The Calgary Flames’ season has officially come to a close. After missing the playoffs by a mere point a season ago, the club would fall to the bottom of the standings this year in a successful season for team tank. The team will have a chance at first overall. And, at the very worst, will be picking sixth overall in June.
There weren’t many highs of this season when it came to playing on the ice. The Flames did not have a single player hit the 50-point threshold, and on many nights, games were a slog. The positives, however, came from the future of the team making strides towards the end of the season. Today will be the first part of grading the Flames on their season, starting with the forward group. I will only be grading players who played in 25 or more games this season. I will make an exception for those who came over from the trade deadline, and Martin Pospisil, who missed a large chunk of the season due to injury.
Matt Coronato: B
Matt Coronato didn’t take the step that many of us expected him to take this season, but he was still solid overall. He had a really tough start to the year, which saw him get scratched. He came back a different player after the Olympic break. I still think Coronato is going to be that 30-goal guy one day. But it has become clear that he isn’t going to be the driver of a line. Hopefully, some lottery help finds him that line-mate.
Mikael Backlund: B
It was another standard year for Mikael Backlund. Even at 37 years old, he took the hard matchups all season long. Backlund had a pretty productive offensive year by his standards. There were obviously some inconsistencies which we have become accustomed to, but he did his job both on and off the ice, and as the captain of a poor team, that is really all we can ask for.
Morgan Frost: B+
All things considered, I thought Morgan Frost had a rock-solid season. We saw some flashes of what he could be last season after the Flames traded for him. Yet he never really got his feet underneath him. This year, however, I thought we saw a much different Frost. He was extremely creative, and he probably leads the league in “almost goals of the year.” He found his scoring touch and showed that he may just be part of this team’s future. Frost is going to be a UFA at the end of next season, so a decision will need to be made this summer.
Joel Farabee: B-
Like Frost, Farabee really struggled after becoming a Flame last season. However, like Frost, he was much better in his first full season as a Flame. He wasn’t maybe as effective or consistent as Frost, but again, I thought Farabee was solid. He was trusted heavily defensively, and he did score a lot of big goals this year. Farabee does have some term left on his deal, but with how many wingers this team has on the roster and on the way, I wonder if the Flames would consider dealing him this summer.
Blake Coleman: B-
Like his running mate, Backlund, it was another standard year for Blake Coleman. He was at the top of total ice time on the team and was trusted in every situation. He added another 20-goal season to his resume, and he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. This is probably it for Coleman as a Flame as he enters the last year of his contract. We will have to see how the summer plays out.
Yegor Sharangovich: D+
Another year where I wasn’t entirely impressed with Yegor Sharangovich. On most nights, you wouldn’t even know he was playing. He chipped in a bit offensively, but the issue is that he is now making almost $6M a year. He needs to be better than being Casper the Friendly Ghost on an almost night-to-night basis. There is no way anyone is taking on his contract for the next four years, so the Flames and Sharangovich will need to figure out how to make him and his contract work before it gets worse than it already seems to be.
Connor Zary: D+
Really hate to have to do this, but it was just a disaster of a year for Connor Zary. After a really promising rookie season and some flashes in his sophomore season, Zary really just didn’t get anything going at all this season. The flashes of brilliance we saw a few years ago were nowhere to be seen this season. He may need a different usage. Zary was thrown around the lineup a lot this year, but we might be in the territory of maybe he needs a fresh start with all the talent coming up through the pipeline.
Jonathan Huberdeau: D
I’ll give Jonathan Huberdeau some leeway here as he was playing through a pretty serious hip injury until he was shut down in February, but when he was playing, Huberdeau was a complete non-factor. It stinks. You can tell he still wants it, but when he was in the lineup, he didn’t bring anything to the table and was invisible all year long. We’ll have to see how he recovers from surgery, but if it wasn’t made clear by the first three years of his time in Calgary, we probably will never see the Florida Huberdeau return.
Matvei Gridin: A
One of the few bright spots this season was seeing the emergence of Matvei Gridin. I don’t think many of us anticipated Gridin getting any NHL games this year, let alone being the difference maker he was, yet here we are. He made the team out of camp but was sent back to the AHL pretty quickly for the season. After dominating the AHL, he came back up to the Flames and never looked back. He produced at around a half-point per game and was the Flames’ most exciting player. I don’t know what the future holds for Gridin, but if this were any indicator, we may have a future star on our hands. He was incredible this season.
Adam Klapka: D+
I really am shocked that Adam Klapka played 79 games this season. I get why he is in the lineup; he’s big, he hits a lot, he fights, and he stands up for teammates. However, he is too much of a non-factor and liability almost every night to be someone who played pretty much every game this season. I don’t really know how long he’ll be a Flame for, but I think I would be okay if the Flames moved on from Klapka to make some room for one of the kids on the Wranglers for next season.
Ryan Strome: B+
Extremely small sample size, but after coming over from the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline, Ryan Strome played really strongly for the Flames. It might have been a bit of a flash in the pan, but Strome was a pretty consistent player for a lot of years. Next year will be interesting. He is going into the final year of his deal, and if Strome can play like this next year, the Flames may be able to flip him into a pretty decent asset at the deadline in 2027.
Ryan Lomberg: D
I said it last year, but if you could give out a grade strictly on locker room vibes and being a great teammate, Ryan Lomberg would get an A+, but unfortunately, that isn’t how this works. Unlike a season ago, Lomberg didn’t play nearly as much, and it was easy to justify. At this point, Lomberg isn’t an NHL-calibre player, and the coaching staff finally realized it and went with some younger blood in the lineup as opposed to Lomberg. He is at the end of his contract, and with how many guys the Flames already have under contract for next year, it will be hard to see them bringing Lomberg back. Only time will tell, though.
Victor Olofsson: D
We didn’t get to see much of Victor Olofsson after he came over from the deadline in the Nazem Kadri trade. He was just there, didn’t provide much offence, and wasn’t good defensively. He was only here to make the salary cap work, obviously. I find it very hard to believe that the Flames will bring him back next season, and he may just be tough to find an NHL job.
John Beecher: F
I still don’t really understand why the Flames felt the need to claim John Beecher earlier this year when they could have used Rory Kerins in that role for the majority of the season. The only thing I can remember Beecher doing this year was sucker punching Michael McCarron back in January. The Flames really should not bring him back, as he really didn’t provide any value to the team.
Martin Pospisil: D-
I know he was seriously hurt for a majority of the season, but Martin Pospisil was highly ineffective when he was in the lineup this year. I get that he may have a little bit of caution now, and another injury might be career-ending. However, Pospisil made a name for himself by being an absolute demon every night. We just didn’t see any of that this season. Hopefully, a summer of recovery can do him well, as his extension will kick in starting next season.