Offence has been hard to come by for the Calgary Flames this season.
An overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night officially eliminated the Flames from postseason contention. That comes as no surprise, as they sit 30th among all 32 teams with a 32-36-9 record through 77 games.
This Flames roster was never expected to be a playoff team, as management has instead opted for a rebuild approach. While positive steps are being taken, there are some crystal-clear reasons as to why they’ve struggled to pick up wins in 2025-26.
The most obvious reason is their lack of scoring. The Flames have managed only 202 goals on the season, which has them tied for dead last with both the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks.
The Flames’ offence took a major blow at the trade deadline, as GM Craig Conroy elected to move Nazem Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche. Kadri was leading the Flames in scoring at the time of the deal with 41 points through 61 games.
Now that Kadri is no longer a part of the Flames, Mikael Backlund, Morgan Frost, and Matt Coronato share the team lead in points with 41. Barring a late-season surge from any of the three, this Flames team won’t have a 50-point scorer over a full 82-game season for the first time in franchise history.
NHL.com
Prior to this season, the lowest team-leading point total over a full 82-game schedule for the Flames came back in 2013-14, where Jiri Hudler led the way with 54 points. That team finished with a 35-40-7 record and missed the playoffs by 14 points.
It only gets uglier when looking at things with a broader scope.
Assuming nobody on the Flames reaches 50 points, it will be the first time in over a decade that a team hasn’t had a single player reach that mark over a full 82-game schedule.
The last time such a feat happened came back in 2014-15, when both the Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres failed to have a player hit 50. Oliver Ekman-Larsson led the Coyotes that season with 43 points, while Tyler Ennis led the Sabres with 46.
The silver lining for the Flames is that this season, although ugly, won’t be making history. The lowest point total in the modern NHL was in 2013-14, where Nick Bjugstad led the Florida Panthers in scoring with only 38 points.
NHL.com
In the Flames’ defence, they aren’t the only team that is in danger of not having a 50-point scorer this season. Elias Pettersson currently leads the Canucks with 48 points and only five games remaining.
Either way, it’s clear that the Flames desperately need to add some scoring to their lineup. Help could be on the way soon, as they currently hold an 11.5 per cent chance of winning the draft lottery, which is set for Tuesday, May 5.
You might also like:Ex-Calgary Flames forward Kadri may not make his return to the Saddledome next week