The Calgary Flames entered the 2024-25 season with the goal of making the Stanley Cup playoffs, but few outside of their locker room believed that they could do it.

The Flames ended up remaining in post-season contention until the 81st game of the season, defying a ton of external expectations – and validating the belief within the hockey club that they could capturing a playoff berth. As the 2025-26 season approaches, external expectations remain a bit low, as many are skeptical that the Flames can surprise the hockey world again.

Here are three reasons why some skepticism is probably warranted.

In key moments of hockey games, the Flames have two centres they rely heavily on.

When they need to score a goal, they usually send out Nazem Kadri and his linemates. Kadri led the Flames in goals, points and face-offs taken, and led all forwards in average ice time per game. He’s also 34.

When they need to hold onto a lead, they usually send out Mikael Backlund and his linemates. Backlund was second in face-offs taken, first in face-offs won, and was third among all forwards in average ice time per game. He’s also 36.

Simply put: the Flames have two strong centres. But given they’re both over 30, it’s natural to worry that Father Time may catch up to them eventually.

In 2024-25, the main reason the Flames nearly made the playoffs was rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf. Simply put, Wolf was excellent.

Here’s the thing on Wolf, though: circumstances were created for him to be successful. He entered the season with just 18 games under his belt, so it was a little tougher for video coaches to do their homework on him. And for the first half of the season, the Flames used backup Dan Vladar to spell off Wolf and ensure that the rookie was fresh and able to build up his confidence.

Wolf isn’t a mystery anymore. He’s a good young goaltender, but teams will be pre-scouting his tendencies and doing their best to disrupt his game. Combine that with the fact that Vladar is with the Philadelphia Flyers now and Wolf will be backed up by Devin Cooley or Ivan Prosvetov, both of whom have fewer NHL games under their belts than Wolf… and the American netminder will be much more under the microscope than he was in 2024-25.

The hockey establishment spent much of the 2024 off-season waxing poetic about how bad the Flames were going to be. Yeah, the Flames didn’t have any “superstars,” but they figured out a playing style that maximized their chances for success and they committed to playing that way.

As a result, the Flames were an incredibly tough night at the office for many, many hockey teams, and they came within the regulation wins tiebreaker of qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Flames made a lot of very good teams look pretty silly last season, and good teams tend to have long memories. The Flames won’t surprise anybody in 2025-26: teams will be ready for them, and wins could be tougher to grind out this season.

This article is a presentation of Platinum Mitsubishi, family owned and operated by lifelong Calgarians. Home of the industry-leading 10-year, 160,000-kilometre powertrain warranty. Check out their showroom at 2720 Barlow Trail NE or online at www.mitsu.ca.