept the club in the middle of the pack in terms of goals against. Alas, Honzek is now out week-to-week.
The fourth line has done its job, with Ryan Lomberg and Adam Klapka anchoring a unit that does well to create energy, play physically and forecheck the way the rest of the team can learn from.
Outside of the top duo of Kevin Bahl and Rasmus Andersson, things have been a bit of a mess defensively. The other two pairings have been juggled nightly in an effort to find the right partner for Parekh.
Future captain, MacKenzie Weegar, is the first to admit heâ€s had a rough go, with just four assists and a team-low minus-16.
The defencemen havenâ€t been able to help out offensively either, sitting 31st in the league in points.
Wolf had a rough start to the season, but has been much better of late, coinciding with the teamâ€s ability to keep most games close.
Backup Devin Cooley might be the most pleasant surprise of the season, posting a 1.75 GAA and .935 save percentage in his five appearances.
The duo sits 13th in the league with a 2.96 GAA and 13th with an .895 save percentage.
MVP: Blake Coleman
Most Improved Player: Morgan Frost
Best Defensive Player: Kevin BahlÂ
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