The Calgary Flames have set their opening night roster for 2026/27, and the shape of the team looks pretty much like what training camp suggested it would.
With a shortened preseason and a group heavy on veterans, there was never much runway for a late surprise to force its way onto the roster. A few young players made their push, but the Flames clearly leaned toward stability as Ryan Huska and Craig Conroy put the finishing touches on the group that will open the season at home against the Seattle Kraken.
The clearest roster battle centered on the back end, where Joel Hanley and Brayden Pachal were the names most often mentioned as possible waiver or trade candidates. In the end, both veterans stayed put. Aydar Suniev, meanwhile, was the player pressing hardest for a spot, but the announcement confirmed he is headed back to the American Hockey League.
Opening night roster locked in 🔥 pic.twitter.com/CR2wPTns6G
- Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) September 28, 2026
Jonathan Huberdeau’s move to IR also shaped the final roster construction, leaving Calgary with 13 forwards and 8 defensemen. One of the more notable holdovers is Brennan Othmann, who turned in an excellent preseason and remains a name to watch even if he is not in the opening night lineup.
There is talent here, but not a lot of it at the top end. Zayne Parekh, Matvei Gridin, Matt Coronato and Simon Nemec stand out as the most eye-catching names on the roster, yet the broader view around the league is bleak. The consensus is that this Flames team will finish the 2026/27 season in the bottom three of the NHL standings.
That makes this a roster built less for immediate payoff than for a long stretch of hard lessons. It may not be an easy watch, and the final year of the Saddledome is not shaping up to be a glamorous one. But for a fan base that has wanted a clear direction, there is at least some satisfaction in seeing the organization commit to a path and follow through on it.
If 2026/27 goes the way Calgary hopes, the season should give this group something even more valuable than wins: experience for a team trying to grow into a long-term contender.
In Other News...
Flames Opening Roster Puts Forward Depth In Focus Fast
The Flames have settled on their 23-man active roster for the season opener, and the first look at the lineup says plenty about how the club is approaching its forward group. Calgary is carrying two goaltenders, nine defensemen and 13 forwards, with the opening-day mix built around a roster that still has room to sort itself out as the season gets going. Salary-cap commitments and available space are also part of the picture, making the roster math as important as the personnel decisions.
Aydar Suniev and Jonathan Huberdeau were both moved off the active group, which keeps the focus squarely on forward depth and what it means for the team early in the year. Huberdeau is working his way back from hip surgery and is expected to return in seven to nine months, so his absence will linger well beyond opening night. For Calgary, the bigger question now is how the forwards handle the workload while the roster settles into place. [Read more 🡒]
Wranglers Scoreless Debut Raises An Early Concern Up Front
The Calgary Wranglers first pre-season game in team history ended the way no new club wants to start, with a 3-0 loss to the Abbotsford Canucks and an offense that never found a breakthrough. Abbotsford grabbed control early with two first-period goals, while Calgary had to lean on goaltender Arsenii Sergeev, who made several key saves to keep the score from getting worse as the game went on.
Even with the puck spending plenty of time in the Canucks end, the Wranglers could not convert their chances and left the ice looking for answers up front. The late empty-net goal only added to the frustration, but the bigger concern was the same one that lingered from the opening period: Calgary generated looks, yet never managed to turn pressure into a goal. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Preseason Just Created A Real Roster Debate
The Flames preseason has done more than sort out line combinations - it has started to draw a line between the young players who look ready to push for jobs and the veterans still working their way back. Sam Honzek, Matvei Gridin and Aydar Suniev all flashed enough to keep the conversation alive, while the defense side of the roster remains crowded enough that every game seemed to carry some kind of audition. Even with the obvious caveat that exhibition play can mislead, Calgary has spent the last stretch learning which prospects are forcing the issue and which names still need more runway.
Zayne Parekh has been the clearest example of that pressure, emerging as the most dangerous skater in camp and giving the Flames a real reason to think about how soon he can factor in. Simon Nemec, meanwhile, did not leave the same kind of mark, which only sharpened the contrast in a preseason that already had plenty of moving parts. Add in Jonathan Huberdeaus continued recovery from hip resurfacing surgery, and the club is left weighing not just who earned a look, but how the early-season roster might have to be built around the players it cannot yet count on. [Read more 🡒]