The Calgary Flames may not be carrying heavy team pressure into 2026-27, but a handful of players are. For some, it’s about proving they belong in the long-term plan. For others, it’s about showing last season was the exception, not the rule.
Dustin Wolf sits near the top of that list. After a brilliant 2024-25 season that landed him second in Calder Trophy voting, his numbers dipped hard in 2025-26.
He played a career-high 57 games, but his 2.99 goals against average and .899 save percentage were ordinary at best. That kind of slide stands out because Wolf had spent years building a reputation as a steady force, first in the WHL and then over three seasons in the AHL.
At 25, he’s now facing the first real bounce-back test of his career, and it matters even more because he signed a seven-year, $52.5 million deal last September.
Connor Zary is in a different kind of spotlight. After some trade buzz earlier in the offseason, it appears he’ll still be with Calgary when 2026-27 begins.
The question is whether he can turn that into a longer runway. Zary’s 2025-26 season was a grind: 12 goals and 25 points in 74 games, a step back from the kind of production that had people envisioning him as a regular 50- to 60-point scorer.
Injuries and inconsistency have been part of the story, and Ryan Huska’s constant lineup shuffling last season didn’t help. Even so, Zary needs to become more dangerous at both ends of the ice if he wants to stick as part of the Flames’ future.
Yegor Sharangovich has already shown both sides of his game in Calgary. When the Flames brought him over from New Jersey, the book on him was simple: plenty of skill, but a streaky player.
That description has held up. His 2023-24 season was the high point, with career-best totals of 31 goals and 59 points, but the last two years have dragged the conversation back in the other direction.
This past season, he managed just 15 goals and 29 points, and his defensive issues were impossible to ignore. He’s not a lazy player, but when the scoring dries up, he doesn’t bring enough edge to make himself a consistent factor.
Calgary needs more bite from him this season.
Then there’s Simon Nemec, whose arrival gives the Flames another high-profile player with something to answer for. Drafted second overall in 2022, he still has plenty to prove, but Craig Conroy clearly believes the talent will show through.
Calgary acquired the 22-year-old blueliner in a blockbuster deal earlier this offseason and then signed him to a five-year, $36.25 million extension. That puts real expectations on his shoulders right away.
Nemec is set to log top-pairing minutes and should also see time on the top power play unit, giving him every chance to justify his $7.25 million cap hit.
For Flames fans, this season may not be about a playoff chase. It may be about watching whether a group of young players takes the next step. Wolf, Zary, Sharangovich and Nemec all have different pressure points, but each has something important to prove in 2026-27.
In Other News...
Matvei Gridin Is Giving Flames Fans Real Top Six Hope
Matvei Gridin is starting to look like the kind of prospect who can change the conversation around a lineup. The 28th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft has already logged time in the USHL, QMJHL, AHL and even the NHL, and that climb has come with the kind of offensive touch and puck-handling ability that makes scouts and fans pay attention. For a Flames organization that has been looking for more skill to emerge up front, his progression has been easy to notice.
The next step, though, is the one that separates an intriguing young player from a real top-six option. Gridin still has work to do on consistency and defensive coverage, two areas that can quickly determine how much trust a coach is willing to give a young forward. The talent is there to keep pushing him toward a full-time role with Calgary, but the challenge now is turning flashes into the kind of complete game that sticks. [Read more 🡒]
Morgan Frost Just Became A Bigger Flames Question Than Expected
Morgan Frost arrived in Calgary in the January 2025 trade with Philadelphia carrying the kind of upside teams love to talk themselves into, but this season is where the Flames need to learn what they actually have. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent next July, and the way he settles into the lineup over the coming months could go a long way toward defining both his value and his role.
Frost has a real chance to establish himself as a top-six center, which would make him far more than a midseason acquisition with promise. The bigger question hanging over the Flames is how they want to handle him if he does, because the decision ahead is not just about keeping a useful player around, but about whether he becomes part of the long-term core or a name that eventually draws interest from elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]