The Calgary Flames are still searching for their first win of the 2026/27 season, and Ryan Huska is leaning hard into lineup changes before Thursday’s matchup with the Colorado Avalanche.
At 0-3-0, with just three goals scored and 16 allowed, Calgary is already staring at a rough road ahead. Colorado brings the kind of offense that can punish a slow start in a hurry, so the Flames are trying something different again before the puck drops.
The clearest move came in goal. Devin Cooley will get the start against the Avalanche, a choice that had been expected after Dustin Wolf was tagged for six goals in each of his two starts against Seattle this season. Cooley has had his own rough outing this year, giving up three goals on 25 shots against the Vancouver Canucks, but the Flames are hoping he can rediscover the form he showed when he outplayed Wolf a year ago.
The lineup in front of him is changing too. Calgary called up Aydar Suniev and Jonathan Castagna from the AHL on Wednesday, and both will dress Thursday. They’ll skate together on the fourth line with Adam Klapka, giving the Flames a new look in their bottom six.
#Flames tonight vs. Colorado:
Gridin-Frost-Coronato
Sharangovich-Backlund-Farabee
Honzek-Pospisil-Strome
Suniev-Castagna-Klapka
Bahl-Whitecloud
Kuznetsov-Nemec
Middleton-Parekh
Cooley
- Pat Steinberg (@SteinbergYYC) October 8, 2026
The middle six also got a shakeup. Yegor Sharangovich moves up to the second line with Mikael Backlund and Joel Farabee, while Samuel Honzek slides down to the third line beside Martin Pospisil and Ryan Strome.
On the back end, Simon Nemec is getting a new partner for the third time this season. He’ll line up with Yan Kuznetsov on the second pair, while the other defensive pairings stay the same.
Calgary is trying to find something that works, but with Colorado waiting and the Flames already buried by the numbers, this is a dangerous night to be making adjustments.
In Other News...
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The early going has been rough enough in Calgary that the Flames are already looking at ways to jolt a flat offense before the season can really get away from them. After opening with a significant scoring deficit and a string of underwhelming performances, management has begun weighing roster changes, with Craig Conroy facing an increasingly familiar kind of early-season pressure: decide whether the answer is already in the room or whether help has to come from outside.
Patrik Laine is one of the names on the board, and the Flames are also in conversation with other veteran forwards who could add some finishing touch to a lineup that has struggled to create it. The sense around the team is that Conroy may not wait long if the current group does not start to produce, with a short-term addition looming as a real possibility if Calgarys internal options fail to spark the offense. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Rumors Suddenly Point To A Much More Realistic Upgrade
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Laine remains unsigned despite drawing contact from multiple teams, which keeps the door open for a move if the right situation emerges. For Calgary, the appeal is obvious, but the timing matters just as much as the talent, with the organization watching how its younger players perform before deciding how aggressive to get. Around the league, there is also a separate goaltending thread involving Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets, but for the Flames the bigger question is whether this becomes the kind of measured upgrade that fits their timeline. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Face A Telling Whitecloud Decision As Trade Buzz Builds
With trade talk beginning to swirl around the league, the Flames have at least one veteran piece they do not seem eager to move. Sources say Calgary is in no hurry to part with Zach Whitecloud, a sign the club still places real value on what he brings to a very young defense. In a season where roster balance matters as much as upside, that kind of steadying presence can be hard to replace.
The broader market, though, is still full of moving parts, and that matters for a Flames team keeping an eye on how other clubs might reshuffle their own assets. One thread has centered on Seattle forward Shane Wright and whether he could factor into a larger conversation involving Simon Edvinsson, even as Detroit is signaling it wants to re-sign Edvinsson and is not looking to move him. For Calgary, it is another reminder that patience can be just as important as aggressiveness when the rumor mill starts turning. [Read more 🡒]