Keegan Brekt
Even though there was a sense of accomplishment shared among fans and players alike, it’s still a gutting feeling to witness the team play as well as the Flames did down the stretch and still miss the playoffs. You could feel the sense of belief coming alive around the city, especially the last couple weeks and it’s beyond disappointing to be in game 81, and have their fate decided by the out of town score board combined with a couple big mistakes that resulted in loser points in the last couple weeks of the season.
In the last 22 games of the season, the Calgary Flames put up a record of 13-4-5, and in their last 10 games went 7-1-2. They end their season with a winning record of 41-27-14, and tie an NHL record for most points by an NHL team without making the playoffs with 96.
There were some great bounce back years for some of the players and some nice surprises throughout the season and down the stretch. Let’s start at the end and discuss the debut of the rookies in game 82. Zayne Parekh was one of four Flames making his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings on April 17, 2025. Joining him was Aydar Suniev, Sam Morton and Hunter Brzustewicz.
Suniev finished the game with 1 shot, was a +2 and skated 18 shifts for a total time on ice of 14:48. You can tell Conroy wanted to see Suniev use his shot more, but he looked good regardless in his first game. He’s able to drive plays off the rush and make creative passes. I really liked his offensive zone entries as well. Suniev turns 21 in November.
Brzustewicz looked comfortable early on against the Kings and you can see how some compare him to Rasmus Andersson with the way he transitions out of the defensive zone and his style of play. The 20 year old D-man was a +2, had 2 PIM, registered 2 shots and skated 20 shifts for 18:23 TOI. I think he makes the Flames in the fall, and makes it easier fir Flames management to trade Andersson this off-season. Andersson tied his career high in goals this season with 11, while posting a career worst -38.
Sam Morton had himself as hell of a game. As a 25 year old you wanted to see him take charge early, and he really didn’t disappoint. Morton scored his first goal in the NHL in the 3rd period making it 2-0 at the time, but the tally would also end up being the game winner for the Flames in a 5-1 final. He was a +1 on the night, scored 1 goal on 1 shot, skated 18 shifts in a total on ice time of 12:25 and went 57.1% in faceoffs. I could see Morton taking over a fourth line center role to start next season for the Flames.
Zayne Parekh is a Calgary Flame and it feels so good. When Parekh made his debut Thursday night, he recorded his 1st career NHL goal and in doing so became the second youngest Flames defenseman ever to do it at the age he is now. Parekh shined in other areas of the ice as well posting a plus/minus of +3, 2 shots, served 1 minor penalty while drawing one as well. He skated 27 shifts while playing a total of 20:31 and was also given time on the PP. It’s a small sample size I admit, but man it’s hard not to be excited for what Parekh could evolve into in years to come.
The season saw players like Kadri hit a new career high in goals (35) and average time on ice (19:21), while Huberdeau had a bounce back year scoring 28 goals (16 more than last year) and delivering 10 more total points overall compared to the previous season that saw him put up only 52 points. 62 points is still not enough output for $10.5 million a year but I was impressed with Huberdeau and his overall play.
I’d like to highlight Kevin Bahl as well for he played great most of the season potting 3 goals and 17 assists, which is a 9 point increase from his 23/24 season point total of 11. That’s quite impressive considering he played 73 games this year compared to the 82 he played the season prior. Bahl could also be a future long-term partner for Parekh moving forward.
Mackenzie Weegar had another great season scoring 8 goals and adding 39 assists for 47 points, which puts him 17th in NHL scoring for defenseman this year. Though he scored 12 less goals than the previous season, he still only fell 5 points short of his career high of 52. Weegar saw a positive spike in his plus/minus this year posting a +18, which has him tied 53rd league wide with players like Mitch Marner, Victor Hedman and Jake Guentzel. I expect the same or more out of Weegar next season, and with the uplifting attitude he brings to the team along with his skill, I could still see him projecting to be the future captain of the Flames.
Matt Coronato had himself an impressive year, proving that he belongs in the NHL and is one of the Flames best shooters. Coronato improved drastically from last season where he scored just 3 goals and 6 assists in 34 games played while carrying a -15. This year, Coronato scored 24 goals and 47 points in 77 games played. His +/- improved to +6, he had 17 points on the PP, and his average time on ice was 17:35, which is a 4:58 increase from last season. If Coronato continues to improve, he could potentially hit the 40 goal plateau in a not too distant future.
There isn’t much you can say at this point to downplay Dustin Wolf, he’s the real deal. He was absolutely remarkable this year. He put the Calgary Flames on his shoulders early in the season and never looked back. By seasons end, the Flames were the 30th ranked offense in the NHL and they still almost made the playoffs because of the sheer willpower of Wolf. The 24 year old played 53 games, posting a record of 29-16-8 with 3 shutouts. Wolf ended the regular season with a .910 Sv% and a 2.64 GAA. The Flames will be looking to sign the rookie goalie for as long as possible, but what would Wolf be looking for when it comes to the AAV of his next contract? Realistically you would think the organization would most certainly be willing to pay handsomely to keep their star goalie long-term.
The emergence of Wolf has done nothing but prove that the Flames can no longer bottom out over the next few years as some predicted. I expect the Flames to move some veterans this off-season for prospects or draft picks, and they could also be in the market for a big fish in free agency. Of late, there has also been rumors of the Flames being open to offer sheeting players, with names like JJ Peterka of the Buffalo Sabres being mentioned.
With some added honorable performances from the likes of Klapka, Frost and Farabee to name a few, and players like Zary returning from injury next year, the plan looks to be falling into place for Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy, who touched on the season during this year’s Exit Interview.
“I know playoffs are the ultimate goal to start the season, but to do what we did, to be there right until the end, to see the growth of so many players on the team, to see what our leadership did with this group as far as pulling young guys along and being able to put guys in situations, but with that said, it’s still heart breaking that you’re not going to get to play playoff hockey.” (Craig Conroy, April 19, 2025)
