2016-17 Calgary Flames schedule released

The Flames are kicking off their 2016-17 with a home-and-home against the Edmonton Oilers. Gone are the Vancouver Canucks – at least until the third game of the season – and finally, the year will begin as it always should: with a Battle of Alberta. And then another one!

That will actually be half of the Battles of Alberta for the year then and there, as the Oilers are the divisional opponent the Flames will face just four times this upcoming season. The two remaining games will both be played in January.

The season ends with the Kings, Ducks, and Sharks visiting Calgary, before the Flames take one last California road trip to conclude the regular season. This could be an extremely exciting end: six divisional games when, in order to make the playoffs, the Flames just have to be third in their division. Hopefully, it’ll be a meaningful road trip.

Here’s the schedule, in all its glory.

The Flames will play 11 back-to-back games, starting as early as games two and three of the season, but ending at the end of February in Tampa Bay (Feb. 23) and Florida (Feb. 24). That should mean the Flames get a rather friendly schedule to close out their season – and, if they’re still in the playoff race by then, it could be beneficial for them.

The Flames have been sending fans happy into the holidays as of late, and we can hope for that this year as well: their final game before the Christmas break comes at home against the Canucks on Dec. 23. Sadly, the Flames do not play on Dec. 22 this season: he scored hat tricks on that date in 2014 and 2015. Hopefully, he can make up for it a day late. His team will return to action when they head to Colorado to face the Avalanche on Dec. 27.

There’s another break a month later, as the NHL takes time off for All-Star festivities, this year held in Los Angeles. The 2015-16 season saw the Flames go into the All-Star Break with Dennis Wideman hitting a linesman and causing a lot of drama; hopefully the Jan. 26 game in Ottawa will have significantly less drama. They’ll be back on Feb. 1 to host the Wild.

Of course, one of the most crucial dates to watch out for is Feb. 28: trade deadline day. It’s totally up in the air how the Flames will approach it this year. Will they be sellers? Buyers? Just good enough to stand pat and see how things play out? We’ll find out then. Their final game before the trade deadline is Feb. 26 in Carolina, but they’ll be hosting the Kings on the 28th.

There’s a lot to look forward to this upcoming season for the Flames. A renewed shot at the post-season under a new head coach in Glen Gulutzan, full years of confidence from guys like Dougie Hamilton and Mikael Backlund, a handful of potential hopefuls in players like Hunter Shinkaruk and Daniel Pribyl, it would be nice to get a starting-caliber goalie, and who knows – maybe even the sixth overall pick could surprise us.

Here’s to a fun and exciting 2016-17!