We all knew it was coming, right?
With an 0-5-0 start long in the rear view mirror, head coach Ryan Huska has the Calgary Flames bought-in and playing a style that keeps an expected basement roster competitive.
8-5-1 since the bleeding staunched, dreams of a top-3 pick at the 2027 NHL Entry Draft have waned. Calgary currently occupies 25th place; seven places out of last and six points above 30th.
Buoyed by the play of backup goaltender Devin Cooley, 5-2-0 over that stretch, and a penchant for opposing teams to bring their B-game to their Scotiabank Saddledome appearances, the Flames are tied for most home wins since finding their feet on Oct. 13.
A 6-2-0 home record has put this rebuild season into question while an in-character 2-3-1 road record has made it clear that the Flames still struggle to find road wins. Last season, the Flames saw a dire disparity.
2025-26 Calgary Flames
Home: 23-13-5 – .622
Away: 11-26-4 – .317
2026-27 Calgary Flames
Home: 6-5-0 – .545
Away: 2-5-1 – .313
Having Your Cake
There is duality to this season. For one, their climb to 8-10-1 has included major strides from youngsters such as Zayne Parekh, Aydar Suniev, Matthew Coronato, and Matvei Gridin.
Parekh, 20, leads the Flames in both ice time per game (22:14) and points (3) since Kevin Bahl called the 2026-27 a wrap due to a ruptured Achilles.
Gridin’s five goals and six assists in 19 games are also respectable. The Kurgan, Russia product leads the team with two game-winning goals.
The two 20 year olds have been instrumental in lifting Calgary’s power play to fourth place at 29.5%.
The issue is that a strong combination of up-and-coming wingers and defencemen isn’t going to net the Flames a number one center. High-end centers go off the board quickly.
Lucky enough for the Flames: 2027 projects to be high on center talent. Nazar Privalov, Milan Sundstrom, Jonah Neuenschwander, Carter Meyer, Alexis Joseph, and Brock England are names to start looking into. The projected first round is also loaded with pivots.
Scouts are starting to question how loaded the first will really be. Privalov, for example, has only two assists in 18 games with the KHL CSKA Moskow.
Time will tell on that one. What we do know is that the Flames are overperforming in what was supposed to be one of the few years they have been afforded by ownership to flirt with bottoming out.
Checking the schedule, those hoping for a basement finish are in luck.
Regression Looms
Saturday kicks off a double-dose of Calgary’s Kryptonite: A road trip featuring three games in four nights.
They also play LA, Anaheim and San Jose. Three teams that could steal vital ground in the standings. A four-point loss to LA would do wonders for Calgary’s lottery chances. With Kings star Kevin Fiala finally returning to the line-up after sustaining a brutal leg injury at the 2026 Winter Olympics–LA may just find their way back into the playoff picture.
That, or LA continues to suck with Kopitar retired. The Flames, after all, are 8-3-0 against them in the Ryan Huska era.
Looking ahead a little further, we likely see a regression based on schedule. 16 of the next 24 games are road games. The Flames simply haven’t found a way to play through the tougher parts of road games.
“You get the matchups that can set our teams up for success,” reflected Ryan Huska at the end of last season. “But we have to have players on the road that are doing a little bit better of a job of embracing the hard part of the game. Call it simplicity; whatever you want. You can’t beat yourself on the road, and far too many times this year, I thought we beat ourselves on the road.”
It simply seems unlikely that Calgary figures it out over the next month. The team looked gassed on Wednesday when they couldn’t tally more than one goal. That marker came courtesy of Adam Klapka, who has been great, but is far from a primary source of production.
OK. We’re likely looking at a timely funk that sees the Flames creep closer to top-5 pick territory. What could throw a bone in the spokes of that theory?
The Next Step
Those same younger players are simply due for a heater. Three points in three games for Parekh is certainly a sign, but those tuning in are likely noticing that the Markham, Ontario product is touching on stardom. A highlight reel individual play at least once per game. Wednesday’s loss is turned on its head if he just puts away a slick wraparound attempt in the first five minutes of the game.
We’re seeing progression in Parekh’s game in real time. He’s just scratching the surface and the sky is the limit.
Suniev, 21, has gone six games without a goal. A natural scorer, there is a chance that the 2023 third round pick starts heating up again. The Kazan, Russia product found himself on a 40-goal pace after scoring three in his first six.
Likewise, Matvei Gridin hasn’t been his dominant self of late. One assist in his last six games. While his teammates and the fanbase alike agree that Gridin is a star in the making, he’s been ice cold statistically.
Finally, you have to wonder when Dustin Wolf finds his feet. 3-5-1 on the year. A .869 save percentage and a 3.75 goals against average. It’s nigh inevitable that Calgary’s star goaltender goes on a run to get himself closer to the median in all categories.
So we’re looking at four players that are due to heat up enough to carry Calgary’s underwhelming offence to a few more road wins than their standard .350-ish points percentage projects; maybe even keep them humming along at around .450.
Time will tell.
Statistics courtesy of Elite Prospects, Capwages, and the National Hockey League.
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