Is the Calgary Flames’ 2025-26 season already a lost cause 15 games in?

Is the Calgary Flames’ 2025-26 season already a lost cause 15 games in?

Hey gang, welcome back to the channel. Uh Pike here. Uh I’m recording this on Friday night prior to the Flames game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Uh so uh if any of my references to the Flames record are suddenly outdated, that’s why. Uh yeah, Flames are in an interesting spot right now. Uh they have won two games in a row and they’ve played, I’d say, eight or nine games of pretty good hockey lately. Uh but they’re also in a position where they’ve played eight or nine games of pretty good hockey lately and only found a way to won three of them. And they are currently, depending on how you want to gauge what 500 is, uh they’re 49 and two. So that they either five games below 500 uh if you count overtime wins as wins or they are seven. Either way, they have some work to do. Uh right now the Flames are in a position where they probably need somewhere between 90 and 95 96 points to make the playoffs. Uh to do that they probably need to play 630 to 650 hockey in terms of points percentage to make it in right now. Is that mathematically feasible? Yes. Is that mathematically likely? Probably not. But this is a team that has gone on stretches of good play. And so when I discuss the topic and I go, “The Flames are trying to make the playoffs.” They’re trying to make the playoffs. Uh as long as it’s a mathematical possibility, as long as it’s not a complete uphill battle, they’re going to try to make it. Uh you know, that’s just how they’re wired. That’s what the team stated goal is. And they’re going to keep trying to do it until it’s not possible anymore. So Team Tank, we love you. We hear you. Um you’re not wrong. No one’s saying that you’re wrong, but you know, let’s put it this way. Ryan Huska, uh, anyone seen Moneyball? There’s a great line where Art How is fighting with, uh, the GM over making the lineup, and his phrasing is he’s making his lineup card the best he can to justify in job interviews. Uh, unfortunately, coaches are not known for the longevity. And even though Ryan Huska recently got a contract extension, at some point he’ll probably be coaching somewhere else. That’s just a certainty of life. And so he is coaching in a way to try to win games because he’s hired to win games. And and you know, he’s going to do the best he can with the roster he’s given. And we saw in 2324 on a Flames team that rapidly deteriorated because because of contractual reasons, they basically traded away uh a good chunk of the team. But they were competitive and they were scrappy and they hung in there longer than they probably had any right to. And I think that’s a large part due to the leadership group in Ryan Huska. And so, you know, that’s his gig. That’s what he’s hired to do. And so, he’s putting together lines and pairings and who’s in and who’s out based on what he thinks gives him the best chance to get two points in a given night. At a certain point, the math will be against them. At a certain point, simple, you know, I think Kent Wilson used the phrase gravity. Uh, the gravity of the situation, the gravity of the standings will probably rear its ugly head. But as we’re recording this right now, they have 10 points. There’s six points out. Can I see them making up six points? It’s possible. Do I see them making up six points? I don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff covering hockey, so I’m not willing to say it won’t happen, but I’m also saying I don’t know how likely it is. So that’s where the Flames are right now. I know there’s folks here with visions of Gavin McKenna in their heads. And if you look at the bones of the Planes roster, the youth of their group, their prospect base, a Gavin McKenna would be fantastic. Gavin McKenna would really help this group hang together. Uh Peter Leardius usually uses the term slotting. The slotting of the group is a lot better if you have an ace in the forward group like you have an ace in goal or you have an ace in your defensive group. They don’t have one right now. They have a lot of really good players. They don’t have a potentially great player. McKenna might be that. But we got 60 odd games left to go and you know I don’t think they’re ready to throw in the towel yet. So that’s kind of where they’re at. But, you know, it’s there’s the discourse around the team has been kind of interesting lately because I know there’s a lot of folks really hoping they throw in the towel. And again, I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m just saying I don’t think they’re there yet. Uh, are they a definitive playoff team? Probably not. Are they a team that’s ready to uh declare it Mission McKenna and, you know, let gravity take its course? I don’t think they’re there yet either. So, you know, they’re they’re they are to use a phrase that I think folks have heard in this market quite a lot over the last 20 years. They’re in the mushy middle right now. They’re not quite terrible, but they’re not quite great. And right now, they’re competitive most of the time, but they’re also a group that lacks that elite offensive talent needed to be a difference maker when their play style fails them or when it’s just too tough to generate offense. Uh they don’t have a Kachchuck, they don’t have a Gadro, they don’t have a Monahan, they don’t necessarily yet have a Jerdano. Although, you know, Z Pre, I think there’s some optimism that he could beat that level of player, maybe even better. But so that’s that’s where they’re at right now after 14 games, the evening of game 15. and we will see how things progress, but I just thought it was time to throw something on the channel to sort of just catch up with the discourse, give you guys a sense of sort of where the flames are at. Um, I’ve covered the team for 15 years. I know a lot of the people who are the architects of the team. I’ve been given some insight into how they think and why they’re driven to do the things they do. And, you know, part of it is they don’t necessarily want to do a protracted rebuild. Part of it is I think they legitimately really do like the group they have and they want to see what his potential is and I think they feel that uh what they saw, what they’ve shown early this season has not been an adequate representation of how good they think they can be. But you know they’re also in a position where they’ve again they’ve dug themselves a hole and they’ve got to figure out a way out of it and time isn’t on their side. They’re going to have to play some very good, arguably borderline flawless hockey in terms of their play style from here on out to have a realistic chance of making it. And I don’t think the math is on their side, but the math’s not impossible yet. Given some time, the math might become impossible, but the math’s not impossible yet. So, that’s what we got. Uh, thanks very much for watching this video. Uh, if you like this video, please click the like button. If you really like this video, please click the subscribe button. And uh if you have any comments, concerns, questions, or ideas for future videos, uh throw them down in the comments. We’ll see you next time, gang.

The Calgary Flames got out to a rough start to the 2025-26 season, winning just once in their first nine games. Ryan goes for a walk in Stampede Park prior to the club’s 16th game, a home date with the Chicago Blackhawks, to try to make sense of the club’s direction for the remainder of the season, and where they go from here.

Kent Wilson discussed the “gravity” in the standings over at Postmedia in a column about “the ethical tank” (https://calgaryherald.com/sports/hockey/nhl/calgary-flames/case-for-an-ethical-tank-season).

Find more from me at FlamesNation.ca (https://flamesnation.ca/)! And for all kinds of great Flames-related content, check out the FlamesNation YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@Flames_Nation!)

Buy my book about the history of the Calgary Flames franchise at the NHL Draft! “On The Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Calgary Flames at the NHL Draft” (https://www.amazon.ca/Clock-Calgary-Flames-Behind-Scenes/dp/1637274009/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8)