The first 10 days of 2026 were an absolute grind for the Calgary Flames.
They entered the year riding high and then promptly lost four straight games. They stopped the bleeding with Saturday’s gutsy, gritty 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, but their slide still left them six points back of a playoff spot.
The coming week is a little lighter, as far as the schedule goes. It couldn’t be much harder than the four games in six days that the Flames played across four Canadian provinces and U.S. states this past week, to be fair.
But with games against two non-playoff teams in the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks before taking on a very good New York Islanders team on Saturday, there should at least be an opportunity to pick up valuable points in the standings. They need them, too, if the Flames have any hope of salvaging their hopes of a post-season invite.
There are questions looming over the group, though. Let’s take a look at four things that could define this pivotal week:
1. Coleman’s status
On so many levels, Blake Coleman’s health is oh-so-important for the Flames.
It matters on the ice, where Coleman is leading the team in goals this season, with 13, and is a key piece in their top penalty-killing unit, too.
It matters off the ice, too. Coleman is one of the team’s more valuable trade chips and could yield some high-end young players and/or draft picks before the deadline.
He’s currently listed as being out day-to-day with an upper-body injury suffered on Thursday against the Boston Bruins. He missed Saturday’s tilt with the Penguins and while Yegor Sharangovich filled in nicely in his place alongside Mikael Backlund and Matt Coronato, the Flames need Coleman back as soon as possible.
Head coach Ryan Huska implied after the game against the Bruins that the team didn’t believe Coleman would be out long, and there’s really no reason to doubt that.
But keeping your fingers crossed is the least that fans can do. For a team that doesn’t score much, Coleman leads the way and his defensive prowess is unmatched.
Flames forward Blake Coleman (right) celebrates his goal against the Sharks with Mikael Backlund.
2. Scoring from the middle
Since the Flames returned from their brief Christmas break, Mikael Backlund is the only centre who has scored a goal.
He’s only got one, but it’s more than Nazem Kadri and Morgan Frost, who are the only everyday Flames forwards who haven’t managed to score a goal since the team returned from their oh-so-short holiday and beat the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 27 at the Saddledome.
How much of a problem is that?
The Flames definitely want more offence from Frost and Kadri, who have each managed to put up only one assist in eight games since Christmas. Kadri is a minus-7 in that stretch, while Frost is a minus-1.
The team has shuffled their lines a bit and had Jonathan Huberdeau — who hasn’t been lighting the world on fire offensively, either — back on a line with Kadri and Joel Farabee against the Penguins. Maybe that will help?
Either way, every team wants their pivots to be their offensive drivers and it hasn’t been happening recently. Both Frost and Kadri need to get going fast.
3. On the bright side
It sure looks like Connor Zary has turned the corner.
Zary had a really tough first couple months of the season and it was a little hard to figure out exactly what had gone wrong. Was there a lingering hesitancy to his game caused by two gruesome knee injuries last year?
The 24-year-old had only 10 points through his first 35 games of the season, a substantial drop-off from what you’d expect from a crafty winger entering his third year in the NHL.
Since Christmas, though, he’s looked like a different player.
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He’s leading the Flames in goals over that stretch, with four, and that includes back-to-back lamp-lighters against the Bruins and Penguins. There’s a confidence to his game that seems to have returned and that’s great news for a player who should be emerging as a key piece for a young squad.
WIth Matt Coronato busting out of a goal-scoring slump that had extended to nine games on Saturday, maybe there’s hope that the Flames’ young core of forwards can start contributing on a more consistent basis.
4. The Parekh question
Zayne Parekh is currently listed as being out day-to-day with an upper-body injury and hasn’t played since returning from a record-setting performance for Canada at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.
He set a record for most points ever recorded by a Canadian defenceman at the tournament, with 13, and everyone is hoping he can build on that experience when he gets back in the NHL lineup.
Canada’s Zayne Parekh (19) celebrates his goal with teammates Gavin McKenna (9) and Cole Reschny (21) after scoring during first-period IIHF World Junior Championship hockey action against Denmark in Minneapolis on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025.
When he gets more game action is going to depend entirely on his health, of course, but there are going to be lots of opinions on how he’s managed. The Flames’ top two blueline pairings are pretty much set, and the third-pairing of Hunter Brzustewicz and Joel Hanley has played well, with Brayden Pachal providing a badly-needed physical dynamic when he’s gotten playing time.
Where does Parekh fit? It’s going to be a major talking point this week and likely for the rest of the season.