After an ugly 6-1 season-opening loss to the Seattle Kraken, the noise around Ryan Huska got louder in a hurry.
That’s the reality when a team gets embarrassed out of the gate. The coach is the first place people look, and in Calgary, the conversation about Huska is already splitting the fanbase.
Some supporters are fed up with the dump-and-chase approach. Others are quick to point out that he’s been handed a roster with plenty of limitations and has still found ways to steady the room.
And to be fair, this isn’t a takedown piece. Huska has clearly done some things well, especially when it comes to the culture inside the locker room.
The Flames are a lot less bitter and negative than they were in years past, and Huska has helped a young group move past losses and get back to work the next day. Calgary management has also shown its hand, sticking with him through the 2027-28 season.
Still, the on-ice results keep dragging the conversation back to the same place: has the team actually moved forward under him?
The answer, at least from the evidence piling up, is hard to love. Since Huska took over, the Flames have regressed every season. The opener against Seattle was another rough snapshot of that trend, with Calgary looking uncoordinated, uncomfortable and flat-out unprepared.
There are other frustrations too, and they’ve been building for a while. Veteran players have continued to get minutes that many fans believe should have gone to younger options.
This morning, 35-year-old 7th defenceman Joel Hanley was on the second defensive pair with Simon Nemec. Adam Klapka has kept getting ice time ahead of hungry young players such as Aydar Suniev, who fought through preseason and earned a roster spot.
Connor Zary was healthy-scratched seemingly out of nowhere for the Flames’ 4-1 loss to the Canucks on October 3, and after playing against the Kraken, was placed on waivers. Brennan Othmann, the former 16th overall pick, has spent most of his time with the Flames in the press box.
Then there’s the goaltending usage. Huska has leaned heavily on Dustin Wolf, including starting him in 18 of Calgary’s first 21 games last season. And in the home opener, Wolf was left in the crease for the full 6-1 beating.
The power play hasn’t helped the case either. Under Huska, it’s been a sore spot, and it slid backward in 2025-26, dropping from 20.6% in 2024-25 to 16.6% in 2025-26.
For a lot of Flames fans, this isn’t about demanding a playoff run right now. It’s about wanting to see signs that the team is heading somewhere new instead of running into the same walls again and again. Seeing Joel Hanley or Brayden Pachal on the second pairing when Scotia Place opens next fall isn’t the kind of future that gets the building buzzing.
That’s why some believe 2026-27 should be Huska’s final season behind the bench.
There are names already out there if Calgary decides to make a change, including Bruce Cassidy, David Carle, Jay Woodcroft and Patrick Roy. With Scotia Place on the horizon and the Flames talking about a fresh start, the argument is that a new arena should come with a new voice leading the team.
Huska’s biggest win has been his work away from the spotlight. He and his staff have clearly helped reshape the culture, and that matters. But as the losses stack up and the same issues keep surfacing, the question hanging over Calgary is the one no one can dodge anymore: is it time to move on?
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