The Calgary Flames’ rebuild has put Dustin Wolf in a tricky spot.
General manager Craig Conroy has chosen the long road, and that means the Flames are headed into a season where the growing pains could be obvious. They are expected to be one of the worst teams in the NHL in 2026-27, which should help them land a high pick in the 2027 draft. The tradeoff is a lot of tough nights between now and then.
That reality matters for Wolf because he’s the one stabilizing presence on the roster. Devin Cooley handled backup duty well enough last season, but Wolf is the clear No. 1 and the goalie the franchise is counting on for years. He’s coming off a 2025-26 season that was only average by his standards, and a rebound won’t be easy to manufacture behind this group.
There’s no doubt about Wolf’s upside. He arrived with plenty of buzz and backed it up in his rookie year, finishing second in Calder Trophy voting in 2024-25 after putting up a 2.64 goals against average and a .910 save percentage in 53 appearances. That kind of debut is the kind that tells you the talent is real, and Wolf still looks like a goalie who could eventually belong in the NHL’s top 10.
The problem is what’s sitting in front of him.
Calgary kept eight defencemen on the roster: Kevin Bahl, Simon Nemec, Jake Middleton, Zayne Parekh, Yan Kuznetsov, Zach Whitecloud, Joel Hanley, and Brayden Pachal. There’s potential in that group down the line, but right now it’s a very young, very unproven blue line. Add in a forward group that didn’t have a single 50-plus scorer last season, and the Flames are staring at plenty of nights where they’ll spend more time chasing the puck than controlling it.
That’s where Wolf could get squeezed. He’ll win some games almost by himself, but there’s also a real chance he gets overwhelmed in others. A goalie can only hold the line for so long when the team in front of him is bleeding quality chances and struggling to create offense.
For Flames fans, the key is not to overreact if the numbers dip. If Wolf’s goals against average climbs or his save percentage slips again, that doesn’t automatically mean he’s regressing. Goaltending lives and dies by the support around it, and Wolf may be asked to absorb a heavy workload almost every night.
The organization isn’t asking him to carry them to immediate success anyway. Conroy is building toward what this team might become several years from now, and Wolf is supposed to be part of that future.
So yes, there may be some ugly nights ahead in 2026-27. Wolf could be stuck in the middle of more of them than he’d like. But as long as he keeps showing the talent that made him such a prized prospect, this should still be viewed as another important step in his development - even if the stat line doesn’t always make it look that way.
In Other News...
Flames Opening Night Disaster Raises One Brutal Early Question
The Calgary Flames did not get the kind of start anyone around the Saddledome wanted to see, opening the 2026-27 regular season with a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on home ice. Seattle set the tone early and never really let go, while the Flames spent most of the night chasing the game after a rough first period put them in an immediate hole.
What made the performance harder to digest was how many of the problems were of Calgarys own making. Penalties and defensive mistakes kept feeding the Krakens momentum, and the lone Flames goal came only late in the third period after the outcome was long since tilted. For a team trying to establish a better early-season footing, the question now is how quickly this group can clean up the details before one bad opener starts feeling like a pattern. [Read more 🡒]
Flames May Have A Familiar Blue Line Option Back In Play
A familiar name has surfaced around Calgarys system, and it comes with the kind of low-risk depth look teams lean on when the blue line needs a little more certainty. The Wranglers brought in veteran defenseman Derek Forbort on a professional tryout, giving the organization a chance to see where his game is after an injury-plagued year in Vancouver and, from his side, a path toward proving he still belongs in an NHL conversation.
For Calgary, there is at least some built-in familiarity if this turns into more than a camp stop, since Forbort once wore a Flames sweater in 2019-20 and already knows the market and the expectations that come with it. His arrival also fits the broader shuffle around the league, where teams are continually balancing injuries and reinforcements, and it leaves open the question of whether the veteran can turn this latest opportunity into a real contract chance. [Read more 🡒]
Canucks Just Sent A Top Prospect Into A Situation Flames Fans Know Well
Braeden Cootes is heading into the kind of proving ground Flames fans know well, with the Vancouver Canucks assigning their 2025 first-round pick to Abbotsford to begin his pro season. The move sends the young forward into the AHL right away, just as the affiliate gets ready for its opener and finalizes an opening roster that will give a better look at how the club plans to handle one of its most closely watched prospects.
For Vancouver, the decision is clearly about patience and development, not a fast track to the NHL. Canucks GM Ryan Johnson has made it clear there is no set timeline for a promotion, which puts the emphasis on steady growth in Abbotsford rather than immediate pressure in Vancouver. How Cootes settles in there, and how quickly he can turn a strong start into momentum, will be one of the early stories to watch once the season opens. [Read more 🡒]