logo
FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
FlamesNation Mailbag: Sizing up the season in mid December
alt
Photo credit: Mike Gould
Ryan Pike
Dec 15, 2025, 14:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 14, 2025, 22:27 EST
Comments
Gang, the Calgary Flames had a rough start to the season. Since then, they’ve done a lot of good things and have put together a string of favourable results. But their rough start remains prominent, as they remain pretty low in the overall standings.
In this week’s mailbag, we have a lot of “big picture” questions about the season and how things are trending overall.
I would argue that the team, as currently constructed, is not bad enough to finish 32nd overall if this group is kept intact all season. We’ll get into the Rasmus Andersson of it all in a bit, but I’m pretty sure that this group will not be kept intact all season, and so it seems reasonable to suspect that this team will get somewhat worse… at some point.
Anyhow, I would think that the Flames drafting top five would be a silver lining to a disappointing season. Obviously, folks from Team Tank would prefer the Flames draft a little higher, though.
At this point, folks, Rasmus Andersson is probably the top defender potentially available on the trade market. He’s definitely the top rightie. Based on what we’ve heard from our pal Pat Steinberg or various insiders: unless there’s been a big-time philosophy change from either team or player, it feels like we’re going to have a parting of the ways.
I’ve always been of the mind that the Elias Lindholm situation was sort of how this thing was going to play out: the Flames have a price they want to get for Andersson, and once someone steps up and meets that price, they’ll pull the trigger. It certainly feels like that’ll be before the Olympics, but time will tell precisely how much before then it’ll be.
The Flames have made five first-round picks under Craig Conroy: Sam Honzek (2023), Zayne Parekh (2024), Matvei Gridin (2024), Cole Reschny (2025) and Cullen Potter (2025). Three of these guys have played NHL games this season, with Honzek becoming a valuable NHL regular before his injury last month, Gridin showing flashes of brilliance, and Parekh struggling to find a rhythm. Of these five guys, I would argue that Honzek is probably destined to be the least offensively impactful, but he’s shown a knack for being a reliable two-way forward, so he could still be pretty useful.
Four of these picks are guys aiming to score goals, while Honzek may be the guy that keeps the puck out of the Flames’ net.
The Flames play five home games between now and the end of the calendar year, and seven of their next nine games between now and Jan. 5. Their opponents over their next nine games are San Jose (away), Seattle, Vegas, Edmonton (away), Edmonton, Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville and Seattle again. If the Flames want any hope of inching closer to the playoff pack, they’ll need to win two-thirds of those games. And even that’s not a guarantee.
The Flames need to win two-thirds of their games for the remainder of the season to get anywhere close to a playoff spot. If feels far more likely that they’ll eventually drift closer to the bottom-third of the standings, especially given the likelihood of an Andersson trade.
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!)

The FlamesNation Monday Mailbag is presented to you by Village Honda

Looking to sell your vehicle? Village Honda wants to buy it. We offer complimentary, no obligation appraisals, payment in 24 hours, top value trade in values and best of all, no stress. Skip selling your vehicle privately and stop in Village Honda today. No appointment necessary.
Village Honda is proud to be your dealership for life in Calgary since 1987. We are located in the Northwest Auto Mall under the giant Canadian flag or online at www.villagehonda.com.

Editorials

Breaking News