Halloween is officially behind us, and nobody is happier to see the end of the month than the Calgary Flames. The team ended the month with just six points in 12 games, the second-worst October on record for the team. This was a very forgettable month for the team.
How bad was October for the Calgary Flames?
The Flames ended the month of October with the worst record in the league. They picked up just two wins and two overtime points, for a record of 2–8–2 through 12 games.
Through those twelve games, Nazem Kadri led the way with nine points, with Morgan Frost behind him with seven. Kadri currently sits 92nd in the league in scoring. Only Blake Coleman hit five goals on the month, with Kadri and Coronato behind him with three. Coleman sits 37th in scoring league-wide and is one of the 27 players with a shorthanded goal on the year so far.
The team did get better as the month went on and were more able to put the puck in the back of the net, but they finished tied with the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers with 27 goals this month. Unfortunately, they also ended the month tied for the worst goal differential of -16, tied with the St. Louis Blues. Yikes.
The Calgary Flames’ worst October of all time
The last time the Calgary Flames started this poorly was the 1995–96 season, when the team finished October with five points in 11 games. They started the year with a 4–15–5 record as Joe Nieuwendyk was holding out for a new contract. This culminated in a 3–0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, despite having just eight shots on net.
This was the year that the Flames traded the aging forward for future superstar Jarome Iginla. Somehow, the team turned it around and finished sixth in the Western Conference, but ended up getting swept by the Chicago Blackhawks. This was also the last time the Flames made the playoffs before the famed 2004 Cup Run.
The Flames underwent major changes after this season and were almost unrecognizable when they made the playoffs in 2004. Only Iginla was still on the roster in 2004.
Can the 2025–26 Calgary Flames turn it around?
It’s still too early to completely count the Flames out of the playoffs, but the odds are very much against them. To hit the 96-point threshold, which would likely get them a playoff spot, the Flames would need to win 64.3% of their games, nearly two wins in three for the rest of the season. That’s a big task given how they have performed to this point.
The other thing is whether pushing for the playoffs even makes sense for this team. If they sneak in and face off against one of the big boys in the west, the Vegas Golden Knights, Winnipeg Jets, or Colorado Avalanche, would the Flames even have a chance? Feels like a “waste of eight days,” to quote Darryl Sutter. On top of that, would another 16th overall pick be beneficial for this team? Not as valuable as a top-five for sure.
This team has needed a rebuild for a long time, and while that may be a painful period for the team in the short term, if they want to be successful in the new building, tearing it down now may not be the worst idea.
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