The Calgary Flames are staring at a rough stretch, and Sunday’s practice made it clear the coaching staff is still searching for answers.
Calgary enters the matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes after a 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, and the numbers around the start of the season are ugly: one win in six losses and a minus-21 goal differential, which trails only the Philadelphia Flyers at minus-22. The schedule does not ease up from here either, with Minnesota, Toronto and Edmonton waiting in three of the next four games.
Those circumstances led to another round of line juggling in practice, especially on the blue line. One of the more talked-about combinations has been Jake Middleton beside Zayne Parekh, but that pairing has not done much to help Parekh’s offense. Middleton, meanwhile, has had trouble finding his own offensive rhythm despite scoring a short-handed goal on Thursday night.
For now, Calgary appears set to try three different defensive pairings against Carolina: Kevin Bahl with Simon Nemec, Middleton with Zach Whitecloud, and Yan Kuznetsov with Parekh. The expectation had been that Parekh would eventually shift to the left side and reunite with Whitecloud, but that move is not happening yet. It still feels like a pairing the Flames will circle back to, especially after how well Parekh and Whitecloud clicked late in 2026/27.
The forward group also got a fresh shuffle. Morgan Frost is no longer next to Matt Coronato in practice; instead, Frost moved to a line with Aydar Suniev and Yegor Sharangovich. Joel Farabee, Mikael Backlund and Coronato were grouped together, giving Calgary a different look higher in the lineup.
The bottom six stayed the same from the last loss, and Brennan Othmann remains a possible option if the Flames decide to make another change. If he does get in, it would make the most sense for him to slide into Maxim Tsyplakov’s spot, which makes his chances of entering the lineup for this one seem slim.
At the moment, the Flames still look thin up front. But with Martin Pospisil, Suniev and Coronato giving them some life lately, these latest changes are aimed at helping them finally piece together a full 60-minute effort.
In Other News...
Oilers Still Have One Huge Goalie Question Flames Fans Will Notice
The Oilers decision to stockpile goaltenders has been one of the more intriguing parts of their long-term reset, with Frederik Andersen and Devon Levi brought in to strengthen a position that has haunted them for years. Levi has handled the opportunity well since Andersen went down, giving Edmonton at least one encouraging sign as it tries to sort out the crease for the 2026-27 season.
Tristan Jarry, meanwhile, remains the variable that could shape how confident the Oilers feel about the plan. He has had one uneven outing and one solid one in Edmonton so far, and his track record suggests the real test comes later, when the season wears on and the workload starts to build. For Flames fans watching from the other side of Alberta, it is the kind of goaltending question that could loom large well before the standings do. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Could Be Eyeing A Blue Line Upgrade Before Deadline Chaos
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Anaheim is among the clubs being linked to Whitecloud as teams look for help on the blue line, with Toronto, Edmonton and Tampa Bay also showing up in the discussion. Nothing has been confirmed, and that is part of the point this time of year. The Flames have made it clear by their results where they stand in the standings, and Whitecloud's name is one of the more plausible ones to monitor as the deadline noise starts to build. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Trade With Carolina Is Paying Off In More Ways Than One
Jake Middletons penalty kill goal gave the Flames a rare bit of production from the back end, the first by a Calgary defenceman since Noah Hanifin did it in 2018. It was a timely reminder of how much the blue line can still matter in the details, and it also pulled some old trade history back into focus as Calgary continues to live with the ripple effects of the Hanifin and Elias Lindholm deals made ahead of the 2024 trade deadline.
Those moves sent two major veterans out the door, but they also stocked the organization with futures that are still being sorted out. The Flames have already added prospects and draft capital through those trades, and the return keeps taking on different forms as the asset chain plays out, a process that could end up shaping pieces of the next roster in ways that were not obvious at the time. [Read more 🡒]