Highs and lows have marked the past two NHL seasons in Calgary for many who donned the Flaming C.

A select few have been uber consistent, key veteran players like Nazem Kadri, Mackenzie Weegar and Mikael Backlund. As for the rest of the bunch, they’ve seen massive peaks and valleys in terms of production and on-ice contribution.

In 2024-25, Jonathan Huberdeau seemingly rose out of a slump that had plagued him since his acquisition from Florida. Though he didn’t return to 100-point form, Huberdeau scored more goals last season (28) than the previous two seasons combined (27).

On the other hand, there was stark regression for Blake Coleman, who halved his 30-goal campaign in 2023-24 with just 15 tallies last season. Amongst those we’ll discuss below, both Connor Zary and Yegor Sharangovich failed to build upon breakout campaigns, with the latter actually regressing, albeit largely due to injuries.

It’s been somewhat of a Bizarro world in Flames land over the past two seasons. In 2023-24, they were a team that could score, but struggled to keep the puck out of the net, whereas in 2024-25, they scored 33 fewer goals while also allowing 31 fewer.

With Calgary looking to ditch its apparent Jekyll and Hyde nature, here are four players they desperately need to take a step forward in 2025-26.

In June of 2023, Sharangovich came over from the New Jersey Devils along with a 2023 third-round pick (Aydar Suniev) in return for Tyler Toffoli. The Flames’ package for Toffoli was widely considered to be weak at the time, but a 31-goal effort from Yegor the following season cooled all criticism. The sharpshooting winger was then rewarded by Calgary with a five-year contract extension worth $5.75 million AAV.

Last season was not nearly as rosy for the Misk native, totalling 17 goals and 32 points over 73 contests. Sharangovich appeared more hesitant to shoot the puck in contrast to his initial campaign as a Flame, but there’s reason to believe that it was correlated with a lower-body injury he suffered in pre-season, resulting in him missing the team’s first seven games.

Regardless of what exactly ailed him, a lot is riding on the now 27-year-old to return to form this season, especially considering how much Calgary has invested in him.

It’s worth noting that Sharangovich sustained a broken foot in game 82 against the L.A. Kings.

Zary enjoyed a stellar rookie season in 2023-24, emerging from the AHL early in the year to post solid numbers, much like Matthew Coronato did this past season. The Flames’ first-round selection in 2020 flashed skill night in and night out en route to a solid 34 points in 63 games as a 22-year-old.

However, Zary’s injury-plagued sophomore year cast some doubt on his future. Though it was likely just a setback, his 27 points in 54 games played in 2024-25 have led some to pump the brakes a little. His slight regression has seemingly made Calgary more hesitant in contract discussions with Zary, as he remains the lone roster player without a contract as of this writing.

The Saskatoon native has no shortage of skill and confidence with the puck, and an injury-free year should result in a major bounce-back.

Since being acquired in late January for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier and a 2025 second-round pick, ‘Frostby’ has been the topic of much conversation, more specifically, the desire for more output from the former Philadelphia duo. The need for improvement has only grown since the Flames inked Frost to a two-year extension that carries an AAV of $4.375 million.

Frost’s new deal means that he and Farabee will be making a combined $9.375 million over the next two seasons. Although cap space is not necessarily an issue in Calgary at the moment — they currently have over $15 million in cap space with only Zary to sign — Frost and Farabee’s combined ticket is still a big one, not to mention the assets leveraged to acquire them.

Though the entire team struggled offensively in 2024-25, the newest Flames’ production was especially underwhelming, having totalled just 18 points in 63 games between them.

In all likelihood Frost and Farabee will improve on their performance last season as they continue to settle in, the question is, how much.