Colorado AvalancheCalgary is the only team in the NHL without a point. The Flames have lost 6-1 and 6-1 to Seattle, 4-1 in Vancouver and 7-3 at home to Colorado on Wednesday. They have scored six goals in four games and allowed 23.
The trade talk started before the fourth loss. David Pagnotta reported on Wednesday that teams have interest in Morgan Frost, who is in the final year of his contract, and in defenceman Zach Whitecloud, with Toronto and Montreal among the clubs calling. Calgary has also tried to move Connor Zary, who cleared waivers this week and carries a $3.775 million cap hit for two more seasons. General manager Craig Conroy is expected to keep moving contracts for future assets.
That is the right direction. The numbers say Calgary should go further and faster, because the team that earned 77 points last season was already being held up by something that is not there any more.
How good was Calgary last season, really?
Worse than 77 points suggests. The Flames scored 212 goals, the fewest in the league, and took 47.0 per cent of the five-on-five expected goals, 28th of 32. They finished with a goal differential of minus-48.
What kept them near the middle of the bottom group was goaltending, and not from the goaltender everyone talks about. Devin Cooley saved 17.3 goals above expected in 31 games. Dustin Wolf, the franchise goaltender, was 1.8 goals below expected in 57. We wrote in August that the backup had outplayed the starter. Together they still made Calgary the ninth-best goaltending team in the league, on a roster that was 28th at controlling play.
| Calgary, 2025-26 | Figure | League rank |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 77 | 29th, tied |
| Goals for | 212 | 32nd |
| 5-on-5 expected goals share | 47.0% | 28th |
| Goals saved above expected | +14.2 | 9th |
What has changed since?
Most of the scoring has left. Four of the top 11 scorers from last season now play somewhere else.
| Player | 2025-26 points for Calgary | Now with |
|---|---|---|
| Nazem Kadri | 41 | Colorado |
| Rasmus Andersson | 30 | Vegas |
| Blake Coleman | 35 | Minnesota |
| MacKenzie Weegar | 21 | Utah |
Those four combined for 127 points in a Calgary uniform. The returning group is led by Matt Coronato (45 points), Frost (43), Mikael Backlund (43) and Joel Farabee (38). Kadri picked up an assist against his old team on Wednesday night.
Through the first three games, before the Colorado loss, Calgary had 44.3 per cent of the five-on-five expected goals, and its goaltending was 5.9 goals below expected. Wolf had allowed 12 goals on 6.5 expected in two starts. The goaltending that carried the team last season has not shown up, and the skaters were already one of the weakest groups in the league before the summer.
What should Calgary do now?
Sell everything with value that will not be part of the next good team, and do it before the deadline rush. Frost scored a career-high 22 goals last season and is a pending free agent, so his value will never be higher than it is in October. Whitecloud has a Cup ring and one cheap year left, exactly what teams like Toronto and Montreal want. Zary needs a change of scene, and the only obstacle is that teams want Calgary to take salary back, which is a price worth paying.
The reward is a high pick in the 2027 draft and cap space. Calgary is projected to have around $44.7 million in room for 2027-28, more than enough to absorb bad contracts as payment for prospects and picks.
The case for patience, stated fairly
The argument against a fire sale goes like this. Four games is a tiny sample, Wolf was a Calder finalist two seasons ago and will not keep losing goals at this rate, and Cooley gives Calgary a second good option. Coronato is 23, Backlund is still useful, and young teams that are taught to lose rarely learn to win. Selling Frost for a second-round pick does little for a rebuild either.
The other side is the one last season already proved. This roster, with Kadri, Andersson, Coleman and Weegar, scored the fewest goals in the league and needed a backup to save 17 goals to reach 77 points. Without those four, and with the goaltending running cold, there is no version of this season that ends in the playoffs. Every pending free agent kept past the deadline is an asset given away for nothing.
Conroy has started. He should finish it by Christmas.
What to watch
Frost and Whitecloud are the first two names likely to go, and Wolf's next few starts will decide whether Calgary is merely bad or historically bad. Every move will be on the trades page, and the race to the bottom is on the standings.