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FlamesNation Mailbag: Ruminating on the Flames after a tough start
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Photo credit: Mike Gould
Ryan Pike
Oct 20, 2025, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 20, 2025, 09:57 EDT
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Friends, the Calgary Flames are 1-5-0 as we write this, and sit in the basement of the National Hockey League’s standings based on points percentage. It has not been a promising start on the ice.
Depending on what your viewpoint is on the viability or feasibility of either a full tear-down or a playoff berth, you probably are in your feelings one way or another about the Flames’ first six games.
As we all try to figure out how we feel about the first six outings, let’s check in with the mailbag, shall we?
So here’s what I think is happening: Yegor Sharangovich is trying to get his swagger and desperation back after a big injury and a big contract. When you’re playing hungry, you do what you need to do to get scoring chances. But once you’re secure, or once you’ve gotten hurt, you might be a bit more tentative or play on the perimeter as a consequence. And when you’re getting chances further out, they’re less likely to go in. And when you’re getting fewer chances, they’re less likely to go in.
In the past three seasons, Sharangovich has gone from 2.18 shots per game to 1.50 shots per game And his shooting percentage dropped from 17.3% in 2023-24 to 13.3% in 2024-25. In short: he needs to use his speed to get closer to the net to get better chances… and more often.
I don’t think it’s a coaching thing.
Thanks, Kevin!
It’s sort of a perfect storm of things going wrong:
  • The schedule, in terms of frequency of games and travel, kind of sucks.
  • The schedule, in terms of quality of opponents, is really challenging.
  • Dustin Wolf hasn’t bailed the Flames out as much as he did last year, especially with his high-danger save percentage dipping.
  • The Flames’ defensive group is making big, big, poorly-timed mistakes in their own zone.
  • The Flames’ scorers cannot generate very much.
These things all won’t continue unabated, but the Flames need to find ways to solve the thing they can control: how well they play. And so far, their record is a pretty decent reflection of the quality of their performances thus far.
Some of the Flames’ tough start is definitely due to puck luck. Remember that game against St. Louis where Rasmus Andersson whiffed on three chances? And the Vegas game where Andersson missed a wide-open net at the end of the second period? They’re among the worst in the NHL in both five-on-five shooting and save percentage. That’s probably not a reflection of the talent level of the team. But they flat-out need to be better defensively to give themselves a chance.
We’re six games in, so any talk of Gavin McKenna or the draft lottery is premature.
But if the Flames are near the basement as American Thanksgiving nears in a month… well, then it’s a very different conversation.
Got a question for a future mailbag? Contact Ryan on Twitter/BlueSky at @RyanNPike or e-mail him at Ryan.Pike [at] BetterCollective.com! (Make sure you put Mailbag in the subject line!)

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