The Calgary Flames defeated the Edmonton Oilers by a 4-3 final score in the last Battle of Alberta of the 2025-26 season series on Wednesday night, but we already know their forward lineup will look different the next time they hit the ice.

Less than 12 hours after the Flames capped off the victory at the Saddledome, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Jonathan Huberdeau — who opened the scoring against the Oilers on Wednesday — will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery.

It’s a significant loss, although it should give Huberdeau plenty of time to recover after a season that clearly didn’t go his way. Through 50 games with the Flames in the 2025-26 campaign, Huberdeau mustered up just 10 goals and 25 points. Those will go into the books as his final totals for the year, and they’re among his worst as an NHLer.

But even with Huberdeau sidelined, the Flames still have 26 games left to play this season. They’re not going to make the playoffs, but they still have plenty to learn from the final third of their schedule. And it certainly remains to be seen whether Huberdeau will be the final subtraction from their roster between now and the March 6 trade deadline.

With just under three weeks until the Flames return to action, and nearly a month to go until the third and final trade freeze of the season, here’s a look at the current (and future) makeup of their forward group.

It might be easiest to make a list of the Flames forwards who definitely won’t be moved before March 6. After all, this team is on the verge of missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season; why shouldn’t Flames GM Craig Conroy be taking calls on most of these players?

Well, we already know Jonathan Huberdeau won’t move. He’s injured, is coming off a rough season, and is signed at a $10.5 million cap hit through, er, 2031. Might as well get that one out of the way right off the bat.

Moving on. As it stands, it’d go against everything Conroy has said since he took the job in 2023 for Matt Coronato, Connor Zary, or Matvei Gridin to be dealt this year — or anytime soon. It’s been difficult for anyone to score with any consistency for the Flames this year, but those three forwards best represent the hope fans have that this club can turn it around with a younger, better core. They might not all be top-six stalwarts when they return to the playoffs, but there aren’t many Flames players more exciting to watch on a nightly basis than those three. Gridin, in particular, was a revelation in his most recent NHL recall.

It doesn’t feel like Joel Farabee or Yegor Sharangovich will be moved, either. They’ve been popular targets for criticism at various points in their Flames tenures but have both played some rock-solid hockey in all situations of late, particularly since Blake Coleman hit the injured reserve list in mid-January. With Huberdeau now also sidelined, the Flames will need a few veterans like Farabee and Sharangovich to fill gaps in their lineup in the immediate future, and given their relatively unwieldy contracts, it’s probably in the team’s best interest to wait another couple of years — especially as the salary cap increases — before seriously entertaining deals involving either of them. The same goes for Martin Pospisil and Adam Klapka, both of whom are under team control for the long term and play their roles well.

Mikael Backlund certainly isn’t going anywhere. The captain and longest-tenured Flame has a full no-movement clause in his contract until Dec. 31, 2027, meaning he can’t be traded or waived without his say-so. Backlund has earned the right to control his future and has made it clear how much he wants to lead the Flames into their new arena. Maybe, just maybe, circumstances end up changing for Backlund and his family after that, but it’s difficult to envision No. 11 ever playing for another NHL club.

So, who does that leave? We already briefly mentioned Coleman, who hasn’t played since Jan. 8 while recovering from an upper-body injury. It’s widely believed that the Flames will listen closely to any offers on Coleman, who has a 10-team trade list in his existing contract. Coleman already has two Stanley Cup rings, and any team that acquires him this year could get him for two potential playoff runs of their own. He should be one of the top players available at this year’s trade deadline.

