EA’s early NHL27 ratings paint a pretty plain picture of where the Calgary Flames stand right now: promising in spots, but nowhere near the league’s heavy hitters.
That’s not exactly a shock for a team deep into a rebuild. Calgary has a prospect group that gives fans something to dream on, and players like Matvei Gridin and Matt Coronato took real steps forward in 2025/26. But the bigger issue still hangs over the roster - there just isn’t enough proven NHL talent to talk seriously about the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2026/27 or even 2027/28.
The absence of elite ratings says it all. Contenders such as the Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes have multiple players sitting in the 90s in the game.
Calgary has none. The last Flame to crack 90 or better in the EA series was Jonathan Huberdeau and Jacob Markstrom in NHL23, which came out before the 2022/23 season.
This year, the top Calgary name is Dustin Wolf, and the rating feels like a proper nod to what he’s becoming. Wolf checks in at 87 overall, which puts him 10th among NHL goaltenders. The 25-year-old didn’t have his best season in the NHL last year, but his work at both the AHL and NHL level has steadily improved, and that’s clearly enough to get him noticed as one of the league’s better netminders.
Beyond Wolf, the Flames do have some representation in the top 300, with five more players making the cut.
Matt Coronato - 85 Overall
Morgan Frost - 85 Overall
Simon Nemec - 85 Overall
Jake Middleton - 85 Overall
Mikael Backlund - 84 Overall
For Flames fans, that list probably feels familiar. It’s the same old middle ground: a team with enough useful pieces to avoid the bottom of the league, but not enough high-end talent to look like a true threat. That’s been the complaint for years - Calgary is “mid” - and these ratings reflect it pretty cleanly.
And after moving on from players like Mackenzie Weegar, Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson, Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm, it’s no surprise that this version of the roster still feels like it’s searching for its identity.
So no, this isn’t the worst team ever assembled in an EA hockey game. But it is a very average one, and for Flames fans hoping to load up a contender in NHL27, the wait for that kind of roster still looks like it’s going to take a while.
In Other News...
Aydar Suniev Is Giving The Flames A Real Roster Decision
Aydar Sunievs first full pro season gave the Flames something they did not have much of a year ago: a legitimate young winger forcing his way into the conversation. After making his NHL debut at the end of the 2024-25 season, he spent most of 2025-26 with the Calgary Wranglers, where his game steadily climbed as the year went along and his production followed suit.
He also got another look in Calgary, appearing in six NHL games and collecting his first point along the way, a small but meaningful step for a player still learning how to translate his skill to the pro level. With another season of development ahead, the question for the Flames is no longer whether Suniev is on the radar. It is whether he is ready for more than a part-time role. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Just Created A Power-Play Dilemma Ryan Huska Cant Ignore
The Flames latest reshuffle on the blue line brought a clear message with it: Calgary is not just adding talent, it is changing the conversation around how its power play is going to look. Simon Nemec arrived from New Jersey in a deal that involved multiple draft picks and a player, and the young right-shot defenseman signed on for five years as part of the move. With his skill set and offensive upside, he immediately slots into the same conversation as Zayne Parekh, the other young right-shot defender who has been holding down the top power-play role.
For Ryan Huska, this is the kind of internal competition that can sharpen a roster but also force a difficult decision sooner than later. Parekh has already claimed that spot, and Nemec did not come to Calgary to stand around and wait for a turn, so the Flames suddenly have two players with a strong case for the same job. Calgary can live with that kind of depth, but it also means the coaching staff will have to decide whether to keep the current setup intact or rework the first unit around a new look. [Read more 🡒]
One Saddledome Playoff Classic Still Hits Flames Fans Right In The Heart
The memory of Calgarys 2022 playoff run still has a way of stopping Flames fans in their tracks, especially the kind that end with a roaring Saddledome and a series win that felt bigger than the moment itself. After pushing the Dallas Stars all the way to seven games, the Flames found one last answer at home in overtime, a finish that turned a tense spring into one of those rare nights supporters still talk about whenever postseason hockey comes up.
What makes it linger even more is how much changed soon after. Calgary went on to fall to Edmonton in the next round, then watched key pieces like Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau depart after that season, before the organization moved in a new direction in 2023 with Ryan Huska behind the bench and Craig Conroy running hockey operations. In that sense, the Dallas series stands as more than just a win in the record book - it feels like one of the last vivid snapshots of the previous era. [Read more 🡒]