In my 20 years of following the Calgary Flames, I have never seen them in such disarray to start a season. Everything that could go wrong is going wrong through the first 14 games of the season.
Let’s start with the on ice product where the Flames rank at or near the bottom in nearly every statistical category. They’re not getting the production they need from nearly every player in the lineup. Their top two defencemen, MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson, are playing some of their worst hockey as members of the Flames. Dustin Wolf is putting in either spectacular performances or getting lit up.
Flames fans can live with these outcomes this season if it means that young players are going to get playing time, and the franchise is going to pivot and start to truly build for the future.
Unfortunately, both those things aren’t happening. Ryan Huska continually scratches young players like
Zayne Parekh, Matt Coronato, and Connor Zary while not holding his veteran players accountable.
Then there are reports from NHL insiders that Flames ownership and upper management still hold the position that they don’t want to fully rebuild, despite the fact that it’s what the fan base wants and it’s how you acquire the elite talent you need to build a consistent winner in the NHL.
It’s time for ownership and upper management to come to the realization that this is not the team you’re going to the promise land with. This is a group that has been together going on four years and they haven’t accomplished anything. Not one playoff appearance.
It’s time for Conroy to rip the band-aid off and start to turn this ship in a different direction. Flames fans will accept a few down years if it means the Flames are building for something better in the future.
What fans won’t accept is this organization continuing to want to “remain competitive” keeping them in the mushy middle where they have lived for the last 30 years. My advice would be to embrace building for the future.
In the NHL you either sell hope, or you sell winning. The Flames aren’t doing either right now and it’s pissing off their fan base.
Let’s dive into some other Flames topics from this week
Ryan Huska is over-coaching
The Flames third year head coach has made some head scratching lineup decisions over the first 14 games of the season.
It starts with Zayne Parekh, who has been made a healthy scratch in four of their games this season despite being one of the Flames better defencemen at 5-on-5 and the fact he is their best quarterback option on the first power play unit.
Scratching Matt Coronato, one of the best shooters on a team that is dead last in goals for this season. Yes, Coronato has had a brutal start to the year for his standards. But so have a lot of other forwards. They just signed him to a seven year contract extension. Scratching what is supposed to be a foundational part of your team moving forward doesn’t make sense.
Connor Zary was a healthy scratch the last two games. Meanwhile Huska has Yegor Sharangovich playing centre in Zary’s spot despite the fact Sharangovich has proved time after time that he is not a centre at the NHL level.
Huska is juggling lines every game.
He’s overplaying Dustin Wolf.
He hasn’t found a legit partner for MacKenzie Weegar.
Simply put, Ryan Huska is over coaching this team. He’s overthinking things because of the brutal start to the season. It’s time for the Flames head coach to play his best players, and put them in positions to succeed. That’s the most important part about being a coach.
Devin Cooley turning into a great story
Who would have thought 14 games into the season that
Devin Cooley would be the most positive story? Especially after the preseason when Cooley had a 4.08 GAA and a 0.846 SV%.
The best story this season has been Devin Cooley.
He had an awful preseason. There were rumours the Flames were going to trade for a different backup goalie. Fans and media were questioning him.
He blocked out all that noise and has had an incredible start to this season.
pic.twitter.com/gWp3iQPyLX
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY)
November 2, 2025
Cooley vowed after the pre-season that he knew exactly what he needed to fix in his game, and it looks like he has done just that.
Cooley has played nine periods of hockey. In that time he has a 0.933 SV% and a 1.98 GAA. He’s saved 3.64 goals above expected.
52 goalies have played at least 180 minutes this season. Cooley ranks 2nd in save percentage, 3rd in goals against average, and 14th in goals saved above expected. I know it’s early in the season and it’s not a big sample size. But you still have to give credit to Cooley for having the mental toughness to bounce back after an atrocious preseason to become one of the better goalies in the NHL in the first month of the season.
Philly Boys starting to produce
It’s been a bit of a struggle from a production standpoint for Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost since joining the Flames last season.
In 45 games with the Flames, Farabee has only put up 12 points. That’s a 22 point pace over 82 games.
In 46 games with the Flames, Frost has put up 19 points. That’s a 34 point pace over 82 games.
To say that the Flames need more production from these two is an understatement. But they have started to turn things around over the last couple weeks. Farabee has four points in his last five games which includes two goals.
Morgan Frost has five points in his last seven games, most of which have come playing on the wing at 5-on-5 with Jonathan Huberdeau.
Baby steps for sure. But it’s something that you hope these two players can build on moving forward.
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