The Flames also have a pair of centres worth discussing in Nazem Kadri and Morgan Frost. While most of the discussion about potential trades has revolved around Kadri (a Cup champ in his own right), it’d be shortsighted to look past the possibility of Frost being moved — if not at the deadline, perhaps in the summer. When the Flames signed Frost to a two-year deal as an RFA last July, they made it so he’d be eligible to test unrestricted free agency as soon as 2027. Conroy certainly won’t want to risk losing Frost for nothing, and if a team offers the Flames more for Frost than they gave up to get him from the Philadelphia Flyers, they’d have to consider it. Kadri, meanwhile, should have plenty of value as a veteran centre with championship pedigree, especially if the Flames retain part of his $7 million salary and/or take back a bad contract to make a deal. (Patrik Laine, anyone?)

And what of lovable loon Ryan Lomberg, who netted the game-winning goal against the Oilers on Wednesday? Lomberg is immensely popular both in the Flames’ locker room and the fanbase, both for the energy he brings in Calgary and in continued recognition of his contributions against the Oilers in the 2024 playoffs. While, in theory, the Flames might be able to recoup a mid-round pick for Lomberg at the trade deadline, doesn’t it feel more likely that they bring him back for another year or two at or below his current $2 million cap hit?

For the sake of discussion, let’s say the Flames do find new homes for both Coleman and Kadri at some point in the next month. With those two gone, and Huberdeau out of the picture, where does that leave the forward group?

Connor Zary – Morgan Frost – Matvei Gridin
Yegor Sharangovich – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Joel Farabee – XXXXXXXX – Adam Klapka
Ryan Lomberg – Martin Pospisil – XXXXXXXX

Without even factoring in the need for an extra forward or two outside the top 12, the Flames could have room for a couple more players to join their regular forward group (provided that they don’t acquire another one in a trade). And with winning now taking a back seat to player development, the Flames should be able to try a few different combinations if and when they do continue selling.

So, if those spots do become available to members of the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, who will have the inside track to claim them? While, in the past, we’ve seen this Flames team defer to the likes of Dryden Hunt, Justin Kirkland, and Clark Bishop in these kinds of situations, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen here. In an interview with Sportsnet 960 on Thursday, Conroy made it clear that Huberdeau’s injury — and, in all likelihood, any future trades — will create “an opportunity for these kids to make their mark and a name for themselves in the NHL.”

Aside from Gridin, the forward prospect who might stand to benefit the most from a Flames fire sale is Rory Kerins, who has drawn into just seven NHL games with the club over the past two seasons. It’s easy to imagine the 23-year-old centre being a natural fit between Farabee and Klapka, especially given how well he’s performed dating back to the pre-season. Kerins isn’t the biggest or fastest player but he’s got a nose for the net and has plenty of experience playing down the middle. Might as well give him another try.

William Stromgren and Sam Morton have skated in three games apiece with the Flames this season and have generally looked fine, albeit without much to do. If a spot opens up on the fourth line, either of those guys could probably fill in without much of an issue. It’d be helpful to learn more about what they can or can’t do at the NHL level, particularly on special teams. There are other talented and projectable young players on the Wranglers, such as Aydar Suniev, Carter King, and Lucas Ciona, but they could all stand to benefit from significantly more time at that level before being recalled.

Of course, John Beecher is still hanging around. The 24-year-old centre wasn’t overly noticeable in his 19 games with the Flames between being claimed off waivers in November and sustaining an injury in a fight in early January, but he’s resumed skating and should become available again after the Olympics. He’d give the Flames another option to take face-offs on their fourth line; he’s also a pending RFA who could remain in the organization beyond this season if he plays well down the stretch.

There’s no shortage of candidates to fill various roles for this Flames team. Kerins, in particular, feels like the most obvious option to come up from an otherwise pedestrian Wranglers team. The Flames gave him a ton of reps in the pre-season and have invested many years in his development; at this point, it’d make a ton of sense to see if he can hack it over an extended period in a top-nine role.

It remains to be seen just how much more the Flames will subtract from their roster ahead of the Mar. 6 trade deadline, but it figures that they’ll make at least one or two more moves. Naturally, the more they sell, the more opportunities there’ll be for their younger players to make the jump. Once the games resume, keep an eye out for change on the horizon.

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