The Calgary Flames are halfway to … what exactly?
With 41 games to go, the exact middle mark of their regular-season schedule, that remains uncertain. It remains, quite frankly, a point of contention in Calgary.
For good reason.
In the early stages, the Flames looked — and played — bad enough to emerge as a frontrunner to finish near the bottom of the overall standings and to score a top pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
It had the makings of a lost season, which could be precisely what this franchise needs.
That explains why so many fans are conflicted about how to feel of late. Their favourite team has found something, or maybe ‘rediscovered’ is the better word to describe it. They look a whole lot like the hard-working, committed and plucky squad that just missed the playoffs last spring.
Dating back to the start of December, the Flames are rolling along at a .643 clip.
Combined with a dreadful start, that puts them halfway to … what exactly?
Let’s start with the playoff part.
Could they?
In a weak Western Conference, it would be crazy to count them out. Especially if their stalwart goalie, Dustin Wolf, can steal a few in the second half.
But should they?
That, the big picture, is where it gets a little complicated. Would a long-shot post-season berth get them any closer to accomplishing their long-term goals? Probably not.
There are organizations that have started to assemble some star-power but lack the experience, the defensive acumen or the supporting cast to currently be considered contenders.
The Flames’ issue is actually the opposite. They’re not short on intangibles, rather on elite-level talent.
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Thing is, you don’t hang banners in today’s NHL without true game-breakers. It’s not an ingredient that you can skip in the recipe and figure nobody will taste the difference.
That’s where you can understand why some in the C of Red, and not just those with ‘Mission McKenna’ or ‘Team Tank’ in their social-media bios, are a little torn after the wins.
He could never say it publicly, but general manager Craig Conroy must be feeling the same. The players and coaches can be laser-focused on the next 41 games — in fact, that’s precisely what they’re paid for — but the hockey-ops execs need to look further into the future, too.
Canada forward Gavin McKenna looks on during the second period of a IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship pre-tournament game against Sweden in London, Ont., on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025.
Despite their recent surge, the Flames are still a shade below .500 at 18-19-4. Just like they’re a couple of good weeks out of a wildcard spot, a shaky stretch could put them back in dead last.
The big fear, and this is something all their supporters can agree on, is that they will wind up stuck in the mushy, murky, mediocre middle.
They’ve already had their fair share of first-round exits, near misses and draft picks in the teens. Please, not another.
And so, these 2025-26 Flames are halfway to … What exactly?
Halfway to a playoff invite that seemed so unrealistic when they stumbled to a 2-8-1 start?
Halfway to a chance to draft a potential superstar like Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg?
Halfway to the worst-case scenario, which would be somewhere between those two?
Saturday’s lacklustre loss to the Nashville Predators, their worst performance on home ice in more than a month, served as a reminder that these guys won’t have much success with their B or C game.
It was a reminder, too, that they could be sunk by a couple of subtractions.
Flames head coach Ryan Huska groaned after the 4-3 defeat to the Predators — hardly a juggernaut in their own right — that “we had maybe five guys that were at a level that I think we should have been at.”
We didn’t bug the bench boss for the list, but it absolutely would have included Rasmus Andersson and Blake Coleman.
Both would be candidates for team MVP. Both could be traded in the coming weeks.
Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson and forward Blake Coleman celebrate a goal during the second period of an NHL game against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn.
The 29-year-old Andersson is set to be an unrestricted free agent in the summer and, playoff chase or not, the Flames simply can’t afford to lose the workhorse defenceman for nothing in return.
The Swedish Olympian leads the team in average ice time and is on pace for a career-best 18 goals and 54 points, so it’s reasonable to think Conroy can fetch at least a couple of very good future assets for him. The asking price will undoubtedly start with a first-round pick, but the here-and-now Flames will immediately be worse without him.
Coleman presents a bit more of a conundrum, but Conroy’s approach will be revealing.
The 34-year-old winger is signed for another season, so there’s no rush to address his future. Certainly, Huska will want to keep him around.
Because with a team-high 13 markers and as by far the most responsible winger on the roster, Coleman is one of the biggest reasons that the Flames are back in the hunt.
The contenders are always shopping for glue guys, so there must be a bunch of GMs hoping this two-time Stanley Cup champion will be made available. The more that Conroy’s phone buzzes, the higher the price will go.
Is he willing to make that sort of move? If not, will he eventually regret it?
That really brings us back to where this column started. The Flames are halfway to … what exactly?