For the fourth year in a row, the Calgary Flames will watch the post-season from the sidelines. Captain Mikael Backlund is pleased his team competed to the very last game, a 3-1 victory over Los Angeles on Thursday night, but he knows there has to be more to give. “No one should be satisfied with anything because we missed the playoffs,” he said. “We lost more games than we won, and at the end of the day, that’s not good enough, and we want to be better next year.” So how do the Flames get better? Getting off to a better start is imperative. The Flames started the 2025-26 season with a 1-9 record and dug themselves a hole they couldn’t get out of. Head coach Ryan Huska had this message heading into the off-season: “Really, where we’re at is not OK,” said Huska. “Our players need to leave that when they leave here, and we had a good short meeting about that with the group this morning.” The kids are alright There were some positives for the Flames. They played their young players a lot down the stretch, and they rose to the occasion. Defenceman Zayne Parekh got better as the season went on, and his goal against the Kings on Thursday night had fans drooling over what could be. Parekh says he felt really good down the stretch. “I think a big thing is confidence,” he said. “I think at the start of the season, I was second-guessing myself a lot. I think I’ve always had it at the start, but it just took me a while to get adjusted to the pace, and my decision-making had to be a little quicker. But I feel great and I feel confident.” When will we see playoffs? The Flames are clearly in a rebuild right now, but players like defenceman Kevin Bahl believe they can get back to the post-season as early as next season. “Of course,” he said. “I mean, if you tell yourself you can’t, then why are you even competing? “Why do you even bring your hockey bag to the rink in September or August or whenever that is? Every year, that’s the goal, and I personally want to be surrounded by those guys, and we have a lot of those guys in this dressing room.” Draft ahead This will be another big off-season for the Flames. They have plenty of draft capital with eight picks in the first three rounds, including a guaranteed top-six pick. General manager Craig Conroy says he’d love it if his team could move up from four at the draft lottery on May 5. “The draft lottery is an exciting time for sure,” said Conroy. “Everybody wants the first overall pick; everyone in that draft lottery wants it. Just like we want to make the playoffs and win every night, we want the draft lottery. That’s the way we are, and that’s the way we’re built. But we’re going to get a very good player from one to six.”
