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FN Report Cards: Matt Coronato led the team in points but still wanted more out of his season
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Photo credit: Brett Holmes-Imagn Images
Paige Siewert
Apr 29, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 28, 2026, 22:49 EDT
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Matt Coronato earned himself a large contract extension with the Calgary Flames prior to the start of the 2025-26 season and the expectations that came with this were very high. In 2024-25, he showed his offensive prowess and potential to perform in the NHL. His 24 goal and 47 point season left many with big things to be excited about. This year, the hope was to build off that and creep up to be a 30 goal scorer for the Flames.

Expectations

As the FlamesNation team put it in our pre-season predictions, Coronato was projected to produce at a higher level than he did last season, especially on the goal side of things. He was expected to lead the team or be pretty near the top in goals and points, giving guys like Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau a challenge in these categories. Coronato was expected to use his shot to his advantage and be a leading sniper for the team. 

Performance

What ended up happening this year in reality was a similar performance to the previous season and some missed opportunities for the 23 year old winger. Coronato finished with a similar point total to last season with 45 points consisting of 18 goals and 27 assists. His goals dipped by six, going from 24 to 18. 
Coronato still managed to play in nearly every game this year, but the disappointing thing to see for this player was where he’d land in the lineup some nights. Most of the time, he was on the top two lines with guys like Yegor Sharangovish and Mikael Backlund or Matvei Gridin and Morgan Frost. At the start of the season, he was finding some good chemistry with Jonathan Huberdeau and Morgan Frost. However, there was the odd game here and there where he’d be down on the third line, which felt out of place for him. 
Coronato was pretty consistent at the NHL level but had a couple of quiet stretches that were noticeable. Early in the season, between mid-October and the end of October, he went seven games without a point. Then, between the end of February to mid-March he went a season-high of nine games without a point. He would get himself back in the groove, however, and did end the year on a six game point streak. 
Coronato put it in his words in Flames exit interviews on Apr. 17, he said:
“I think it was a pretty inconsistent season for me and for the team. I think we obviously got off to a tough start as a group and we were kind of behind the eight ball the whole season.”
He continued:
“For me, I think I want to be more consistent. The team needs to be more consistent and I think we kinda know what we need to get better at moving forward. So we’re going to look to be back competing next year and I think we’re all excited for that.”
Matt Coronato found himself in many scoring opportunities throughout the year and his ability to separate himself from the play and go for a breakaway chance was frequently shown. His speed sets him a part and his shot is deadly when he has the time and space to place it.

Outlook

It was just year one of seven for Coronato in his new contract. This was a down year for the team and for him as an individual but he’s still got a lot of runway to work with. Matt Coronato was locked down as one of the future pieces of this team to go into Scotia Place and one of the young guys they see a future with on this team. 
This season may be chalked up as a Sophomore slump for Coronato and a slump is almost an exaggeration with how similar his production was to his first full season in the league. It’s also important to take into consideration that, despite the overall record of the Flames, Coronato finished the year leading the team in assists and overall points. He is a gamer and is going to want more for himself next year to help this team finish with a better result. He seems to have another gear he can kick things into, he just needs the opportunity and trust to show that.

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