Training camp is just around the corner which means it’s time for us to start previewing the Calgary Flames 2025-26 season. As we all know this was a team that missed the playoffs last season by 0 points. They were a tie breaker away from making the dance.

How is this team, that is in the middle of a re-tool, going to be able to take another step forward to get them in the playoffs? A lot is going to have to go right. But there are four non-negotiables that have to happen in order for the Calgary Flames to get back into the post-season for the first time since 2022.

This is obvious, but it has to be said. The Flames will not be a playoff team if Dustin Wolf has a sophomore slump.

He was by far their most important player last season. The Flames finished the year 29th in goals scored thanks to a hot finish to the season. Prior to the month of March, they had been in 32nd place for the majority of the 24-25 season. The main reason for the Flames remaining in the playoff hunt despite scoring so few goals was Wolf, and Dan Vladar to a certain extent.

According to Natural Stat Trick, Wolf has 18.32 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5, good for 6th in the NHL. If he was just an average goalie last season, the Flames would have given up an additional 18 goals which would have taken them out of the playoff mix.

Wolf also had 5.2 wins above replacement (WAR) per Evolving Hockey. Take away five wins from the Flames and they finish with less than 90 points and aren’t close to playoffs.

He did all that in only 53 games!

Wolf is going to need to to at least replicate what he did last season because goal scoring might be an issue for this Flames team once again.

Lack of goal scoring was the number one reason for why the Flames missed the playoffs last season.

They had a couple stretches at the beginning and end of the season where they were in the middle third of the league in goals scored. But unfortunately they were in the basement of the NHL in goals for the majority of the season.

From Nov. 1 – Mar. 15 (55 games), the Flames were 32nd in goals scored with 137. The next closest team was the Nashville Predators with 146 (56 games). It’s pretty remarkable that Calgary was 18th in the NHL in points over that period.

We can expect the likes of Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau and Matt Coronato to be consistent goal scorers and point producers. They’re going to be good for 50-70 points and 20+ goals each.

The increase in goal scoring is going to need to come from five depth forwards.

Yegor Sharangovich. Connor Zary. Morgan Frost. Joel Farabee. Martin Pospisil.

These five players need to step their game up.

Sharangovich isn’t going to score 31 goals every year like he did in 2023-24. But he should be somewhere between 22-28 consistently. He is too talented and has too good a shot not to be in that range.

Zary should be a 20 goal scorer if he can stay healthy. He was on pace for 20 last season in his 54 games. But the best ability is availability. Zary needs to stay healthy and be a major contributor.

Farabee has scored or been on pace to score 20 goals three times in the last five seasons, There is no reason for him not to score around 20 with the Flames this season.

Frost is one of the more talented players on the Flames. He’s scored 19 goals in the 22-23 season. He’s shown he can be a solid offensive player. He’ll need to do that last season.

Finally, there is Pospisil. We all know that brings a lot to the table outside of goal scoring. But wouldn’t it be great if he could chip in more than 4 goals in 81 games? He is talented enough to be at least a 10 goal scorer.

If four of these five forwards can play to their potential, the Flames are going to make the playoffs.

The Flames’ goal is to make the playoffs this season. They are going to have an incredibly difficult time doing so if they move Andersson before the start of the season or early on in the 2025-26 campaign without a suitable replacement.

The defence is pretty solid with Andersson in the mix. I’d argue it’s in the middle third of the NHL.

MacKenzie Weegar is an elite NHL defender. Andersson and Kevin Bahl are legit top four defencemen. Joel Hanley was great last year in the second half of the season alongside Weegar. And Zayne Parekh will add some much needed offence to this blueline.

But it quickly drops to the bottom third of the league without their Swedish alternate captain.

If the Flames want to make the playoffs, they are going to have to find a suitable replacement for Andersson on the right side.

There are two ways to accomplish this (assuming Andersson is traded and not re-signed).

The first way is to acquire a right shot defenceman in a trade for Andersson, or in a separate trade all together. This is going to be easier said than done. Contending teams who are going to have interest in Andersson aren’t going to be in the business of trading quality defencemen before a playoff run. (Unless you’re the Dallas Stars). And this might not be the year for the Flames to trade assets for win now pieces.

The other way is to hold on to Andersson until the trade deadline. This option allows the Flames to keep Andersson on their roster for the majority of the season which in theory will help them stay competitive. It also allows the team to take their time when it comes to developing Parekh.

By the time March rolls around and Anderson is moved, Parekh might be ready to take on top four minutes at 5-on-5 alongside Bahl.

Either way, the Flames are going to need to find a way to replace the minutes left behind by Andersson if they want to make the playoffs. The Western Conference is deep and talented. The Flames are going to need a solid defence core to keep up with their competition.

The Flames lack superstar talent on forward and defence. Because of that they’re not going to be a high scoring team at 5-on-5. They’re going to need to excel at other aspects of the game to keep up in the standings. That’s where special teams comes into play.

The Flames ranked 19th on the power play and 25th on the penalty kill last season. Both of those are going to need to improve if they Flames are going to make the playoffs.

And there are signs that both are on the rise.

The Flames had the best penalty kill in the NHL (87.5%) in their last 24 games of the 24-25 season. The next closest team was the Vancouver Canucks at 85.2%.

You also have to give credit to veteran players like Mikael Backlund, Blake Coleman, Andersson, Weegar, Huberdeau, Kevin Rooney, and Hanley. They stepped up and were fantastic on the PK.

On top of those players you have Wolf in net which is a huge advantage.

That whole group is coming back this season outside of Rooney. There is reason to think they can continue to be a top ten penalty killing unit.

The power play also has the potential to improve. The Flames will have a healthy Zary in the lineup. A full season of Frost which will help with zone entries. And most importantly, they’re going to have Parekh, arguably the most talented young defenceman in the NHL.

Parekh excels on the power play with his ability to walk the blue line, get shots through, and setting up his teammates in advantageous positions.

Parekh alone is reason enough to think the Flames can be in the top half of the NHL on the power play.

Overall, a lot needs to go right for the Flames to make the playoffs. They don’t have the elite talent to win them games on their own. They’re going to need a lot of players to contribute to win games.

If they can do the four things I listed above, they are going to make the post-season for the first time since 2022 and be a legit threat to win a series.