In case there was any doubt about the lamp-lighting potential the Calgary Flames see in Matt Coronato, Ryan Huska wasn’t shy about it on Friday afternoon.
After the second day of training camp at the Saddledome, the Flames head coach was asked about how many goals he thought the 22-year-old winger might be able to score this season.
Not prone to hyperbole, Huska’s answer spoke to how highly he views Coronato.
“I do think Matt will be anywhere from a 25- to a 40-goal guy,” Huska said. “He wants to be a good hockey player in other areas of the game and, because of his skill-set and the way he thinks the game and his ability to shoot the puck, he’s going to find himself in those opportunities.
“I do feel he’s going to be a consistent goal-scorer for us.”
If Coronato were to score 40 goals, it might very well put the Flames over the top and into the playoffs this season. Remember, Nazem Kadri led the Flames in goals last season with 35 and no other player managed 30.
In the past 20 years, only Jarome Iginla (twice), Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm have managed to pot 40 in a season for the Flames, with those last three all coming when they were part of the best line in the NHL in 2021-22.
There were also only eight players in the entire league who managed to light the lamp 40 times last season, so the fact that Huska even considers it a possibility speaks to the type of season the Flames are hoping to get from their first-round pick, 13th overall, in the 2021 NHL draft.
If those expectations are changing the way Coronato is approaching training camp, he did a good job of hiding it when he spoke with the media on Friday morning.
“I think for me, it’s always been the same mentality,” Coronato said. “That’s just continuing to get better and find different ways that I can help the team.
“I want to be a player that can contribute in a lot of different ways. I want to be reliable defensively. I want to play the game the right way and contribute offensively, as well.”
Coronato is smart to keep his head down and avoid making predictions for himself. He’s still only 22 years old, after all, and is coming off his first full season in the NHL.
Still, though, it’s understandable if expectations have ramped up a bit over the summer.
After making a one-game cameo at the end of 2022-23 and finding his feet over 34 games the next season, Coronato broke through as a full-time NHLer in 2024-25. He played in 77 games, scoring 24 goals and adding 23 assists.
That earned him a seven-year contract extension that will pay him US$6.5-million annually in the spring and he has been playing on the Flames top line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri through the first two days of training camp.
Even if Coronato doesn’t get to 40 goals, any added productivity would be a boost for a team that scored the fourth-fewest goals in the NHL last season, with 220.
If the Flames are going to get over the hump and make the playoffs this year, it’s going to be because guys like Coronato, Connor Zary and Kevin Bahl take steps forward with their games.
That doesn’t mean Coronato needs to score 40 goals this year, but Huska’s certainly not the only person around the Saddledome who thinks it’s possible.
“He’s just figuring out how to use his shot and where to be,” Flames winger Blake Coleman said. “He’s a hard-working kid, he doesn’t cheat the game. He’s got the offensive production, but I think his defensive game came a long way, too.
“It’s only a matter of time before he scores 30 goals in this league, possibly 40 with the way he shoots the puck. It’s just a matter of confidence and those learning lessons I mentioned, which he seems to be picking up on.”